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Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
#27459 09/04/12 02:23 PM
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Akichow Offline OP
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Folks here helped me plan this whirlwind, 6 day/5 night backpacking trip up and around Langley and Miter Basin. (See here.) Due to weather and logistics, we ended up climbing Langley 1.9 times in four days. Here's my detailed report.

OR, you can just skip all the text that follows and see the report in pictures in the two posts that follow....!

We had an utterly fabulous trip. Because people seem to be interested in food strategies, I've included a description of our dinners.

DAY 1: COTTONWOOD LAKES TH TO LONG LAKE (Cottonwood Lakes Basin)

We picked up our permits in Lone Pine, drove up to Cottonwood Lakes TH, and backpacked to Long Lake. As we hiked, clouds formed, making for an especially dramatic entry into the Cottonwood Lakes basin, with that first view of the HUGE Langley massif. I felt the pressure drop dramatically, so we hiked fast to Long Lake and set up camp. A downpour started, with thunder and lightning to follow. We stayed snug in our tents. Others were not so lucky. The next morning, with all the wet clothes hanging from trees, Long Lake looked a bit like a refugee camp. Long Lake is beautiful, but the camping is a little on the high density side.

Dinner was soup (chicken bouillon) and MaryJanesFarm Organic Sweet Red Bell Pepper Pasta

DAY 2: LONG LAKE-LANGLEY (13,600')-LOWER SOLDIER LAKE

In beautiful, sunny weather, we climbed up New Army Pass. Cresting the pass, the view of Langley across the alpine desert/plateau was breathtaking. We left our backpacks on the trail that goes down to Lower Soldier Lake, and hiked across the plateau to Langley, hoping to summit. As we hiked, we could not ignore the clouds forming in the south and west. We followed a good use trail up the lower flanks of Langley, across a sort of plateau on Langley itself, and then traversed a steep sandy wash using a well-established use trail. At this point, we were in the boulders that lead up the west side of the summit plateau. My friend, who was in the lead, when confronted with the boulders, decided to head right (South) and, against my own sense of the geography, I followed. This turned out to be a mistake, as the boulders just got bigger and steeper. I went up an aggressive, lengthy class 3 chute angling north-east from where we were to scout out a better route and look for cairns, while my friend waited with our stuff. While it was not one I would recommend, and while I did not get far enough to see the leveling of the summit plateau, I did get far enough to see cairns and confirm my sense that the better route was to our left (north). By this time, however, I was exhausted from doing class 3 with little acclimatization, and we could see rain clouds approaching quite distinctly. After hitting about 13,500-13,600', we decided to head down. That turned out to be a wise decision, as the photos will show.

We picked up our packs and headed down through the established trail to Rock Creek and Lower Soldier Lake. The weather cleared as we got to lower elevations.

When we got to LSL, I raised several possible routes we could do over the next few days in Miter Basin and the vicinity. To my surprise, my friend, responded "What about Langley? I didn't get my summmit picture!" I had written Langley off for this trip but, with her comment, various possibilities start spinning through my head.... We tabled the issue of a Langley revisit for the moment.

Dinner was Trader Joe's instant miso soup mix, trout (caught by my friend), and a large
quantity of instant mashed potatoes. One of the best dinners of the trip.

DAY 3: LOWER SOLDIER LAKE-MITER BASIN-SKYBLUE LAKE

Armed with advice from this forum, we hiked up a drainage on the northwest corner of LSL, countoured around a ridge, and made our way cross-country down to Rock Creek and into Miter Basin. Weather was iffy. Also based on advice from this forum, we decided to camp among the trees up on the base of The Miter. By the time we set up camp, the weather had gone from iffy to worse, but then seemed to clear. So we headed up the drainage to our left (northwest) to Skyblue Lake. Right below Skyblue lake, you have a choice of a gentle class 2 climb to the lake on the west side of the drainage or a more vigorous class 3 climb on the east side of the drainage. Being new to this type of thing, I chose the easy route up.

Skyblue Lake was astonishing in its changing colors, clarity, and vast size. I hiked both the east and west sides, and ultimately climbed the drainage near its inlet to scope out future possible routes. Although somewhat cloudy, the weather held, and made for dramatically changing colors in the lake and the granite peaks that surrounded it. My friend tried unsuccessfully to catch fish.

We hiked back to our camp (via a Class 3 descent on the east side of the Skyblue drainage), changed into camp shoes, and then set off across Miter basin for an easy hike to a tarn we had spotted from high up on the Skyblue Basin drainage, where we watched the sun go down. Then back to camp.

Dinner was an exceptionally good, if ridiculously pricey, freeze-dried dinner of Backpacker's Pantry Pesto Pasta with Smoked Salmon, helped down with more bouillon and copious amounts of hot tea and hot apple cider (it was cold).

DAY 4: MITER BASIN-UPPER SOLDIER LAKE

We had thought to spend the fourth day hiking up to Iridescent Lake and possibly Arc Pass, and either camping a second night in the Miter, or else going back to LSL. However, by the evening of Day 3, a plan had taken shape in my mind that I shared with my friend, and she agreed. We would try to go cross-country to Upper Soldier Lake, camp there, and, if the weather was good, go for Langley again via a use trail from USL (based on Glenn's excellent advice on this forum)

So, on the morning of Saturday, September 1, we hiked back across The Miter and down a portion of Rock Creek. We then angled up the slope on the west side of the creek to a tarn at the base of The Major General. From there, by staying at the tree line, we were able to do an easy traverse across the nose of the Major General without losing altitude, and then, with Upper Soldier Lake in sight, work our way own to the lake. (Unless you stay high at the tree line, the exposure can be a bit much... or an alternative route includes descending a drainage but then you have to regain some altitude to reach the lake.) We found excellent camping sites in the trees just above a sandy beach on the northern side of USL.

While my friend hung out (and tried, unsuccessfully, to catch us some dinner), I went to scope out the route for tomorrow.

This was not easy since I am a relative newbie to the whole off-official-trail thing, and I saw two possible drainages that we could take to Mt. Langley -- a very rocky one to the northeast, and a very sandy one to the southeast. I saw no cairns. My hunch was that the sandy one was correct, as it looked both steep but doable, and I saw footprints. But I am analytical to a fault, so I decided to explore the rocky one first, to rule it out. Suffice to say that after 20 minutes of hard, dusty, scrambling, I was done with the hard route, and was literally kick-stepping my way up the increasingly vertical sandy wash to the southeast. After maybe 15-20 hot, dusty, grueling minutes of this, I saw what I thought was a use trail on my right (on the South side of the wash), where the sand was more compacted, and it was! I followed the trail (much more easily now) up the wash until I could actually see Langley and was assured of a reasonable route for the next day. Descending was a breeze!

Dinner was shelf-stable smoked salmon and quinoa, with freeze-dried apple crisp for dessert.

DAY 5: UPPER SOLDIER LAKE-LANGLEY-LOWER SOLDIER LAKE

If at first you don't succeed....

At the entirely decent hour of 7:20 a.m., we left camp and hiked up the sandy wash to Mt. Langley. This time, when we got to the rocky section on Langley at 13,500' or so (very approx.), we were able to follow the cairns successfully through a short (40-50') class 2 chute that led us directly to the summit plateau. We were on the summit by around 10:30. The weather was great, and lots of folks were heading up. We spent almost an hour exploring, and then had a quick, fun descent to USL. It was so early in the day that we decided to move our camp to LSL so that my friend could fish.

Dinner was yet more soup and cider, fresh trout and Backpackers Pantry Hawaiian Style Rice with Chicken (not my favorite rice dish).

DAY 6: LOWER SOLDIER LAKE-COTTONWOOOD PASS-COTTONWOOD LAKES TH

Whoever said that Cottonwood Lakes Trail is a sandy slog got that right! I cannot believe that a trail can be so scenic and yet, in places, so utterly monotonous at the same time! Bizarrely, a heavy metal song lodged in my head, and its drum beat in the chorus kept my feet moving for the hours needed to exit (Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," I had to look it up when I got home since I don't know from heavy metal...). Lunch at Chicken Springs Lake provided a pleasant, if brief, respite.

I decided to drive all the way back to the Bay Area, getting home just a midnight. A highlight of an otherwise overly-long drive was enjoying KFC (from Bishop) at Olmstead Point while the sun set.

A WORD ON TOPO AND LOGISTICS

Along with advice from this forum, we were armed with two topo maps, two compasses, and some very powerful iPhone apps (including GPS-enabled NatGeo topo of Sequoia/King Canyon that worked GREAT on the few occasions that we consulted it).

My paper map as the Tom Harrison Whitney High Country Trail Map (I had a GPS-enabled Sierra/Kings recreational map on my iPhone). On the left bottom corner of the paper map is a inset of the Horseshoe Meadows area with both Cottonwood Lakes and Cottonwood Pass trailheads. It correctly shows a trail (that we took at the end of our hike) from Cottonwood Pass trail past the pack station to the Cottonwood Lakes TH. My friend had a different map of the Whitney High Country that is not available at REI but apparently is available in Bishop and Lone Pine.

My pack weighed 35 lbs (including 4 lbs of water) at the start of the trip, and 25 lbs (including maybe 1 liter of water, and maybe 1 lb of uneaten food) at the end of this 6 day/5 night trip. Before the trip, I spent one night at the Tamarack Lodge in Mammoth Lakes (8,500'), not as much acclimatization as I usually prefer.

Pictures next...

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27460 09/04/12 02:51 PM
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Alright, for those who do not want to wander through large blocks of text, here is the story in pictures!

The whole album can be seen here:

DAY 1 First view of Langley across Cottonwoods Lakes Basin



DAY 2 Climbing up to New Army Pass


DAY 2 Approach to Langley from New Army Pass



DAY 2 UH-OH!!! Rain clouds in the South (and West)



DAY 2 Langley summit plateau as seen from our descent to LSL.



DAY 2 Weather looking better as we get close to LSL



DAY 2 Trout for dinner at LSL



DAY 3 Cross country to Miter Basin



DAY 3 The Miter (we camped in the trees up on the Miter)



DAY 3 Skyblue Lake with Mt. Langley in the background



DAY 3 Looking South at Miter Basin from Skyblue Lake drainage



DAY 4 Deer (but no fish) at Upper Soldier Lake



Last edited by Steve C; 08/21/13 10:49 PM.
Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27461 09/04/12 03:03 PM
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More pics...

DAY 5: Dawn at Upper Soldier Lake


DAY 5: Up the sandy wash to the right!



DAY 5: Whitney from Langley Summit



DAY 5: The view south from the Langley summit plateau



DAY 5: Cirque Peak from Langley summit plateau



DAY 5: Descending the chute from Langley summit plateau



DAY 6: Dawn at Lower Soldier Lake



DAY 6 Nice views during a somewhat tedious hike on the Cottonwood Pass trail back to the TH.



DAY 6: Chicken Springs Lake



THE DRIVE HOME: Olmstead Point (Yosemite) at sunset


Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27463 09/04/12 07:06 PM
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Excellent trip report and awesome pictures. You already hooked me into doing Whitney from Onion valley, now this trip smile

Stalin

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27475 09/05/12 12:05 PM
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Great trip report!

I must have seen you at the summit as i was up there from about 10:30 to 11:30 on Sunday.


Thanks for sharing your trip.

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27495 09/05/12 07:58 PM
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Karin, how the hell did you get away with a 35-pound pack for a 5-day trip when I had 36 for a two-nighter on Whitney last year?! Oh, that's right - I was carrying the damn super-sized bear can filled to the brim with all of Joe Q's heavy candy . . .

Excellent TR and gorgeous photos. Really enjoyed it! Loved the "1.9" Langley spec.

So, what's left on the Fourteener list for you? I know you have Whitney, Shasta and now Langley notched. Russell and Muir before winter comes?

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Bulldog34 #27496 09/05/12 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted By: ruckustrx11


I must have seen you at the summit as i was up there from about 10:30 to 11:30 on Sunday.


Cool, small world! Were you, by any chance, with the 20 folks from Valencia? The four guys from Orange County (who brewed coffee at the summit and had pastries, too, yum!)? With the owner of the dog who climbed (not so legally) to the summit? Someone else? Was a party up there.... A great day to summit!

Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
Karin, how the hell did you get away with a 35-pound pack for a 5-day trip when I had 36 for a two-nighter on Whitney last year?! Oh, that's right - I was carrying the damn super-sized bear can filled to the brim with all of Joe Q's heavy candy . . .


Hey, I like to think of it as 6 days...! Seriously, though, for my trip earlier this year, I splurged on some high end stuff, including the Bearikade Weekender. Worth almost every dollar (worth every ounce saved, at least.) And I brought the 25 degree bag this time, instead of the 10 degree bag....

Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
So, what's left on the Fourteener list for you? I know you have Whitney, Shasta and now Langley notched. Russell and Muir before winter comes?


You are so nice to remember my California trilogy! End of the season for me, sigh, I think. Plus, no more nontechnical California 14ers left, what's a girl to do? (I did White back in 2010). Mt. Sill? Sigh. I am stymied.

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27497 09/05/12 08:49 PM
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Do you have any pictures of the drainage you took from Lower Soldier Lake to get to Sky Blue Lake? I'll be heading up that way on my way to Whitney in a about a week.

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Catalyst #27500 09/05/12 09:35 PM
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Originally Posted By: Catalyst
Do you have any pictures of the drainage you took from Lower Soldier Lake to get to Sky Blue Lake? I'll be heading up that way on my way to Whitney in a about a week.


There are several different drainages.

First, you climb a drainage to get from Lower Soldier Lake to a ridge, and then you hang a right and angle down to Rock Creek. You can either follow the drainage on the northwest side LSL up to a ridge, contour around the ridge, and as you approach the Major General, start heading down a drainage to Rock Creek (the first part of this is the yellow in the picture below). Or, folks told me that, from LSL, you can climb a drainage on the northeast side of the lake up to the Major General (the pink in the picture below; do this correctly, and you will see a tarn at the top of the ridge), and then drop down a drainage to Rock Creek. We did the former. The latter is more direct but the drainage you climb up may be more difficult. This was tough going (for me) with a backpack. (Note: the yellow and pink lines are VERY approximate as I drew them freehand, please don't rely on them!!! They just are intended to give you an idea...).


Second, you follow Rock Creek, which ultimately leads you to a vast open space with the Miter right in front of you. That's what you see in these pictures. In the first picture, we are descending to Rock Creek. We did so too quickly, and hit a class 3 scramble to get down. Better to stay closer to the rige until you are close to the Major General, then angle down the easy drainage there.

Descending to Rock Creek (we descended too soon...should have stayed higher longer)



Approaching the Miter.


Skyblue Lake is just above the saddle to the left (west) of The Miter in the picture above. You follow a creek to get there. Right before the lake, you hit granite ledges, and either go left (west) of drainage (class 2) or right (east) (class 3), depending how gung-ho you are.

Hereis a picture of the granite ledges. We followed the greenery toward the left going up. I won't even try to explain what we did going down. We did not have packs for this portion since we camped near the base of the Miter.


So that's what we did. We had fun, and we thought it was suitable for our skill level (this was my first backpacking trip to incorporate cross-country travel). But, as you know, different folks evaluate these issues differently. Which is to say, caveat emptor, use at your own risk, not responsible for errors, yada yada, make good decisions, have a great time, and be safe.


Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27501 09/05/12 11:07 PM
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I was not with any of them but i did hike next to the Orange County folk quite a bit. I was the guy that lugged the DSLR camera bag all the way up there...

It sure was a party up there.

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27506 09/06/12 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted By: Akichow
You are so nice to remember my California trilogy! End of the season for me, sigh, I think. Plus, no more nontechnical California 14ers left, what's a girl to do? (I did White back in 2010). Mt. Sill? Sigh. I am stymied.


Sounds like it's time to get technical . . .

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27666 09/12/12 08:04 AM
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Akichow,

Great trip report and fantastic pictures! It sounds like you had a wonderful time exploring the Miter Basin and its surroundings. I especially like your traverse from the tarn below Major General to Upper Soldier Lake. I'm looking forward to trying that route next time I'm there.

Thanks for pointing out the Horseshoe Meadows inset on the map.

Excellent dinner choice with the MaryJanes Organic Sweet Red Bell Pepper Pasta, BTW.

And congratulations on summiting Mount Langley! Your persistence paid off!

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Glenn #27689 09/12/12 04:53 PM
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Glenn, your posts regarding this area were invaluable. Made for some creativity when we got there, as we had expanded options based on some of your suggestions! The hike up to Langley from Upper Soldier Lake was definitely a highlight of the trip. Having now scoped out and/or hiked some of the others, I think that approach is my favorite!

I do want to go back to Miter Basin and explore some more.... Next year....

Best,

Karin

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27886 09/21/12 12:19 AM
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Nice trip report. I was in the same area a week after you. Love that area and the summer crowds dwindle after labor day. Sure was dry up there this year. Rock Creek was still going good though. Loved your pics - thanks for posting.

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27902 09/21/12 01:30 PM
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Great photos and the trip report was almost as good as being there. I've never backpacked, but might consider it, if I could eat fresh trout like the ones you caught! Nice.

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
JG1975 #27905 09/21/12 02:13 PM
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The trout was a real treat. My friend gets all the credit there. She doesn't even carry a rod ... she uses a bit of line wrapped around a plastic handheld device, and a lure. She poaches them in miso soup broth with some fresh garlic. I supplied the side dishes and enjoyed the bounty.

Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
Akichow #27906 09/21/12 02:35 PM
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Twice-poached trout?


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Mt. Langley/Miter Basin with photos (8/29-9/3)
wagga #43868 08/06/15 04:37 PM
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Nice trip report. That route from Rock Creek to Upper Boy Scout Lake sounds like a winner. I'm headed up that way this coming week. Hopefully we'll do the route via Crabtree Pass and Sky Blue Lake instead of the standard Guyot Pass route.

That's pretty awesome that your friend catches fish without using a rod. My #1 reason for not fishing on trips is that I'm not willing to carry the weight of fishing gear.

HJ


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