Whitney, September 1996 Whitney, in the Eastern Sierra above the town of Lone Pine, Calif., is the tallest peak in the contiguous United States and requires no technical climbing skills.
Camping permits are hard to come by, though, and many people do it as a day hike.
This time, I did it as a night hike. I had planned to start my climb about 9 p.m., aiming to reach the summit by sunrise. But I got tired of hanging around the trailhead, and I started at 6. Shortly after I started, I overtook three guys who planned to do the same thing. They stopped for a rest and I kept going, figuring we'd leapfrog a few times and end up on the last stretch at the same time.