The Dark Side of The Force

This entry jumps significantly forward to trip #5 (2009). Of my 6 attempts, this is the only one which I tried the climb as a two-day backpacking trip instead of the one-day hike. But this excerpt takes place as I arrive at the Whitney Portal Campground a mile below the trailhead. Here I’ll acclimate for

Death Valley

Ok, so if this is ‘The Mountain Journals’, why am I writing about the desert? This excerpt is from Book IV (2007). I was driving across Death Valley on the way to Lone Pine and Mt. Whitney from Las Vegas. At the time I was living in Coral Gables, Florida. I made this trip with

Mirror Lake and Above the Treeline

As I post excerpts from my book, ‘The Mount Whitney Journals’, they will not always be sequential. Before starting the blog, I would occasionally post excerpts on the ‘Notes’ section of my Facebook page. Today’s excerpt is from my second trip (2002) that I took with my friend Mike Shean. At this point in the

The Adventure Begins…

To begin my excerpts of The Mount Whitney Journals, I start at the very beginning way back in 1998. I was 38 years old the first time I attempted Mt. Whitney (14,997′) as 1-day hike from the Whitney Portal trailhead on the east side of the Sierras. There are many other ways to climb the

Welcome to my blog

Hello everyone, As my first official post, I find it difficult to say who this blog is for. I was going to say that it’s for anyone who has ever climbed or hiked on a mountain, but that would exclude so many. It’s for everyone really, but I’d say that it’s for anyone who has