Looking for a big day in the Sierras, I stumbled on this FKT when browsing the FKT website. It had several aspects of the things I love best in the Sierras: a Whitney summit, some JMT experience and traversing far enough into parts of the Sierras I haven't been that I get the the feeling of being on a mini quest. After a few logistical arrangements: getting dropped off at Whitney Portal, picked up at Crescent Meadow and flight back home - the date was set! I then proceeded to keep an eye on Recreation.gov and various Facebook permit share forums for the coveted permit to appear. Mid-week permit grab - check!
I spent the night at Whitney Portal with the intention to start at 3 AM sharp. Not really remembering how far the campsite was from the start, I foolishly walked the mile+ and 500ft gain to the trailhead start, instead of the ride offered by my partner. Let's call it a warm up. Started ~3:16 AM and dashed up toward Mt Whitney. The trail was an old friend and I quickly arrived at the summit just under 4hrs. I made a quick turn around and headed to Crab Tree meadow and through the classic JMT route until I veered off at the Wallace Lake trail junction around 9:45 AM. At the junction, I ran into the first of three lovely rangers I saw during the day who asked to see my permit. I shared with him what I was up to, he quickly gave me a fist bump and sent me on my way, helpfully hollering about the water situation and trail conditions in the valley below.
I was now entering unseen territory, the real journey began. It also started baking like a furnace moving down Wallace Creek and along Kern River. These 15 miles I tried to take advantage of the long downhill and what seemed like reasonable trail conditions. With the heat, I was on liquid calories and made a stop or two to fill up on water, electrolytes and douse my head with water. By the bottom of Kern River ~12:45 PM, I was behind my pace schedule by 15-20 mins but didn't loose hope. Who knew what trail conditions would look like the rest of the journey?
From Kern to Hamilton Lake, I ran whenever I could and power hiked the steeper ascents. I never quite knew what the next section of trail would bring so really tried to optimize where I could. By the time I arrived at Lake Hamilton, back on my pace, I had seen some epic views, breezed past some crystal lakes and continued to slurp the liquid calories as the heat baked down relentlessly. I rewarded myself with an hour of tunes blasting in my ears as the sun began to set at Bear Paw Meadow. Afraid I was cutting it close on timing and not getting the fast downhill I expected (it really is this deceiving 100-200 ft up and down), I turned off the tunes, cranked up the headlamp and busted out the final miles. The final 20 meters of the trail had an official park detour for trail maintenance that was a little confusing but still took me to the classic sign. My friends Oscar and Karlene had been watching the dot through the day and met me with burritos and cheers! Mission accomplished - 19:30:45.
The biggest thanks to Mr. Jesse for driving and dropping me off at the Portal and thoughtfully listening to my plans over the past couple months. Oscar and Karlene were the best finish line crew and quickly shuttled me to a cozy tent to recover at the end. Also a big thank you to Coach Addison, who continues to help me dial in proper fueling and nutrition - I know it seems like an uphill battle.
This effort was completely unsupported while on the trail. All food and supplies were carried, along with a water filter that I never used....fingers crossed.