This week we are talking about how to climb the biggest mountain in the continental United States, Mount Whitney. But beneath the surface lies a metaphor for life. A metaphor for the mountains you wake up to each morning.

Life is about finding the the wisdom to get you to the top. Every day we have choices to make. Sometimes the answer is recognizing that you are in over your head and you can try again another day.

No one chooses for us. When the altitude has your lungs filled with blood and you’re out of water that mountain is going to kill you if you don’t turn around. For a friend of mine that realization came when he was standing at the top of the trail called ණ Switch Backs."

Climbing up a cliff on a two-foot-wide trail with a 1,000-foot drop is not a good place to be when the altitude starts making your head spin. He was so dizzy he could hardly think straight enough to put one foot in front of the other. But that is how he conquered it.

The hike begins at Whitney Portal just off of US 395, 12 miles west of Lone Pine up by Mammoth and Bishop.

Once you leave the portal there is nothing -- no water, no toilets, just wilderness. So there are a few things to keep in mind.

It’s a long and strenuous hike, so be in shape and be prepared, because you’re going through bear country.

A permit is required and you have to carry away any feces you create on the hike. That’s right, when you pick up your pass at the ranger station, the first thing they hand you is poo pack-out kit. Every year more than 5000 pounds of excrement are packed out of Mount Whitney.

The area just can’t handle the amount of human waste that worldwide popularity brings. It has been a problem for a number of years and not just for animals. No one likes stepping in it. Get specific directions on how to use the poo pack-out kits from the Mount Whitney Web page at www.fs.fed.us

People from around the world come to hike Mount Whitney, so they let only 100 people on the mountain a day. This means you might have to wait a couple months or so.

I definitely do not recommend getting a one-day pass, because to make it to the top you need to leave around 5 a.m. It’s about five hours up.

It’s important to leave early in the morning because when the sun comes out it drains your body of moisture fairly quickly.

Also if you get a two-day pass, you can spread the hike out over both days making it less strenuous.

Let your body adjust to the altitude the first day then set off bright and early to climb the rest.

Make sure you bring some sort of water filtration, so you can have more water than you care to carry up.

And know the weather forecast and conditions up there so you know how to pack. One thing Mount Whitney is well known for is rapidly drastic weather changes.

The first campsite on the trail is Outpost Camp, which is at 3.7 miles and at an elevation of 10,300 feet. It sits next to a river Advertisement

Diamond 8 Cinemas and likely is home to an occasional bear, so be prepared.

Altitude sickness can happen to anyone above 8,500 feet, so this is a good place to adjust to the altitude.

At four miles exactly you find Mirror Lake. It lies in a beautiful meadow and has a narrow trail skirting the water’s edge, from which you can see the top of Mount Whitney.

Then you ascend another two miles past Consultation Lake to Trail Camp. Consultation Lake is a lot bigger then the other lakes, and the water is crystal clear. In some sections with the right light you might be able to see 10 feet deep.

There are a lot of fish in the lake and you may fish there, but most people do no walk over that far. They continue their hike up to Trail Camp, which is where most people set up. This allows you to be closer to the peak and hike it in two days.

The distance is six miles, and it is at 12,000 feet.

At that elevation all the trees are gone, and it looks like a huge pile of granite. It is unbelievably massive.

Make sure you bring a pad to sleep on. From Trail Camp it’s very rough, the trail is littered with rocks, and you feel like you are climbing a big rock pile.

At 12.000 feet somehow the view is more incredible then the last. Then 99 Switch Backs starts.

The real peak is not visible until you climb the switchbacks for 2.2 miles as they change 1,700 feet elevation and turn the foot and half wide trail into an edge with a thousand foot drop.

So many times you will see the top of a peak, and it would look like the top but when you get there it flattens out and a new peak is in sight, but each time the view is more and more beautiful.

So you take your picture, enjoy the moment and face the mountain.

Every day we make the choices to do what needs to be done. Somedays we wonder if we have the energy to make it to the top. Some people will never even try. But if you are well prepared and in shape, make wise decisions and set your goals, the whole way up is like walking through heaven.

There are the most spectacular views bordered by sheer cliffs reflecting off crystal blue lakes. Then at some point we will have the reward of looking off the top of that mountain.

Winter storms on Sept. 20 and 22 have left snow and ice on the Main Mt. Whitney Trail. The first 1.5 miles are clear.

Beyond Lone Pine Lake expect slushy snow that re-freezes into ice when the temperature drops each day.

Those traveling beyond Trail Camp should possess knowledge, skills and equipment needed for full winter mountaineering. Be aware that in recent years early season snow and ice have been a factor in deaths that occurred on the Mt. Whitney Trail.

Reservations may be made up until two days before the trip if space is still available. The calendar pages online at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/whitneyavail.shtml show what dates are still available. Applications are accepted by phone, mail or fax.

~~~Wilderness Permit Office ~Fax (760) 873-2484 ~Phone (760) 873-2483 ~ updated Sept. 23, 2007.