Been there, Done that, got the pictures to prove it

For about the past month or so, Dan and a bunch of guys from church have been planning a big hike up Mt. Whitney. They've been talking and planning about all kinds of stuff, usually away from the house and making me wonder about their "secret combinations". In any case, this past week all that planning finally paid off. They left Wednesday night (could they pick a worse night???) and drove 9 hours to a base camp on Mt. Whitney which is about as high as the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. (Dan and the boys conquered Half Dome over the summer...he was due for another challenge)
They arrived at about 0230, set up camp and got everything all ready to hang around the next day and do nothing. (all that build up for nothing!) They did a few measly hikes around the area and played with some icicles on a frozen river but scaling the mountain was set aside for Friday.

So Friday came (his day started at 0300 or so) and the trek began. There were more pictures than this, but these are the ones with smiles in them.

They all hit the top by 1 pm and then turned around, trudged down, crabbed, packed, ate, and drove home...all on Friday. Needless to say, his Saturday was spent sleeping and walking VERY slowly.

Here are some lessons we learned:

1. 7 men motivated by high adventure trips can finish a lot of work in a little time so they can go have fun

2. It is not a wise idea to simultaneously try to pack and eat if you are in a hurry to leave....you will choke, throw up and worry people around you (once they stop laughing at you for eating so fast you choke yourself...)

3. No matter how tired a woman is, she worries (and hence doesn't sleep...at least not well...) until one of two things happens: a) He walks in the door, b) she passes out casue she's so tired and her body will not go any more

4. You are going to find out, on a hike like this, who you want in your foxhole. Be prepared.

5. Hiking up and up and up sounds easy but is actually very hard. It takes longer than you plan for to get up there and longer than you think to get back down.

6. Driving for a long time after you've hiked 22 miles in one day makes you tired.

7. The day after you come home, you will probably scare the people who love you the most when you try to get out of bed and nearly fall to the floor yelling something about "OW". (Apparently, a hike like this will make your calves and feet VERY sore and make it an exceedingly painful thing to stand up or walk)

8. Baby steps, after a hike like this are a good thing...they take a long time but they feel so much better!!!