Mmkay guys and gals. The bags are zipped, the permits are in hand, and the butterflies are very real. This is the part where the planning turns into movement, where spreadsheets, gear lists, and training miles finally meet the open road. Before the big climb, we mapped out a route that let us soak in a little bit of everything: quiet campsites, national park magic, and those last few deep breaths before standing at the trailhead of Mt. Whitney. Let’s get into these final steps in Part 3 of the planning process, shall we?

Why Planning Your Route Matters

So here we are, the last pieces of the prep work. I’d like to cover a few points about route planning, which means planning the route we’ll drive, fly, hike, and site-see. It’s not something you technically have to do, but I really enjoy doing this all ahead of time because it’s literally taken us hours on multiple days leading up to the trip. (Which saves us a bunch of time *during* the trip searching online instead of seeing the beauty)….especially when service is hard to come by.

Sure, you can wing it and go with the flow, but you might be missing out on a bunch of nearby awesomeness or under plan how much water you need or not bring enough driving snacks or hiking snacks or end up driving way out of your way for something that is a little underwhelming. (Hello, Sailing Stones)…for reals, this gem is just a short 3 hour trip ONE WAY into the desert. Plan ahead if you really want to head this way.

While I can’t say we’ve ever done something on a trip that’s been underwhelming, there are times where we wished we’d planned better so we could have saved on drive time and spent more time on the trails. One of these examples would be when we went to Arizona a few years ago and thought the state was way smaller than it was! We planned too many things to do, all too far away from each other, resulting in a lot of unnecessary drive time that would have been better spent hiking something awesome.

That was the trip that we drove halfway to the Petrified Forest, only to turn around and save it for the next trip. I’m really glad we did though, since it was one of my most memorable campsites. (Checkout the blog in the future for a post all about it).

More Mt. Whitney – Permits, Packing, and Prepping: How We Got Ready for Mt. Whitney

Mt. Whitney Itinerary

If you peek at the image above, it shows our main locations and general route. (I so badly wanna just pop over to the coast because it looks so close but it is SO not 😅).

I’ll drop more specific posts after the trip going into more details about each location and campground if you would like to head back to the blog in October! 😎

We’ll be flying with United (a new airline to us, I’ll keep you updated on how we like it!), to Fresno, with a layover in San Francisco. Then to our first campground between Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and then once visiting those for 2 days we will be moving onto Yosemite. We’ll spend 3 days there, (hopefully snagging a Half Dome daily lottery permit!🤞), and then will make our way toward Mt. Whitney where we’ll spend a few more days getting acclimatized closer to it.

Once we summit, we’ll stay in Lone Pine where we scored a beautiful Airbnb, and then make our way through Death Valley to hit the highest and lowest elevations in the country in 24 hours! We’ll end up in Las Vegas where we booked a hotel through Airbnb, (hello, savings 👋), and then fly out the next morning on Southwest (our fave airline to date).

Our hikes will include several in each National Park, (we’ll be going through 4!!) each ranging in elevation and mileage to properly prep our bodies for the big one at the end of the week. We made sure to include enough recovery days as well so that we don’t burn out before getting there. (Which is also why we brought so many snacks).

Staying properly fueled and hydrated during this trip is imminent for us to remain ready and obtain the level of focus we need to stay safe. 💪 I may joke a lot, but this hike is no joke and being properly prepared for it is real. With only a 33% success rate of day hikers actually finishing the hike, it can be a bit of a mental challenge, too.

Training for Mt. Whitney has been one of the biggest physical challenges I’ve faced yet. With longer, more grueling hikes including weighted packs and increasingly intense strength workouts, I have to say that I’m glad I’ve worked those in because I know they’ll help me on the hike. (You can check out some of those hikes we’ve done on HB’s Facebook page if you’re interested).

We plan to hit as many stops as we can to site-see, but we also try to choose ones that contain less tourists. I’ll go into detail on how that went after the trip! During day 1, we usually try to find a local grocery store or an REI (or both!) to stock up on last-minute gear or goodies for the car ride. Speaking of cars, Enterprise has been our go-to over the years. What’s yours? 🤔

More Than Just a Mountain

Finding the right hike or trip for yourself or your family can be challenging, especially if a challenge is in fact what you’re looking for. You have to take in consideration everyone’s fitness levels, mental health levels, and preparation they’re *actually* willing to commit to. Be brutally honest here peeps.

If you can come to an agreement on something that is equally fun and also rewarding, I guarantee you’ll have made the best decision. Sharing these adventures with my SO has been something that I’ll never forget, and sharing those memories with family members when we return is a feeling that I can’t explain.

By the time we reached the trailhead, it wasn’t just about climbing a mountain, it was about everything we’d done to get there: the choices, the planning, the prep, and the perspective. Mt. Whitney may be the summit that sits above them all, but more than that, it became a reminder that the process matters just as much as the summit. Thanks for following along on this three-part journey, and stay tuned for the trip reports, trail reflections, and maybe a few blister stories still to come.

Friends, here’s to going the extra mile, doing the hard thing and committing to being a baddie.
Go ahead, I promise you won’t regret it. 🫶

Related Mount Whitney – From Canyons to Whitney: Why We’re Taking On the Highest Peak in the Lower 48

Thanks for Coming Along for the Ride!

Thanks so much for hanging out and following this adventure! I hope it sparks some ideas for your own epic trips — or at least gives you a laugh at my mistakes. Stay tuned for trail stories and trip recaps. 🥾🔥