Mount Whitney Trail

Mount Whitney Trail is the standard east-side out-and-back from Whitney Portal to Mount Whitney’s 14,505-foot summit. The full hike is 22 miles round trip, with more than 6,200 feet of climbing, and usually takes 12 to 14 hours. You climb from alpine forest and lakes into bare granite, then return the same way. It’s a defining Sierra day hike, but the hard part is the sustained climb, altitude and long descent. I’d aim for the summit only with strong conditioning and time to acclimatize. If that’s too much, Lone Pine Lake, about 2.5 miles from the portal, is a worthwhile shorter out-and-back.

The first miles climb through alpine woods, with stream crossings before the trees thin. Lone Pine Lake is the first major payoff and a natural turnaround for a shorter day. Beyond it, the path reaches Outpost Camp in a meadow with a stream and a waterfall nearby. Mirror Lake sits near the last tree cover. Above that, Trailside Meadows and a snow-fed cascade break up the steady climb, and Consultation Lake comes into view higher on the slope.

Trail Camp, around 12,000 feet, is an open basin of rock beside a lake. It can be windy, and it’s the last reliable place to refill before the upper push. From here, the famous 99 switchbacks gain roughly 1,700 feet toward Trail Crest. The path is steep, rocky and exposed; a short cable section crosses a steep face where snow can linger. There are no toilets along the trail, and solid human waste has to be packed out.

At Trail Crest the route reaches the west side of the Sierra and joins the John Muir Trail. Stay on the Mount Whitney route toward the summit; the JMT heads downhill from the junction. The remaining traverse is rocky and exposed, with steep ground dropping away on the west side. Openings in the ridge known as the Windows frame views toward Lone Pine. Look back from Trail Crest, too: the switchbacks you climbed are easier to take in from above. The return crosses the same rough ground, when tired legs make slips more likely.

The top is a broad, rocky high point with the stone Smithsonian Institution Shelter, built in 1909, as its landmark. At 14,505 feet, Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States. It’s also the southern end of the John Muir Trail, which continues more than 200 miles north to Yosemite Valley. Give yourself enough time to enjoy the summit without borrowing it from the long walk back.