Hiking · Sierra Nevada, California, USA · recorded with NomadTracks

Mount Whitney in two days: 24 km to the roof of the Lower 48

Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the contiguous United States — 4,421 m — and the two-day itinerary is the sane way up: day one climbs about 1,160 m to a camp near Trail Camp, day two tops out over the famous 99 switchbacks and brings you all the way back down.

Both days were recorded as separate tracks. The elevation charts tell the story better than words: a relentless, beautifully graded staircase of granite.

Distance24.5 km
Elevation gain2,024 m
ActivityHiking
Recorded legs2

About this data: this track and its photos were personally shared with us as samples by a NomadTracks user. NomadTracks never uploads, collects or shares your tracks or photos — your recordings stay on your devices and in your own cloud.

Route map of Mount Whitney in two days: 24 km to the roof of the Lower 48 drawn from the recorded GPS points on an OpenStreetMap basemap
The actual recorded GPS tracks — start marked green, finish orange. Numbered pins mark where the photos below were taken.

Download GPX Coordinates, elevation and relative times — recording dates are normalized out, photos not included.

Elevation profile of the track
Elevation profile over the full distance. Switch the map above to interactive mode, then slide across the chart — a marker follows the route.

Day 1 — Whitney Portal to high camp

11 km and roughly 1,160 m up through Lone Pine Lake, Outpost Camp and Mirror Lake. The track's pace chart shows exactly where the altitude starts to bite — useful honesty when you're deciding whether to push to Trail Camp or stop early.

Day 2 — switchbacks, summit, and the long way down

13.5 km with about 860 m of gain to the summit plateau, then everything back down in one go. Recording ran the whole day on a single charge; the saved track now doubles as a planning reference for friends asking about timing the switchbacks before the afternoon wind.

Permits and timing

Whitney requires a lottery permit in season. GPS-wise: the trail is obvious, but the recorded track proved its worth on the descent in fading light, when tired legs and look-alike granite benches make wrong turns easy.

About the place: Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Mount Whitney (4,421 m) stands at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada above the town of Lone Pine, California. The Mount Whitney Trail starts at Whitney Portal (2,550 m); day and overnight permits are issued by lottery on recreation.gov each spring, and the main season runs July to September once the 99 switchbacks are free of ice. Altitude, not distance, is the real opponent — most successful two-day itineraries camp near Trail Camp at 3,650 m.

Alpine lake below the granite walls of the Mount Whitney basin
1 · Alpine lake below the granite walls of the Mount Whitney basin
Deep blue tarn and snow patches high on the Mount Whitney Trail
2 · Deep blue tarn and snow patches high on the Mount Whitney Trail
Weathered foxtail pine snag against Sierra Nevada granite
3 · Weathered foxtail pine snag against Sierra Nevada granite
Summit view from Mount Whitney across the jagged Sierra crest
4 · Summit view from Mount Whitney across the jagged Sierra crest
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