TR: Chicken Spring L> Soldier L> Miter Basin> New Army Pass> South Fork Lakes 5/23 to 5/29/21

[ChuckSten]

Loop trip: 23.7 backpacking miles.

Cottonwood Pass Campground, Cottonwood Pass, Pacific Crest Trail, Chicken Spring Lake, Lower Soldier Lake, Miter Basin, New Army Pass, South Fork Lakes, South Fork Trail, Cottonwood Pass Campground.

5/23/2021, Driving on Sunday morning from San Diego to Lone Pine is a pleasant way to avoid the traffic. The Horseshoe Meadow Road, all by itself, is worth the trip – one of the most spectacular mountain roads in the world. Presumably because of the bad weather that ended that afternoon, the Cottonwood Pass Campground was practically empty.

5/24, In beautiful sunshine, the five of us backpacked uneventfully to Chicken Spring Lake. We encountered no people until we saw the crowds heading north on the PCT.

5/25, A scenic 6.0 miles, with grand views to the west, brought us to Lower Soldier Lake, where there were only small, isolated patches of snow. But few wildflowers.

5/26, On a day hike, we took the common short-cut from the NE corner of Soldier Lake into Miter Basin. Words cannot describe the magnificence. As far as we could tell, we were the only ones in the whole basin. Some of us reached Sky Blue Lake and Iridescent Lake. On the way back we followed the use trail alongside Rock Creek until it hit the proper Rock Creek trail. From the lack of footprints and the loose pinecones on the trail, it appeared that we were one of the first parties to hike the use trail this season. In the meadow along the way, we saw ten bighorn sheep. Easy going everywhere.

5/27, The toughest day was the slog up the NW side of New Army Pass, 12,300 ft. It was reasonable to assume that there would be water in this large drainage, but there was none -- only small, scattered amounts of snow. Welcome to the severe drought! Three of us attempted Langley via the new cairns, but only one had enough conditioning to make it.

The steep snow on the southeast side of the very summit of NAP was a puzzle because it had been reported as snow free. We expected at least a trail of boot tracks to mark the route, but there did not appear to be any within the last day. The work-around route to the northeast side of the summit was not obvious from the top. In the early afternoon, the 20 feet of steep snow which need to be crossed was soft and post-holed deeply. Traction devices were not necessary at that time. I must admit that as someone who has not walked on much snow for years, the big exposure and the long, dreadful runout were scary.

Question: was all this new snow?

We headed for a campsite on the southeastern-most lake of the South Fork Lakes (11,012). However, we were not prepared for the enormous boulder field that blocks a direct cross-country route. And so we had to take the trails clockwise around, via Lakes One and Two.
We had a photogenic view from the fine campsite above the south shore (on the Cirque Lake Trail) . Not a single person was visible in almost two days. There was a delightful herd of nine bighorn sheep.

5/29, Walking out on Memorial Day weekend, we experienced the justifiable popularity of Cottonwood Lakes.

As in successful generals, a characteristic of successful backpackers is simply good luck. We certainly had good luck: perfect weather, no mosquitos, easy stream crossings, dry trails, no interfering snow cover, mild temperatures, and not least, solitude. In May in the High Sierra!

[tweederjohnson]

Thanks for the report! I'm envious of your Bighorn sightings (on two separate occasions!) -- something I've yet to experience but really hope to someday.

[astrogerly]

Nice report! Hoping the snow at the very top of New Army is a bit more melted out now - heading over tomorrow for Miter. Pretty sure I ran into y’all on your hike out... I was day hiking solo up the South Fork trail while my husband was trail running around Big Whitney Meadow. Saw the herd of bighorn sheep at South Fork too. Pretty cool as we’d not seen any since our trip to Miter two years ago.

[stevet]

Nice report. I so wish I lived close to the Sierra and could enjoy early season hikes.

And arrgh! A month from now, when I get there, there will have been and will be so many people the bighorns will be long gone. What a treat for you.