Mt Whitney Webcam
Mt Williamson Webcam
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 155 guests, and 16 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Cottonwood lakes
#5827 07/07/10 01:34 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 13
A
Arne Offline OP
OP Offline
A
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 13
After getting acclimated, how hard of a hike is it to Cottonwood Lakes for a person who has not backpacked in quite some time?


Arne

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". John Lennon
Re: Cottonwood lakes
Arne #5832 07/07/10 02:29 PM
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,256
Likes: 2
Offline
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,256
Likes: 2
Arne, I did that route as my first pre-Whitney acclimation hike last August, and it's not too bad. It's only about 1000 feet of elevation gain, and there are no really steep areas to negotiate, but no matter how you slice it you're still hiking from a 10K' trailhead up to 11K'. If you're acclimated, it shouldn't be tough at all.

I had not acclimated before heading for the trailhead for that first hike, so that slowed me down some. Flew from Atlanta to Vegas the day before, then drove from Vegas to Lone Pine. Checked into my hotel about 8 pm and was at Horseshoe Meadow at 7 am the next morning. Not the best way to start acclimating to 10K', but I was pressed for time. I'm sure if I had spent the night before at 8K', it would have been a lot easier. I had a mild headache most of the hike, but nothing more. I went back the next day and hiked the Cottonwood Pass trail - a tougher hike - and pretty much breezed through it.

If you're not familiar with the trails out of Horseshoe Meadow, be warned - the first mile or two is in ridiculously soft sand and takes a helluva lot more energy for each step than most places you might hike. I thought I was at a 2-mile high beach. Once you start climbing out of the meadow, though, the trails firm up a bit.

Re: Cottonwood lakes
Arne #5834 07/07/10 02:32 PM
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 8,505
Likes: 103
S
Offline
S
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 8,505
Likes: 103
Cottonwood Lakes is a moderately easy backpack or dayhike. Only about 1200 feet of gain over about 6 miles. Most people can go in the first day without any acclimation.

Heres a nice map of the area:
        Cottonwood Lakes on MyTopo/Postholer

Re: Cottonwood lakes
Steve C #5847 07/07/10 07:40 PM
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,253
W
Offline
W
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,253
I use the South Fork Trail rather than ultra sandy roller coaster ride. This trail is shown on the information board at the trailhead but not on any map I know of.

You pick this trail about 180' beyond the S.F. of Cottonwood Creek Crossing. It more or less follows the S.F. to South Fork Lakes. The only pain is the climb to the South Fork Lakes...this will get your attention. You lose the sand, manure and people.

Last edited by wbtravis; 07/08/10 06:54 AM.
Re: Cottonwood lakes
Arne #5948 07/13/10 10:13 AM
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 7
M
Offline
M
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 7
Just got back from there... 6 miles, 2.5 hours! Not difficult at all. The mosquitoes were bad at the lake though, bring repellent.

If you take the trail right by the bathrooms, there is not much sand at all, maybe a 1/4 mile.

Re: Cottonwood lakes
Bulldog34 #6077 07/16/10 12:09 PM
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 5
L
Offline
L
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 5
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34


If you're not familiar with the trails out of Horseshoe Meadow, be warned - the first mile or two is in ridiculously soft sand and takes a helluva lot more energy for each step than most places you might hike. I thought I was at a 2-mile high beach. Once you start climbing out of the meadow, though, the trails firm up a bit.


Funny you mentioned this, as this was exactly why I was looking for an alternative to Cottonwood Lakes this year! But doesn't seem to be anything else that allows you to hike to 11K without much elevation gain - at least nothing within an hour's drive of Lone Pine.

Re: Cottonwood lakes
Laura C #6114 07/18/10 08:05 AM
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,253
W
Offline
W
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,253
Originally Posted By: Laura C


Funny you mentioned this, as this was exactly why I was looking for an alternative to Cottonwood Lakes this year! But doesn't seem to be anything else that allows you to hike to 11K without much elevation gain - at least nothing within an hour's drive of Lone Pine.


I mentioned the alternative to the CL/NAP Trail in an earlier post. We utilize the South Fork Trail for reasons you state.

Many trailwalkers get spooked by a hike that forces them out of cruise control. This is not one of them. The trail is established all the way into South Fork and Cottonwood Lakes Basins.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.4
(Release build 20200307)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.4.33 Page Time: 0.042s Queries: 28 (0.035s) Memory: 0.6039 MB (Peak: 0.6712 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-03-28 23:30:55 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS