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Depending on the timing of your trip and the kind of snow year - those higher passes are often snowed in much longer than Cottonwood as well. This year shouldn't be an issue though based on the lower snow year and how quickly much of the Sierra is melting out. but the snow on Army/New Army is often another piece to factor in along with overall mileage/gain plans. =)

Got it. But they are both eligible for continuing on to the JMT, right?

In a 3 week hike, I don't know that 1,000 feet of extra climbing makes much of a difference, but I have not really looked into that much detail yet. Thanks!

If you decide on the Cottonwood Lakes option, then you'll need to traverse either Old Army Pass (12,000ft) or New Army Pass (12,300ft), both of which are significantly higher in elevation compared to Cottonwood Pass (11,140ft). An advantage of Cottonwood Pass is that its trail connects with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) right at the top of the pass. I find Cottonwood Pass to be a more manageable option compared to the other two passes, especially when carrying a heavy backpack up and over the pass.

Hope that helps!

Why do you suggest Cottonwood Pass over Lakes? I knew they are both options, just have not planned in that much detail yet. I might do Pass just because I have done the Cottonwood Lakes in the past.

I think I might still try and get a Happy Isles permit and do it the traditional way, but Cottonwood Pass seems like a good plan B.

I hiked the JMT NOBO in 2020, starting from Cottonwood Pass. I liked it better than SOBO.

Yes, you are correct; however, please make sure you obtain a permit from Cottonwood Pass, not Cottonwood Lakes.

Hiking NOBO on the trail can extend your trip by a few days. For example, I trekked from Horseshoe Meadows to Crabtree Ranger Station (20+ miles) in one day and then continued to Mt Whitney the following day, which serves as the starting point for the JMT. Depending on how long you take to hike the JMT, resupply options may differ from SOBO. I only re-supplied twice: once at Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) and again in Mammoth.

I am in the early stages of pondering a JMT trip next summer. As I understand it, the standard Happy Isles permit is hard to get.

Am I correct that I can hike it northbound with just a Cottonwood Lakes permit?

My experience has been that Cottonwood Lake permits are fairly easy to get. I don't quite understand why more people don't do it that way. I know it adds a couple days to a 3 week trip, and you hit high elevation right away instead of slowly getting used to it, but those seem like fairly minor issues. Am I missing something, are there other downsides to doing it this way?

Check especially the week or two before your trip.

Interesting question. The slope is too gentle in the first half, and then too blocky and rugged in the second steeper half. In fact, some years back, when it was nearly dark, a hiker missed that switch-back in the trail about the middle of your arrow, and tried to continue eastward. It took them days of searching before they found the body.

Has anyone glissadied the ~800 ft down to mirror lake?
See annotated map. I've only ever done the standard shoot glissading down from trail crest.
Thanks!
https://ibb.co/Xrx6GBqq

Took a nice 2-night outing in the Cottonwood Lakes basin. Trekked around the Cottonwood Lakes and South Fork Lakes as well.

Lots of snow above 11,400 feet, especially on the north slopes. Hardly any below that elevation. Horseshoe Meadow Road is open, with the last gate open. There were not many people at the Cottonwood Pass parking lot, but a moderate number at the New Army Pass parking lot.

The Old Army Pass (OAP) trail is currently inaccessible (snow/Ice) and will remain so until at least the end of June. There is a direct route to the top of OAP, but only for those who possess a considerable amount of mountaineering skills. I have climbed this approach a few times in the past. It's steep but doable. DO NOT TAKE THE TRAIL. See pictures below.

New Army Pass (NAP) currently has the typical cornice and can be bypassed if you know how to route find and possess a good amount of mountaineering skills. Please take a look at the pictures below.

This trip was primarily focused on backpacking and creating content for my channel, so I didn't have the time to reach the top of either pass.

Since these passes are the traditional way to reach Mt Langley, CRAMPONS AND AN ICE AXE MUST BE USED TO REACH THE TOP OF EITHER PASS. NO MICRO SPIKES. From there, Langley can be summited without the use of mountain climbing tools.

Safe travels!

Pictures on flickr

Your best thing to do is to keep checking rec.gov and hope for those permits to show up.

It might be faster for a different trip leader to get the additional 2 permits instead of trying to extend your existing 8 person permit to cover 2 more people.

As the date gets closer you can also how for walk up permits to be available (but have to be fast on those two).

Hello, we have a 9/3 overnight permit for my friend’s 50th birthday for 8 people, but need 2 more. We’re all avid hikers and a fun group, most of us have completed Half Dome in a day hike. If anyone has a couple extra tix available that day or any tips on getting them please let me know. We’re checking the reservation site daily to see if anything comes available, but so far no luck. Thank you!

From the SEKI wilderness permit website: https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/wilderness_permits.htm:
Walk Up Wilderness Permits (Quota Season)
Step 1: Plan Your Trip
Decide where you want to go by looking at Trail Descriptions, the Park Atlas and Trail Conditions. Find the name of and quota limit for your desired trailhead on the Wilderness Trip Planner, entry quota map, or at Recreation.gov.

Step 2: Permit Issuance and Payment
Walk-up permits can be obtained starting from 1:00pm the day before your trip begins. Permits are only issued?during hours of operation by trailhead rangers who provide important area information.

You must arrive at the correct trailhead desk for the trailhead you are hoping to obtain a walk up permit for. Bring your entire party to the orientation.

You will pay the fee of $15 per permit plus $5 per person at the issuing station. Credit cards are the preferred payment method. Trailhead rangers will not be able to make change for transactions.

On your desired entrance date, once all of the quota for walk up permits is taken, a list will be started for permits that become available if a reserved party does not show up by the 10:00 am deadline. These no-show permits will become available for first-come first-serve walk ups.

different locations/jurisdictions have different permit policies. Using the wayback machine online I looked at the page for 2019 and that was prior to them using recreation.gov (they still had permit applications you had to email as an attachment) it appears that the current process for walkups being in person only for SEKI was in place in at least since 2021 when things fully reopened after covid based on looking at a handful of website captures there.

I have never paid a lot of attention to the walkups, but it does seem like things have changed. The website doesn't show you anything within a week of today's date

Has the walk up wilderness permit process for Sequoia/King Canyon NP changed?
Before today, they showed "W" on dates and at least for Inyo and Yosemite, that mean that they would release the walk up permits 10-2 weeks before the date.
Today, I see little ranger station icon for these and the info page says these walk up are only available inside the park the day before.

So, has this changed or it has been like that for SEKI before (pre and post COVID)?

This may complicate my 4th of July plans.