Standing at more than 14,500 feet in elevation atop Mount Whitney with his father and uncle, 10-year-old Morgan Hill student Neil Shah gazed down upon the picturesque, mountainous terrain of Sequoia National Park.
It took 11 hours to hike up 11 miles to the peak, and Shah—physically drained from the climb—knew he eventually had to journey back down another 11 miles and approximately 8 more hours.
“It was kinda tricky and hard toward the end, the last maybe quarter mile or so. It was very steep. The trail was really rocky, and I was just exhausted,” said Shah of reaching the top. “I was excited. I was happy and I was relieved.”
Shah, who will celebrate his 11th birthday next month, was the only pre-teen in a group of 17 hikers who made the July 25 excursion. He was admittedly nervous—even though one year earlier he conquered Mount Tallac in Lake Tahoe—but thrilled about sharing the adventure with his father, Hemang Shah, and uncle, Dr. Devang Shah.
“It was a hike where you needed help. Especially for me, I needed help to get over some rocks,” said the Silicon Valley Flex Academy sixth grader. “It was just fun having my dad there.”
Even so, his mother Kinal Shah was unsure if she should let her child go on the treacherous hike.
“I was nervous,” she said. “But he just wanted to go. I was telling him not to, but he wanted to.”
Weekly hikes at nearby Mount Madonna County Park helped prepare him for the extended journey—which began at 12:40 a.m. and was not completed until 9:40 p.m. that evening. Shah carried 14 pounds of equipment, including a hydration pack with 2 liters of water, three bottles of Gatorade, another bottle of water, snacks, energy gummies, a waistband with an additional two water bottles and a hiking stick.
“There was a lot of cool stuff,” said Shah, detailing a giant lake at the trail camp at about 12,000 feet, a creek flowing down the side of a mountain and a log bridge to walk over along the trail.
After reaching the peak, taking in the sights and regaining his strength, Shah packed up his belongings and began the trek back down Mount Whitney.
“I wasn’t really sad to have to go down because I was kinda up top for a long time. I got a good rest,” said Shah, whose family moved here from New York in January 2014. “On the way down, it was so much harder because your legs are killing you….The last three miles seemed endless.”
Shah is already thinking about his next big hiking excursion, which is undecided as of now. But, in the meantime, he enjoys his favorite spots at Mount Madonna.
