Mt. Whitney Summit Tour with Horseback Support

Welcome to California! Make your way to the hotel in Lone Pine, California, to check-in after 4pm. Meet your group and guide at 6pm for a briefing on the journey ahead. Choose a spot for dinner on your own or with your group before you head to bed.

At 7am, meet the crew for breakfast in the hotel. Take your own transportation to the trailhead, about 45 minutes away, and meet your guide there. Then the hike begins! Pack your daypack and hand the rest over to the pack mules since you won’t be doing the heavy lifting on this trip. The trail will gain significant elevation over a short distance, so be prepared to get your heart pumping. Crossing over Cottonwood Pass, you’ll start to see why so many people flock to this part of the world: it is like a postcard. Make camp once you reach Chicken Springs Lake and enjoy your first gourmet backcountry dinner.

After a delicious breakfast, pack up camp, and set out for the day. Today, you’ll connect with a section of the Pacific Crest Trail and follow it for about 14.5 km. The elevation is undulating, but you will lose more than you gain. Hike among foxtail pine forests, open spaces of boulder-dotted fields surrounded by hills, and eventually descend to the lower part of Rock Creek. Enjoy another night in the remote wilderness.

Have a peaceful morning in the fresh mountain air, then get ready for today’s trek. Start the day ascending rocky terrain to Guyot Pass and into Crabtree Meadows. The ascent continues from here with a long haul to the high-altitude Guitar Lake, where you’ll set up the tents for the night. The views from this campsite will astonish you, overlooking the John Muir Trail and Mount Whitney to the east that you’ll summit tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep to prepare!

Today’s the big day! Rise super early to get an alpine start on the trail and begin climbing. You may not be checking out the views on the way up, but once you reach the top, nothing else matters. Standing on the tallest peak in the contiguous US, the views abound with mountains stretching further than your eyes can see. Catch your breath here and savour the scenery. Return to Guitar Lake for lunch and a quick siesta, then continue along the path to Crabtree Meadows. Camp in a location that boasts gorgeous views of the sunset over Mount Russell.

Stretch when you wake up today as you might be feeling yesterday’s challenge in your muscles. After breakfast, take an alternate route from arrival and walk through Sequoia National Park. Relishing in the shade of the trees along the way, you’ll eventually come to the headwaters of Rock Creek and stay here for the night. Appreciate your last night camping in the wilderness and enjoy the starry sky with your new friends.

Get up early to witness the sunrise, have a final breakfast with the crew, and start the hike out towards the trailhead. Even though it’s the last day, the trail still presents some difficulty in length and elevation gain, especially after 6 days of backpacking. Reach the trailhead around 2pm and say goodbye to your guide here to continue onto the next part of your journey.