Cottonwood Pass to Whitney. Check this out!

“Here is a great site that shows the Cottonwood Pass trail we will hike on towards Mt. Whitney. You can?t afford to miss these pictures. We is gonna have fun!!!!

http://www.sierra-trails.com/whitney/whitney01.htm


And the main page with lots of Sierra information and pictures is of course
http://www.sierra-trails.com/”

“There are roughly 60 high quality pictures in this trail report. It takes about an hour to go through the "hike" but well worth it.”

“Thanks solitary. Great web site!”

“What a awesome job on this trip report. Noticed the "Ursak" in the camp shot. Did'nt read the whole thing yet to see if they had problems with them.”

“It is a good site, I've been visiting it for a couple years or more. For good reading and some carnage read the Circle the Cirque Crest issue.”

“thanks sol.......looks like we are headed to magnificent grounds.............now how can i wait?”

“Thanks, sol, that's a great website that I have visited before but I hadn't seen the update of this trip report. Good to know that DD is back on his feet after his accident in the Muro Blanco. Although at one point in the Whitney trip, he describes running or skipping downhill through a meadow from the sheer pleasure of it and I thought to myself "no wonder you broke your leg in the Muro Blanco, you idiot!" -- though I know he was doing nothing like that at the time, it's hard to believe it's the same guy!

I'm a little disappointed by how quickly he blew through this area. He missed out on some of the pleasures of the area that we will have time to savor. I did derive some useful information from his description of Mt. Langley (even though he skipped the summit), and appreciated his thoughts on Old Army Pass though I'm convinced he exaggerated the danger (and he was there much earlier in the season than we will be).

So, Sol, did the replies and comments on the Yahoo boards about bears being seen as high as Sky Blue Lake convince you that you'll need a cannister in Miter Basin?”

“I'll definitely buy a bear canister if Phil can get me a good deal on one. Did you get to the part of the return hike when DD tells us that there is a bear box and good camp sites on the east side of Soldier Lake? This is good news because if I spend the second night there I'll need a place to put some of my food. I don't think I could be 10 days worth of food in a regular sized canister.”

“Yes, I saw the box at Lower Soldier Lake. There is also reportedly a box a little downstream at Rock Creek Lake, though I didn't see it. This is probably the better launching point for Miter Basin (you just follow Rock Creek upstream, rather than trying to get over the ridge above L Soldier Lake) anyway.

Agree you'll never get ten days of food into one regular cannister. Personally, I was assuming that I'll be able to fit it all in by the time I split from the llamas, but if you're still planning to go straight to Miter (have you gotten a separate permit, btw?) then leaving your overflow in one of these boxes is a good idea.”

“I'm going to get a permit when we pass through Lone Pine.

I'm hoping that by the time I get to Sky Blue Lake there will be no bears and I'll have one less day's supply of food. If it's neccessary to leave some food outside the canister It'll be the non-essentials.

Now who is going with me up into God's country?”

“Hey Dunk!! Where ya been brother? You need to come on down Mel's way in July and go hikin with us. We'll keep a beer cold for you.”

“Sol, it's all in the timing. Originally I was intending to be in the same area and possibly crossing paths on the way in while y'all were on the way out but that fell through. Vacation time is too valuable to not maximize it, so all my extended vacations are monday-friday so I can get nine days in, or 5 days = 9 days. As it works out now I'll be spendin' vacation in the Marbles. If you got time after climbing Whitney swing on up to NorCal.

As far as the Murro Blanco goes, I sweated, I cursed, I bled, I crawled, I fell, I severely sprained my ankle, I lost gear, I fell in the river with a full pack on....twice, once completely "DUNK"ing myself underwater and it took 2 loooonnng days + to descend 10 miles.”

“Sol..if you come down 395 past the Mono Lake visitor center(last year)a bear canister could be rented for $7 and taken back whenever at trips end.”

“Sol, mail in for your permit now. They are too hard to come by at the last minute.”