THE HIGH SIERRA · LEG 9 · DAY 45, JUNE 13 · MOUNT WHITNEY, 14,505 FTPHOTO #1030 · ON THE SUMMIT · ROUTE APPROX.
a photo story from Leg 9, Kennedy Meadows to BishopThe High Sierra
Whitney, midnight to sunrise
A headlamp start at 12:19 am, sleeping bags on the summit rocks, and dawn over Owens Valley.
START 12:19 AM7.69 MI3,845 FT OF CLIMBELAPSED 3:2047°F, CLEARHITCHCOCK BASIN TO SUMMIT 1:40:18 · 14TH OF 1,575 ON STRAVA, OCT 2026
THE CLIMB · 12:19 AM
Day 44 ended at Whitney base after 21.2 miles. Day 45’s Strava starts at 12:19 am: 7.7 miles and 3,845 feet by headlamp, Hitchcock Basin to the summit in 1:40:18. Sixth on that segment the day I uploaded it, 14th of 1,575 as of October 2026.
ON TOP
Then the wait for light: the sign, the stove going on the summit rocks, a hot pot inside a sleeping bag.
FIRST LIGHT · DAY 45
Day 45 went into Strava in three parts: “Whitney Summit,” “down Whitney,” and “post nap finisher.” The first orange line of dawn came up over Owens Valley.
THE WAY DOWN · 7:24 AM
Strava picked back up at 7:24 am for “down Whitney,” eight miles past Guitar Lake. Then a nap in the dirt and the “post nap finisher.”
