Led by Alan Schimpff, Anna Baum, and Jeff Bates
By Alan Schimpff
Friday, armed with an excellent weather forecast for the trip and the need to acclimate to the high elevation of the eastern Sierra Nevada alpine terrain, my co-leader Anna Baum and I drove to the Dow Villa Hotel in Lone Pine three days before the start of this year’s mule pack to Cottonwood Lakes. My other co-leader, Jeff Bates, and my husband, Tom, followed us in another car and met us at the hotel soon after. Having been postponed twice before – due to COVID in 2022 and Hurricane Hillary in 2023 – we were looking forward to this trip after (literally) years of planning.
We did three hikes on that day and the following days. The first was a short hike up the Cottonwood Pass trail for a couple of hours, primarily to spend time at elevation above 9000 feet. The next day, we took the Cottonwood Lakes trail to check the trail conditions, after which we stopped by the pack station to make sure all was in good order for this year’s trip. The third hike started at Onion Flats heading up towards Kearsage Pass.
On Sunday at 7 a.m., after dropping off our individual and group gear (which came in at 750 lbs), we started our hike to Cottonwood Lakes. We took our time with lots of rest stops taking many photos along the way. The hike was just over five miles and a thousand feet of gain to the lakes at 11,100’.
We camped between Cottonwood Lake #3 and the unnamed body of water with views of Mt Langley. We have camped at this same site on past mule packs. The site has numerous choices for pitching tents and has a large open area to accommodate a group kitchen and dining area.
We had nine people on the trip, but one had to exit that evening because of smoke from a fire in the Western Sierra that impacted their oxygen level.
On Monday, most of the group hiked to Cirque Lake with views of the South Fork Lakes and passing by lush green meadows.
Tuesday, five of us started off with the intention of finding Lake #6. But as we reached Lake #4, we decided to check out the trail going up Old Army Pass (12,000’), where we spotted a hiker halfway down from the top. Seeing he seemed to have very little difficulty going down to the lake level, we decided to go up the New Army Pass trail to have a closer look and ask him what the trail conditions were like. We eventually decided to go up all the way to the top of Old Army Pass. Although unmaintained, the trail was totally free of snow which made for a relatively easy hike.
Once we got to the top, we saw panoramic views below of Lakes #4 & #5, but no sight of Lake #6. From Old Army Pass, we decided to hike up to the top of New Army Pass (12,300’), which we then took down to get back to our camp.
Wednesday, three hikers summited Mt Langley (14,030’) taking the trail up Old Army Pass, while I and one other hiker went to Lake #6 (11,600’), Hidden Lake (10,900’), and Muir Lake (11,140’).
Thursday was a lazy day for most, finding a swimming spot, a place enjoy the sun, or a short hike. We also had an early dinner and got a start on packing up gear that would not be needed in the morning.
Friday after breakfast, we finished breaking down our camp and staged our gear for the wranglers to pick up. Unfortunately, George, while breaking down his tent, tripped on a tent guy wire and sprained his left wrist. Tan and Jackie did a great job in wrapping his hand to immobilize the joint. That, a sling, and soaking the wrist in the ice-cold water of each creek we passed, helped greatly to reduce the inflammation on his hike back. By 10 a.m., we were on the trail heading back to our cars.
All in all, a wonderful week with good friends spent in one of the most scenic basins in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. We look forward to another high Sierra mule pack next year.
Haute elevation cuisine at Cottonwood Lake #3
We enjoyed delicious potluck dinners prepared by the group: “make your own” quesadillas, a bean chili with vegetarian chicken, a pesto pasta meal with vegetarian meatballs, a steamed rice dish packed with fresh vegetables with a stir-fried chicken/tofu side, and for the last night – leftovers. Hearty and delicious appetizers were provided by participants.
Also read Tan’s article about some unexpected events on this trip.
