Sierras TR - Cottonwood Lakes *PICS*

“A late flight arrival forced us to leave San Diego at around 1:30am Friday. We drove through the night and arrived in Lone Pine shortly after dawn, where our permit was waiting in the Ranger's office drop box. We headed out the Whitney Portal Rd and up the Horseshoe Meadows grade, and we were at the trailhead parking lot by 8:30am. We were well ahead of shedule but well behind on sleep, and we should have picked up breakfast in Lone Pine. A breakfast burrito, a burger, anything would have been better than what we ate, which was nothing. Mistake #1.

We kicked around the idea of snoozing at the trailhead but being in the 10k+ elevation air gave us a sense of renewed vigor despite our total lack of rest. Megadeth had accompanied us up the grade, so we were extra amped. Sleep was not an option. Mistake #2. No rest, no fuel, no acclimation, just charge it. Bone heads. So Mike, Eric and I geared up and set out.

(From left: Eric, Mike, Chris)


The first half of the day went well. We had opted to take the back way in, approaching the South Fork Lakes region from the South and then into the Cottonwoods. It was a very interesting and scenic route, the views of Cirque Peak and her siblings were stellar.


Most opt for the usual route and we consequently didnt encounter another soul on our entry. It was great, but it required more time and energy than the usual route would have taken, so there was a price for the beautified solitude.



We had intended to spend the 1st night at one of the South Fork Lakes. As we approached SFL1 we decided to try a short cut that Mike had read about. This included skirting the marshy terrain on the North side of the lake and following a lightly used trail up to Long Lake. We encountered a barrier of boulders that we compared to the badlands of the Anza Borrego Desert. By this time we were very low on energy and boulder hopping with our packs seemed like a bad idea. Additionally Eric has begun to show signs that his body was not agreeing well with the increasing elevation. Mike and I de-packed and scouted the "badlands" to see if there was a reasonable path through or around the rock-strewn landscape that lay between us and our now much-desired camp. There wasnt.
(South Fork Lake 1)



An hour and some backtracking later (nice shortcut Mike) we trudged into a servicable campsite between Cottonwood 1 & 2. Our first night was odd; a mixture of enjoyment of our surroundings, elation at being at a camp after a very hard day, and sheer exhaustion. It wasnt quite dark after dinner so I attempted to wet a line. One snag was all it took to trumpet to me that more than anything I needed sleep.

So we slept. Tomorrow we were planning a short pack to a more suitable campsite, strategically positioning ourselves between lakes 3, 4 and 5 for an easy day of fishing.

The next morning broke to clear skies - and high winds. Mike didnt sleep well, and Eric's body continued to protest the mixture of increasing elevation and hard work. I didnt sleep nearly as well as I should have given my level of exhaustion, but I felt pretty good. It was supposed to be a good day, and I was gonna start it that way. The landscape was incredibly beautiful: glaciated basins and avenues riddled with shattered granite and ice cold lakes, super-blue skies interrupted by stubborn snow crusted peaks and ridges stabbing toward the heavens. Stunted but rugged and hearty trees scattered in patches throughout the maze of geology.

As we made our way to camp 2 the wind increased. We found a very nice camp site with an abundance of flat ground and wind protection. Setting up camp was the first order of business, and it was seen to. When I headed to lake 4 Mike was fiddling with gear and Eric was curled up in a ball sucking his thumb. Well, not really but he was feeling worse than ever. They both took naps.
(view of CWL4 from near camp 2)


The lakes were extremely windy. I fought to get a decent lure presentation all stinkin day, using #6 and #9 Panther Martins. I had hear good things about lake 5, and there was a chance that a friend would be up there fishing today on a trip of his own, so after an hour or so of slowly making my way around the NW portion of lake 4 I headed up into the upper basin.
(waterfall leading from CWL4 to CWL5 upper basin)


Lake 5 was whitecapping. I stayed for about 30 minutes, trying to salvage casts between lulls in the gusty conditions. It was the kind of conditions that you wouldnt even consider fishing in if you were anywhere else. I was determined to avoid a skunk. I was in the friggin Sierras for cryin out loud! Icy winds screamed down the steep face of the snow lined ridge leading to Cirque Peak. Lake 5 had defeated me.

I headed back to camp to see how my compadres were faring. Eric was lounging in his hastily pitched tent, Mike agreed to come down to the lake and fish + make water. I had discovered a small cove that afforded some wind protection, and patience usually yeilded some intermittant calm conditions. I snagged one 8" golden, on a gold kastmaster. This would prove to be the only fish of the trip. Seasoned and fryed in olive oil, served with instant rice and soy sauce, this was by far my best meal of the trip.


That night the wind reached new heights. Eric's cabelas XPG-1 tent would have done better had he staked out the fly. Mike's ultralight tarp tent flapped furiously until about 3am when a guyline snapped, and it got worse (you ultralighters are nuts). My MSR Hubba was rock solid, and my BA Lost Ranger with my Exped Downmat7 kept me very warm. They were somewhere below comfortable, I was very comfortable.

Sunday broke to no relief from the wind. Eric was still not feeling well. As our resident photographer it was all he could do on this trip to muster the energy to snap shots. Mike and I consulted about our options. It boiled down to this: the wind was NOT cooperating, making it extremely difficult to do anything enjoyable, and Eric had been miserable since we passed 10,500k. Although we had planned a second full day in what was to be this golden trout wonderland, we chose to begin moving downhill and see how the wind - and Eric - responded. By the time we had come down to comfortable elevations we had knocked ourselves out of the prime areas. It was now official, the trip was being cut short. From the open discussion that lead to this admission to the trailhead was about an hour.

This trip was designed as a precursor to 7 days in the backcountry of Yosemite next year. Our primary goal was to assess our bodies and our gear on this short trip in order to avoid trip ending negligence on our Yosemite trip. My main gear performed flawlessly, I perhaps have a few nick-nack items to upgrade. Eric has a little gear to replace, he really needs to carry less weight. Mike has a lot of gear to replace, ultralight and cold/windy/ice-forming-in-the-middle-of-the-night conditions dont mix well.

We now know that Eric's body doenst like elevations approaching 11k', but does fine around 10k'. My body did great at all elevations we hit, as did Mike's. We now know to plot our Yosemite course with elevation caps of 9k' to be safe, with perhaps short jaunts bringing us to or slightly above 10k'.

From a backpackers perspective it was an incredible trip, I absolutely loved it. We accomplished exactly what we set out to accomplish, and had a marvelous time in the process. From an anglers perspective it was a train wreck. Granted Mike and Eric are not anglers, and only brought gear because we expected the fishing to be good at least. The fishing was a let down. Never the less, I had an icredible time and I have every intention to return to Cottonwood Lakes in the future
last edited: 10/14/05 12:18:54 PM”

“Thanks for your TR!!!! That really made me relive the trip Gemini and I took. We were in that same location earlier this year in June. We made it a dayhike to Cottonwood Lakes but didn't have the greenery that you guys had though. When we got up to the lakes area, there was many feet of snow yet. We traipsed around lakes 1, 2 and 3 before heading back down to Horseshoe Meadows as it got dark. It really sucked for a while up there because we often would break through the snow and sink in up to our thighs. Underneath the snow was many inches of ice cold water, which sometimes went over the tops of our boots and soaked us. It was not pleasant at the point. (Can you say F**K?)

But what a beautiful area, huh? I wanna go back!”

“Thanks for sharing the nice TR and Photos. Too bad the fishing wasn't better but at least you fished. I just carry the equiptment and look at the lakes go by.8).”

“sounds like a great trip. Nice pic's. Altitude is funny. Consider Diamox next time, stay hydrated and rested also. Climb high sleep low.”

“Thanks for TR. Too bad the winds didn't cooperate but that's fall in the Sierra. So what route do you have planned for Yosemite next year?”

“Hey CBat! Long time! Really cool report and nicely done. Glad to see you around. Photos came out great, too. Thanks for the super effort!”

“Wow, great pics! Love the TR.”

“So what route do you have planned for Yosemite next year?”
Pantscandy
10:07:21 PM
10/15/05

We havent settled on a route yet. We need to agree on where we will fly into (Reno vs San Jose) and then plot our course from there. "Climb high sleep low", good advice. We intend to follow that plan next time. My body seemed to do fine as long as I took it easy and drank plenty of water, but from what I hear altitude sickness is one of those "you never know" things, like sea sickness. Not having a problem on one or multiple trips does not ensure that you wont have a problem in the future.

Looking forward to Yosemite, suggestions would be welcome.”

“One more thing that I forgot to mention. This was my first trip using trekking poles. Too many times I had heard other backpackers swear by them, claim they wouldnt take a trip without them. I felt like I had to give them a shot. After one trip I am totally sold on them (I was sold within the first couple hours, after getting a rythm). I really felt like they helped distribute the strain on my body and significantly increased my endurance and stamina, particularly in my legs. Im now among those that wouldnt take a trip without them.”

“c bat-
Nice report! The fishing seems to be better in early summer, but I can't be too sure of that, as fishing in the Sierra is relatively new to me (originally east coast bay fishing). Kastmaster- gold- my fav so far. It doesn't surprise me that you caught your dinner on one! Those lakes are pretty popular and probably overfished (though probably overstocked, too!) Try getting into the back country and try again.
Sounded like you all learned alot- good idea to test your gear and altitude "levels". Ditto on the trekking poles. I've learned that sleep and food, although especially sleep, really makes a huge difference in my abilities and strength.
Anyway, great report and pics, thanks for posting.
Hike on!”

“Great TR and pics! Thanks for sharing.”