slideshow video: HIKING MOUNT WHITNEY with LOLA by VAN der KOK (2006)

slideshow video: 

HIKING MOUNT WHITNEY 

with LOLA MY GOLDEN RETRIEVER, 

 (2006)

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”

Isaiah 54.10

video LOLA SWIMMING AT START of MOUNT WHITNEY HIKE (2006)

LOLA SWIMMING AT START of 
MOUNT WHITNEY HIKE (2006)
“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth & forever.” 

Psalms 125:2

WELCOME! PHOTOS of HIKING MOUNT WHITNEY with LOLA

corrections: I refer to the lake I camped at the night before as Lone Pine Lake. It's actual name is Lake Diaz.
note2: a more detailed narration can be read at http://www.scribd.com/doc/21070266/7-22-06-ELEVATION-14496-FEET-HOPE-DOES-NOT-DISAPPOINT-by-vanderKOK
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postcard photo 
WELCOME! I plan to post pictures and videos from my 2006 hike to the top of Mount Whitney (the highest point in the continental USA) with Lola, my golden retriever . It was a GREAT experience,even though I took the "hard way". I will be posting narration of the hike here . Stay tuned for more !

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the planning for mount whitney began several months prior...with an application for a permit...

once I had the application I could begin to prepare for the hike... I looked at a map of the mountains...looking back on it..the map makes it seem more difficult than it actually was..to be honest, anybody in decent physical condition can make it, albeit to enjoy it better...you may want to properly camp overnight (as opposed to my overnight experience, see below)

 above photo courtesy of
 http://www.whitneyzone.com/wc_notes.htm
and I decided to take my golden retriever lola with me. ...the night before the hike we camped at a nearby lake..

correction: this is Lake Diaz

...my plan was to begin mid-morning the next day  and hike THROUGH the NIGHT..since I didn't have a camping permit..they say you can do it in 24 hours, or less, ..I didn't want to hurry though..thought it would be nice night hiking (more about that below). ...early in the hike there is a beautiful pond (where I spend some time throwing a stick for lola to retrieve...she LOVES the water..
(see video at  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGArhnyAFFU

"...The 11-mile Mount Whitney Trail (class 1) is the easiest and most popular route to the summit and is often done as a strenuous 22-mile day hike. During the summer and autumn months, only sneakers are necessary to ascend this summit from the Whitney Portal trailhead at 8,365 feet, however, earlier in the season, an ice axe and crampons may be required. Many people will appreciate taking two days to do this hike, spending a night at Outpost Camp or Trail Camp...."
http://www.summitpost.org/mount-whitney/150227

...I am now composing this years later...looking back on the hike ..and remembering Lola..she was thirteen-years-old at the time but still had the curiosity and energy of a young dog...it was remarkable..she was actually leading me most of the hike up ...I was running out of energy but she never slowed down (that changed a bit on the way down, however). ...

also, this was a spiritual trek for me..as all I do is for the glory of God and the hope of growing spiritually...thanks be to Jesus Christ our Savior..

“"For the mountains may be removed & the hills may shake..., ...But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you...,

& My covenant of peace will not be shaken," Says the LORD who has compassion on you.”  

Isaiah 54:10

 note: I am writing this many years later (8/2/14) ...so my memory of the trail may not be perfect..I am trying to do this chronologically but forgive me if I get a few landmarks out of order. After the first lovely little pond we trekked onward...it was a beautiful day..not too hot nor cold..middle of July...I specifically requested this time of year because they say there will be snow at the top all-year-round but the least amount in the middle of summer. I like snow but didn't want to take snow gear with me as well. We came to a nice creek with some logs to cross without getting your boots wet.

...along the way, there are nice meadows...lots o greenery..creeks...maybe thesame one twisting and turning even a waterfall of sorts.....no snow yet..lola enjoyed cooling off in the water..

i let Lola off the leash from time-to-time

...the hike is quite nice...not too strenuous for the first half...it's really not until you get to the switchbacks that it begins to wear you down.. but it does take time unless you are racing which I wasn't..in fact I took my time enjoying the view...even saw some wildlife...including some deer & birds

 

...Lola saw the deer too...

luckily I had her on the leash at the time

...we hiked thru the trees and around the water areas and periodically got glimpses of the highest point we were striving toward...I could see patches of snow...

...and the sun was setting as I neared the snow...I was not yet to the camping area...where hikers with permits stay the night but it was getting dark..I brought a little light to help me walk thru the night but lo and behold as it suddenly got pitch dark the light wasn't helping me... I lost the trail! I looked and looked but wasn't sure which way to go from where I was...fortunately I didn't lose my cool..I didn't keep thrashing forward..I realized I MUST stay in place until daylight or until somebody comes along, otherwise I might get seriously LOST or take a fall or whatever..I had an "emergency blanket" in my backpack..which is like a piece of large tinfoil...it did work but it didnt cover my whole body..it was getting quite cold..so I pulled Lola up next to me for the body warmth..she didn't mind the cold at all..she grew up sleeping outside in michigan, even in the winter (in a doghouse)..but Lola doesn't like being held close for very long..so that only worked periodically..instead I would stand up and do jumping jacks and other exercises to keep my blood warm..and I sang songs aloud..little did I know that I was actually quite close to the camping area..I wonder if they could hear me..the night seemed to last forever..I wasn't scared..just impatient..then I saw a LIGHT in the distance..it was moving..coming towards me from below..it was about 4am...a group of hikers were coming up..I yelled to them, "Hey! " ..they stopped, a bit startled..and I told them I couldn't find the trail. Their leader seemed to have no problem distinguishing the trail with his brighter light and I fell in line behind them...and then the sun began to rise ..I breathed a sigh  of relief...

...we came to the camping area (not shown)..I re-filled my water bottle and added iodine tablets.. shortly after the camping area we began the dreaded switchbacks..these back-&-forth legs seemed to LAST FOREVER...also I realized later that my boots were extremely heavy... good for shoveling snow in the winter but not modern-day lightweight hiking boots..I still have them in storage today and everytime I lift them up I'm amazed that I actually wore these barbells ..no wonder my legs were so tired already...people were passing me with ease...

 ...nonetheless we made it thru the switchbacks..Lola was still full of energy...and then the snow began..we had to traverse a snowfield..not very deep...not treacherous but still had to be a little careful...the sun was shining..but there were cloud here and there..

 we could see other lakes looking down the back ...side of mount whitney...there's also another trail coming up the other way..a longer hike...

 

after the swtchbacks and the snow field we are actually quite close to the top..but the air is thin and tired legs kept us at a snails pace...

 ...there's a long boulder field near the top that you must contend with 
before you get to the peak

finally, I could see the "promised land"...there's a little shack at the top..apparently built many years ago..it's locked..maybe they keep rescue supplies in there...

 ...there was a small group of hikers at the top already..must have been around 11am...

 unfortunately it was  cloudy at the top...

 ...although I did get a brief glimpse thru the clouds of the distant mountains
 and also death valley..

 14, 496 feet ! 
The highest point in the continental USA !

“In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.”

Isaiah 2:2

SO WE stayed at the top for an hour or so..signed the registry (no photo)...and rested...I kept a close grip on Lola near the edge..somebody took a picture for me of  me & Lola with my camera...

...and I took a bunch of selfies (actually most of these photos are screen grabs from my video camera..which I used sparkingly to preserve the battery and to this day have still not re-found the original video ..so all I have are the pics and slideshow I made..

I think I will find it someday,...

 

WE MADE IT ! GLORY to GOD !

..and then we began the hike back down...the easy part (I thought)... but the clouds were getting darker....back thru the boulder field and the snowpack..I looked at the snowy slope and thought it would be a BLAST to SLIDE DOWN IT...why not ?!  use poncho I brought (for rain) as a sled?! But i didn't...it could be dangerous..maybe a hole in that snow somewhere..probably not..but better to be safe than sorry....but it was VERY TEMPTING !..

 BY this time Lola was finally getting tired..as we went down the switchpacks..some of them snowy...Lola would lay down periodically and after I took a short break with her, I would have to nudge her to get her going ..what a dog ! And yes, I had food and water for her along the way !

 I saw a little marmot on the way back down...

 

...and the clouds kept getting bigger and darker..and it actually started raining..quite hard for a while..I pulled out my poncho ...most concerned about 

my electronics getting wet..we kept going

and then suddenly..most amazingly...
there was a RAINBOW!...

 it was actually a DOUBLE RAINBOW...although I don't think this picture captures it...it filled me with HOPE..remembering the promise of God...that the rainbow is a symbol of...

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant...

...between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds...,

...I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life….”

Genesis 9.13-15

 

BACK THRU THE MEADOW, past the waterfall...around the ponds and waterholes..and over the creek..and finally past the beautiful first lake we trudged..lola and me..literally lying down on the trail from time to time we both fell asleep..something in me kept me going..knowing we had to get back to the car before dark.

 i looked back up every now and then...the rain had stopped..sky was getting blue..

“The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth….”

Psalms 97:5

I left Lola in the car ...for a while after the hike and enjoyed their "famous" hotcakes at the store/restaurant at the trailhead...nice lady served me (not shown)...and then we began the drive back to los angeles...what an experience ! 

“Before the mountains were brought forth or ever You had formed & given birth to the earth & the world, even from everlasting to everlasting  

You are God. ..”

Psalms 90:2

thanks for reading...
hope you enjoyed the story..