R03 TR Cottonwood Lakes Basin 6/22 to 6/24 2021

[Bradg]

A window of time opened up for me this week, so I went on Rec.gov and to my delight there was a permit open for Cottonwood lakes. I snagged the permit on Saturday 6/19, planning to leave on the 22nd. I nervously awaited the arrival of the permit. To my surprise it arrived at 9pm on Monday the 21st. Someone was working overtime at Inyo!
Having secured the permit, I drove to Lone Pine on Tuesday. I checked on the interagency Ranger Station and found the it was open. I bought a map and chatted with the ranger at the help desk.
This is what I learned:
You can pick up your permit there
You need to do it before 10:00 am
Checking the late arrival box on request doesn’t really work
The close at 4:30, but don’t let anybody in after 4:15

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This was a view of the Inyo fire from the Ranger Station. Somewhere behind the smoke is Mount Whitney.

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This is where the road was closed at the turnoff for Horseshoe Meadows.

The fire turned out to be an non issue. It was confined to the Whitney Portal area and the smoke was also being blown away from me.

I did the white-knuckle drive to the trailhead, packed up and headed for South Fork Creek. There is a use trail that follows the Creek and drops off just east of the South Fork lakes. There is a flat area near the main trail that makes for a nice place to camp away from the road for the first night.

I had originally planned to try and make it to Miter Basin. Unfortunately, conditions and circumstances got in my way. My sleeping pad was leaking, which made for a fitful night’s sleep. I had some altitude symptoms and the wind was howling. I decide at that point to camp at Cottonwood Lake #1. I made myself as comfortable as possible with the wind and wandered around the Basin. It turned out to be a leisurely trip.

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A view towards Army Pass and Mount Langley

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Another view I took while ‘forest bathing”

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We shared the meadow

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This one too

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I’m somewhat fascinated with woodgrain. This may be an artifact of a misspent youth…

After the second night, I decided to pack up and head home. I took the regular trail rather than the use trail back to Horseshoe Meadows.

Some takeaways:
I didn’t bring my flyrod as The Basin was closed to fishing. I talked to two guys here glamping (in their words) with two mules. They said the fishing for goldens had been really good towards New Army Pass. Maybe next time I’ll bring my rod. Now that I’m retired and have more time, it feels good to be really safe. I’ve read too many S and R reports. I don’t want to be in one! A good balance for me is doing an even number of trips alone and with friends. Also, if we are in a megadrought, June seems like a great time to be in the Sierra.

Thanks everyone for everyone’s TR’s etc.

[mxoyez]

Beautiful Pictures!

[Bradg]

Thank you!

[windknot]

Thanks for the report and photos! Always nice to see this beautiful area again. The Cottonwood Lakes are going to see a surge in usage come Sept. 1 unless the fires/smoke get in the way.