I won the lottery.  Really I won the annual lottery for a pass to climb the Mt Whitney Trail.  Nurit won also so we are grouping together and four of us will attempt the hike on September 9, 2013.  It’s the Monday after Labor Day and between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.  A very auspicious date.

My Friend Lee F summiting in 2004

The trail starts from just west of Lone Pine California at about 8000 feet and 11 miles later reaches the summit at 14,500 feet.  To put it in perspective about ten years ago I climbed to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite with Rebecca it was 17 miles round trip and about 4,800 ft of elevation gain to a max of about 9000 feet.  I survived it easily. This hike is higher, longer and has 25% more elevation gain.  And by the way I’m ten years older.  My only hope is that I will be in better shape.

So far Rebecca and Carmela R. have signed up to go along and Doug W.  is a strong maybe.  Contact me if you would like to be on the list in case we have any dropouts.  Read more about the hike. 

My Half Dome tee shirt with the facts

I thinking about using the hike to help raise awareness of awareness.  Are you aware of how unaware many people are?  I’m planning to pester people to send money in my name to an organization that pretends to care about the shocking lack of awareness.  In this way you can feel more aware and caring and I can pretend that I am hiking for a higher purpose than just filling one of my lifetime goals.  Of course “lifetime goals” are out of vogue and  have been renamed “bucket list items” which make them sound less pretentious and more frivolous.  So it goes.

I will be doing a lot of training in the local mountains over the next 162 days.  Henninger Flats 5.8 miles with a 1500 foot elevation gain is my current hike.   It represents about 25% of of what I need to be able to do, while starting at 8000 feet.  Oh my.

I’ll see you on the trail.