I was hoping to do some peakbagging: Cirque Peak, Langley, Joe Devel, and Pickering. I had done a lot of research on possible routes and approaches but planned to play it by ear. I'd never been to Cottonwood Lakes before and was pretty excited as I started to break past the treeline and into the bowl with New Army and Cirque around me, about 9:30 am.
There was a small bit of snow at the top of New Army, which I had never been up before. I could see folks struggling to descend it from the bowl below. With the direct route up Cirque going at Class I, and with almost no visible snow, and never having done the walk along the cirque's rim (would it be bad? would it be snowy?) I elected to go straight up Cirque. If the traverse was bad, at least I'd only have to do it one way, and I'd skip the snow on New Army. The ascent up Cirque was mostly stable small talus with easily avoided snow patches. I reached the summit at 10:45 am, and briefly enjoyed the view before puttering on. With no opportunities to fill up water in my near future, I wanted to move quickly.
The route along the cirque rim was completely trivial-- flat, snow-free, good views, and some cute alpine flowers.
I was eventually given a good view of the route I'd taken up Cirque. While there's no real reason to ever do this instead of going up New Army, it was fun! I'm not much of a mountaineer, but I didn't find it too hard, either. It took me a little over an hour to go from Cirque to Old Army, getting there at noon.
Old Army Pass had a small snowfield at the top, but I couldn't see further down. It didn't look so bad from the top, but I crossed it off my list of "ways to get back to my car" without more complete information (and knowing it's dicey at the best of times).
Without acclimating, I usually struggle with altitude above 12k, and noticed I was starting to feel weak, not helped by the exertion of the direct ascent. It was a hot day, and I started running low on water. I gathered some snow as a stopgap, but knew I couldn't dilly dally. My pace slowed as I made progress up Langley, and I stopped for short rests frequently. I had a difficult time following the cairns at 13.2k, as the trail headed into the steep and large talus. I made the questionable decision to head E-NE and ascent smaller talus directly, with less exposure. My route shaved off some distance, but at the cost of working a little harder. I felt as though I was making exceedingly slow progress. But after continuing to go between sandy slopes and small talus, I eventually arrived on the summit at 2:30. I took photos for a large group and they insisted on taking one for me-- I'm usually not a fan of summit photos, so it was funny to end up with one. Pictured is my terrible little doll from the PCT last year.
Feeling weak and rather thirsty, I took my steeper ascent route down Langley, wanting to stick to what I knew. The trail down to Soldier Lake is in great condition, and I was able to easily follow it as soon as I found it-- the faintest part was the alleged junction with the main Langley route.
There was a stunning little meadow with wildflowers just before Soldier Lake, and my spirits recovered from what had been a taxing stretch above treeline.
I finally took a real rest at Solider Lake, arriving at 4:30, drinking water, eating some ramen, and very bravely getting knee-deep in the lake (I am a baby with the cold and generally refuse to swim).
I was tempted to camp, but got antsy by 6, and prepared to make the traverse to upper Rock Creek around the nose of the Major General, per Secor. It was an absolutely lovely little walk, easy class 1 on big benches and slabs, before opening up into a system of large hanging meadows and tarns, connected to each other quite easily. It was great to not have to lose and gain the elevation that the trail does, here.
The absolute highlight of the trip would turn out to be wandering the headwaters of Rock Creek looking for a place to cross with dry feet. The sun was starting to get low, and the Miter Basin is stunning. I added it to my list of places to return to. I'd been told Iridescent Lake in particular was worth venturing out to.
I hadn't realized how far up Miter Basin I'd have to go to cross Rock Creek, but the easy walking and the incredibly views made the time fly by. I eventually camped halfway between Erin & Primrose lakes, at 11.2k. I was pretty wiped from the day and decided that tomorrow would depend on how I felt in the morning.
