In July 2024, I flew from Nashville, Tennessee to Los Angeles, California, hoping to make a successful solo trek up the tallest peak in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney.

THE LEAD UP

This mountain had intrigued me for years. I knew I wanted to do it one day, especially after I really started getting deep into the hiking world in 2018-ish. But I never thought I would be capable because this thing is a beast, and going up it in a day is extremely difficult.

You see, until Fall 2023 I had only day hiked. And one of the hardest ones I had done was Mt. Baldy in Southern California, which stands at a whopping 10,064 feet above sea level. The first time I nearly turned back around 500 feet away from the summit. But once I tagged it, I knew I was more capable than I thought so I went back and tagged it a few more times before I left Los Angeles to live in Franklin, Tennessee in 2022, far away from any big time mountains. The highest peak in Tennessee is Kuwohi (formerly known as Clingmans Dome), which sits at just 6,643 feet above sea level in the Great Smoky Mountains.

A year later (2023), I started diving into the backpacking world and that’s when Mt. Whitney popped back up on my radar. And really, it opened my world up to a whole lot more possibilities. But first, I needed to get the gear and go on a trip to see if I would enjoy it.

That fall, I was off doing my first multi-day backpacking trip in Monteagle, Tennessee, a 31 mile yo-yo solo thru hike of the Fiery Gizzard Trail. I LOVED IT!

The next step was to do some kind of hike that took me up to Kuwohi in the Great Smoky Mountains. So, a few weeks later, I took off on a 3 day, 44 mile trek.

At this point, I had caught the backpacking bug. Mt. Whitney was officially happening the next year. I had already made up my mind.

In January 2024, I put my name in the lottery once again for an overnight permit on Mt. Whitney. The reason I wanted an overnight was because I believe it gave me the best chance of success.

A couple of months later, I was notified that I got the permit! I was stoked!

PERMIT PROCESS

The permit process on recreation.gov is pretty simple for Mt. Whitney. There is a window in January where the lottery opens, you fill out basic info and pay a $6 non-refundable fee. The only meticulous part is filling in your your 10 preferred dates in order of most desirable to least desirable. When I went through the process, I gave myself all kinds of margin. I cannot go back and look now, but I know I picked weeks in June, July and August, and I made sure I was making my start date on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because a middle of the week date always gives you a better chance. I ended up getting my second choice which was starting on Tuesday, July 30.

Now just in case I did not land the permit, I had planned a heckuva year for backpacking already so this made my year even more stacked. I ended up doing 4 backpacking trips prior to Mt. Whitney:

3 Days, 27 Miles Backpacking Red River Gorge | Kentucky

Backpacking 42 Miles | Trans-Catalina Island Trail

Backpacking 12 Miles Around Nashville Lake

4 Days Backpacking Havasupai Indian Reservation

I had hundreds of miles under my belt at this point and it was time to get on a flight to Los Angeles, California.

DAY 1

When I fly in to do these types of trips, I like to give myself a long runway, meaning I want a day or two to get adjusted to the time zone change, orientate myself and shop for anything necessary to complete the adventure. And for this climb, that was vitally important.

I arrived in LA around 11:30 a.m. — perfect time to get the heck out of that city as quick as possible before it becomes real LA traffic. By the time I took a bus to the rental car area (I loved the old system when the Turo host would just meet you at the airport and you could take off), it was 12:30 p.m. and I had a 4 1/2 hour drive up to Lone Pine in the eastern Sierra mountains. I decided some snacks would be enough to get me up to my Airbnb, where I could have a nice dinner in town.