Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Backpacking plans, 8/27-29

My wife's work schedule is about to change, so this upcoming weekend will be one of my last chances to get out for an overnighter (otherwise I would just put the trip off).

Here is our plan:

Thurs night, after work: Drive straight up to Horseshoe Meadows, park the van, sleep in the back.
Fri Morn: Head to Ranger Station. Try to pick up walk-ins for Cottonwood Lakes. Eat breakfast, head up to the trail head and hike.
Fri Aft: Camp at lake 3.
Sat: early morning Langley summit via OAP. pack out that afternoon and head home.

With the smoke, I am looking at backup plans. My backup right now is the backpacking the Saddlebag/Conness Lakes area and hiking North Peak.

My friend suggested hiking out of Bridgeport. Does anyone have suggested routes for that area? Looking for Class 1 or 2, peaks, mountain passes and alpine lakes are preferred.

I'm curious as well to see any ideas here. I'm planning to head to HM tomorrow after work with my 6-year old for a night or two at Cottonwood Lakes. If the smoke holds off, we might pass each other on the trail!

RenoFrank had mentioned Saddlebag Lakes but said it was a high sun-exposure spot, which doesn't necessarily excite me. Anything up in the Bridgeport area could be interesting, but I've not explored that area at all in the past, so I'm curious to see what recommendations you get!

I've been through Bridgeport a few times, and it's always a treat to drive through. The Sierra and the Sawtooth Ridge to the sw are beautiful. My family camped at Twin Lakes when I was a kid (lots of people fish there), and we hiked a lot of the surrounding places. Not many trails, though.

I also once made a x-country week long backpack from Twin Lakes to Matterhorn Pk, and finished at Tuolumne Meadows. (First experience with AMS!) That was a great trip, but it mostly was cross-country off trail.

I have NOT hiked the trails out of the upper end of Twin Lakes, (map) but it looks like the hike up to Peeler Lake would be good, with a nice loop trail around Crown Point. It crosses into the northern reaches of Yosemite National Park.

While you are looking around, check out the Green Lakes trail head, the next canyon S of Bridgeport. I've never been there, but the number of lakes makes that trail look quite inviting.

The climb up Matterhorn Peak via Horse Creek Canyon and Horse Creek Pass from Twin Lakes is a real treat. It's what Jack Kerouac wrote about in The Dharma Bums. Along the way, there are several recognizable landmarks from the book. When I did it, we took it real easy and spent extra time, making it a four-day trip. But in the book they did it in an overnight, as you planned for Mount Langley, and I can see how it would be similar in terms of difficulty and effort.