Reading Paul Richens 2nd edition book and his Route 10 new army pass route looks very interesting w/ a lot of lakes - but a fair amount of "cross country" hiking. Anyone familiar w/ this route? Thoughts? I'm putting together a group of three or four to try and hike Whitney this coming August and we will all be first time Whitney hikers with rusty multi-day hiking skills. The route is:
Horshoe Meadow to High Lake 6mi
High lake to New Army Pass - Red Saddle - Rock Creek - Sky-blue lake 11.8mi (mainly cross country)
ski-blue lake - crabtree pass - uppger crabtree lake - crabtree meadow/JMT - Guitar lake 5.8mi (lot of cross country)
Guitar lake - Whitney trail - Summit - Trail Camp 10.1mi
Trail camp - whitney portal 6.3mi

Its 36.9mi total over four to six days (five in his example) and looks very interesting but the x-c mileage makes me a bit nervous. Sounds like it is reasonably traveled, but I'm looking for some feedback on this route and appreciate your comments.

-cjd

There are several here that can answer your questions very well regarding New Army Pass to Whitney.BobR, Laura AKA MooseTracks,WBTravis,SteveC,are very knowledgedable as well as many others. One or all of these peeps should give you all the beta you need.I unfortunately am not the one to answer this question.

Hi CJ, I haven't hiked that entire loop, but I've been into Cottonwood Lakes several times. You might consider staying a little lower the first night, maybe at Long Lake. Staying a little lower will help with the acclimation.

And your second day with almost 12 miles, half of that cross country looks ambitious. But then, you could camp anywhere along Rock Creek, so if you don't make Sky Blue Lake, it wouldn't be bad. Once over Crabtree pass, it should be an easy cruise to Guitar Lake.

By the fourth day, you would be pretty well acclimated, so the trip to the Whitney summit ought to be just fine.

RoguePhotonic's photo from Langley toward Mt. Newcomb (upper left) shows Sky Blue Lake (lower left) and Lk 3697M (12129ft) (upper right) which is just south of Crabtree Pass. Crabtree Pass is on the right edge, behind the peak/ridge at the upper right edge.

Here's his picture:


It looks like a sweet adventure. Just make sure you and your your "rusty" companions don't pack too heavy, or the altitude and exhaustion will ruin the fun. Read the Lightest weight hiking gear thread for ideas.

It's not difficult to get to High Lake in one day with an early start in the summer, so you might want to look at going over New Army Pass in one day and then to Soldier Lake or Rock Creek to sleep the first night - that would make Day 2 shorter. I've been up to Sky Blue Lake - travel is easy through Miter Basin to Sky Blue Lake - there's a use trail you can follow. Miter Basin is beautiful:



Sky Blue Lake is beautiful too.

I have not gone over Crabtree Pass - I went up to Arc Pass/Mount Irvine on my trip to Miter Basin, but I'd like to go back and go over Crabtree Pass.

This area is on my to do list! I remember the first time I saw the Miter Basin from Langley. I need to get back there.