I’m really looking forward to camping at Whitney Portal. It is supposed to be an absolutely gorgeous campground and the site I have is somewhat out of the way.

I have two days prior to the ascent to get used to the altitude. In reality it is going to be closer to a day and a half by the time I actually get from Vegas to Lone Pine, but so it goes. Night 1 will probably be rough and restless. Night 2 is the night that we start the ascent, so most likely we will go to bed early in order to get some rest before departing at 1am or so. We will then stay at the site the night following the ascent before leaving the next morning. So 3 nights in total plus two relatively short days.

My main concern is going to be getting good rest. Given my current rotator-cuff issues, that means hammock tent. The nighttime lows will probably be in the 30s, so underquilt and my sleeping bag will be required. I will also need all the usual camping gear (10 essentials, fire-starting, cooking, coffee) as well as some gear to relax. Cell service is slim to none, so relaxing is going to mean reading for the most part. I will also plan to do some “easy” hikes while I’m there the days before to keep my body moving as well as to help acclimate.

Campsite Gear List

• hammock tent & underquilt
• sleeping bag
• base layers
• fire: matches + BIC mini
• tinder
• coffee supplies
• utensils
• clothes
• hat and gloves
• toiletry bag
• book(s)
• hand sanitizer
• dehydrated food
• stove & pot
• white fuel
• first-aid kit
• duffel
• headlamp & extra batteries
• battery bank & cables
• camp chair
• EDC items: phone, knife, pen, lipbalm
• journal