High Sierra Trail Day 5

Day 5: Crabtree Meadow to Mt. Whitney Summit to Outpost Camp

Distance: ~16 miles Elevation Gain: ~5,000 ft

We left camp a little earlier than usual—7:30am instead of 8. Progress! Water was easy to find heading toward Guitar Lake. We carried about 2.25L each from Guitar, since there wouldn’t be another filter spot until Trail Camp, after the switchbacks.

The hike to the Whitney summit was tough. I honestly felt like I was crawling most of the way. The final couple of  miles had some snow patches, but they were easy to walk over, even in trail runners. No drama there.

We had a break at the summit where we had cell service for the first time. We were happy to be at the summit and feeling that we are getting closer to finishing the hike. From the summit, heading toward the switchbacks felt much easier. We’d stashed one of the backpacks at the trail split earlier and picked it up on our way back. Those switchbacks were long and exposed, and between the sun and four straight days of climbing, I was starting to feel pretty spent. At one point I even thought about setting up camp between Trail Camp and Outpost, but nothing looked promising.

We made it to Outpost Camp at 7:30pm. I wasn’t thrilled about the sandy ground, but it was good enough for the night. Louis grabbed water while I got the Jetboil going—and in classic tired hiker fashion, I knocked over the pot of boiling water onto my foot. Luckily I had shoes and socks on—no burn, just a close call.

Dinner was quick and satisfying. We thought about hiking all the way out and finding a hotel, but after some back and forth, we decided to camp one last night. Outpost doesn't have bear lockers, but thankfully everything—food and trash—fit. Tomorrow, it’s breakfast and the finish line.

Camped at Outpost camp (10,365 feet)