High Sierra Topix

Hortense Lakes from Coldwater Trailhead
Sept. 23-28, 2024 (6 days, 40.6 miles)

This trip was basically an in-and-out to Hortense Lakes. I debated if I should loop from McGee Trailhead or Coldwater. McGee Pass was a bit shorter, but Duck Pass was a slam-dunk exit pass that could be done in any weather. I permitted to exit via Deer Lakes if weather held and I did not want to repeat Duck Pass. I am not sure how I got the permit, because I accidently put September 22 as the start date, when I applied 7PM on September 22. Once I realized the mistake, I never figured out how to change it. So I went with what I had, and thankfully never got asked to show the permit. My only regret was that on Day4 I had enough food to add a day and camp at Tully Lake to day-hike to Red and White Lake or Cecil Lake and Ice Lake.

Day1. 9/23: Coldwater TH to Pika Lake (10535) via Duck Pass, plus drive
(4.4 miles, 3.3 hours, 1735 feet elevation gain, 355 feet loss)

I left town about 7AM and left the Coldwater trailhead about noon. There were tons of day-hikers and dads with kids on their way up the trail. I leap-frogged with a father and son; we both reached Pika Lake a bit after 3PM. The well-maintained trail was very dusty and it was quite warm but with a pleasant breeze. When I reached Pika Lake a group was also looking for campsites. I did not talk to them so do not know if they were on their way in or out. I went half-way down the north shore and set up in the trees at a large established site with evidence of horse use in the past. There actually are pikas at Pika Lake!

By the time I completed all my camp chores, I lacked energy to put the fishing gear together. A few of the others were fishing with no luck. Instead I walked around taking photos. Sitting on a rock, out of the wind, I cooked dinner. Shade spread to my campsite as I ate my desert square of chocolate at 6PM. It immediately became cold so I retreated into the tent for a long night. I was startled by what I thought was a bird or animal, only to realize it was the tent flapping in the wind. Due to various new and old injuries I slept poorly with aches and pains which fortunately subsided by midnight. Everyone was quiet, probably as tired as I was.

Day2. 9/24: Pika Lake to mid-east shore of Lake Virginia (10340)
(8.3 miles, 5.9 hours, 1745 feet elevation gain/ 1710 feet loss)

I awoke about 4AM, tossed and turned, and at 6AM it was barely getting light. I got up at simply because I could not stand to be in the tent anymore, bundled up in everything, and left at 8:10AM just as the sun was hitting Duck Lake. I was only going to Virginia Lake so did not to leave so early but I was happy to have more daylight when I got there.



I was the only one on the trail, even on the PCT. I ate lunch at Purple Lake and up to the little pass. I walked to mid-west shore of Lake Virginia and spent some time looking over campsites. I just did not like them. So I went back to the inlet, hopped across the rocks and up the trail a ways before following a use-trail to the pond just above mid-southeast shore where there was a large but beautiful horse camp. The pond water was a bit questionable, so I dropped down to Lake Virginia and found a nice but tight campsite nestled in trees, barely legal distance from the lake. It was only 1:30PM. I set up, took a bath, and then fished up and down the shore for about an hour, without luck. Back at camp I walked up to the pond which was great for photos.

I started cooking about 5PM and watched a nice sunset. I thought I heard voices from the opposite shore but soon it was very quiet. Shadows hit a bit after 6PM and again I crawled into the tent about 6:30 for another boring, achy night. I did sleep a bit better than the previous night. The wind subsided and it was quite cold. I forgot to bring my little thermometer this trip so cannot say how cold, except there was frost the next morning.

Day3. 9/25: Lake Virginia to Hortense Lakes (10340) via Tully Lake
(7.2 miles, 6.1 hours, 1600 feet gain/ 1595 feet loss)

I got up a bit after 6AM. It is always a guess as to where the sun will rise over the ridges. The opposite shore stayed in shadows while my side thankfully had sunlight by 7AM. Light hit the horse camp above me even earlier. I left at 8AM, returned to the PCT and reached Tully Hole at 8:40AM. I was happy to find that there were two good water sources along the switchbacks down. Below the horse crossing, I found a log crossing, that required sitting down to get off as my feet were still off the ground; I do not think I could get up on that log so likely would wade at the horse crossing returning. Tully Hole was beautiful in bright yellows and oranges.


Now on the McGee Pass Trail, Fish Creek was a mix of steep canyons and beautiful meadows. There was not a bug in sight! Most of the summer Horse Heaven is a swamp full of mosquitoes. The crossing, which I had only waded before, now was an easy rock-hop. The sound of Fish Creek flowing and the waterfalls was a delight to hear since so many streams were barely flowing. You can reach Hortense Lakes by three routes; 1) off-trail directly from Tully Hole, 2) via Ropers High Route to Izaak Walton Lake from Horse Heaven, or 3) the trail to Tully Lake and then off-trail a bit over two miles to the isthmus between the Hortense Lakes. My plan was to go up via Tully Lake and come down the direct off-trail route to Tully Hole.

In my opinion, the McGee Pass Trail up Fish Creek is very scenic and worth the extra miles. It is well maintained and you get wonderful views to the south towards the bench that contains Hortense Lakes. Just before going up the switchbacks at the far end of Horse Heaven, there is an established campsite where you can get water from Fish Creek. I counted nine switchbacks with long, low angle trail sections between. These are not all shown on the map. Although the trail is well maintained, the slope down to far-below Fish Creek is steep. I sure would not want to be on a horse! Once up the switchbacks, I noticed a trail sign to Lee, Cecil and Ice Lakes; I did not see this sign last time I walked this trail. I also saw the McGee Pass- Tully Lake junction sign which I missed before. Both signs looked fairly new or perhaps cleaned up so you could easily read them.




I reached beautiful Tully Lake (10470) and ate lunch at 11AM. I was so tempted to camp there. Tully Lake was one of the few lakes where I saw plenty of fish that were within my casting distance, even if they were small. I had been from Tully Lake to Izaak Walton Lake many times and still messed up the descent down to Izaak Walton. I find it much easier to find the route going up. I took another break and found my previous route to Mace Lake that goes up and through a gunsight notch to a beautiful little grassy stream. I had day-hiked down to the south end of the upper Hortense Lake before. This year there was a low-angle snowfield that I thought would be easy to cross but it was very icy. I was glad to get off of it! Then there was a faint use-trail along the southwest shore to the isthmus where I spent nearly a half hour finding several campsites, two good ones. At 1:30PM I chose the site mid-way, and set up on a grassy flat next to a rock wall and below a sandy campsite that was too windy for my taste. The weather was perfect; the sky was clear and bright blue. I set up, gathered water, bathed, photographed and explored. About 4PM I fished, not seeing a rise at all. There were a few rises next morning, way out in the middle of the upper lake.

Shadows started to creep towards me and the wind picked up. I moved cooking dinner to a more sheltered location and put on my down jacket. When the meal was cooked I moved out into the last sunlight to eat. A flock of ducks zoomed overhead and flew over the lower lake. After dinner there was enough time to briefly walk up to the ridge to the northeast where the sun still shone. On the map the ridge looks like one could walk it easily; in reality it is jumble of huge rocks, trees and brush. I looked over the cliffs down to Horse Heaven! Back at camp in the shadows it became cold so I retreated into the tent. I slept pretty good but being out in the open instead of nestled in trees, it quickly became cold. The humidity was so low that in spite of being on grass I did not have any condensation on the tent. I actually never packed a damp tent the entire trip. A crescent moon rose. Again, I did not see or hear a single person; it felt very empty, peaceful and quiet.

Day4. 9/26: Hortense Lakes to Glennette Lake (10730)
(9.1 miles, 7.2 hours, 2095 feet gain, 1665 feet loss)

I had planned to drop down off-trail to Tully Hole but getting to the northwest side of the lower lake would not be easy. I never have liked the High Route from Izaak Walton to Horse Heaven. I tossed options in my head all night and decided to simply return the way I came from Lake Virginia and then off-trail to Ram Lake.. It was very cold with frost on the ground and I could hardly get out of my warm sleeping bag. Adding morning photographing and I did not get going until 8:45AM.



I made better time going back to Tully Lake, this time finding the correct route up from Izaak Walton Lake. On the east side of Cotton Lake, the mud was frozen. I then ran into a flock of fuzzy gray and white birds. They did not look like ptarmigans. I stopped at Tully Lake and watched the fish rise. In retrospect, having enough food, I regret not adding a day to fish and day-hike to Lee and Cecil Lakes, which I had never seen. Returning on the same route did not seem repetitive as I enjoyed the views much more without the effort of going uphill.



Although longer, the trail walking went fast and I reached the horse crossing at the PCT junction by 12:30 PM, with 20 minutes to wade and have a bite to eat. On the way up to Lake Virginia I filled up with water at the nice gushing stream I noticed on the way down. No treatment needed- it was wonderful water. I ran into one PCT hiker who was going down. At the Lake Virginia inlet crossing, I still was not sure I could make it off-trail to Ram Lake. Well, I certainly did not want to go back on the trail to Purple Lake.



I left the trail and headed north-northeast up a valley that acts as a funnel to the pass to the Glen Lake drainage; hard to get lost as all paths lead to the pass. Having taken a few different routes in the past, I hoped I could remember the best path. All the lower ponds and lakes were bone dry. I reached the two ponds at 10,625 feet elevation at 2:30PM, relieved to find water. The next lake up also had water. At the pass at 3:10PM I quickly dropped to the unnamed upper lakes at 10,950 feet where there was good water, trees and nice campsites. I wanted to get a bit lower in hopes of it being warmer at night, but not so low that the surrounding ridges would result in early evening shadow and late morning sun.

There was a faint use-trail all the way down to Glennette Lake (10730 feet elevation) where there were several nice sheltered established campsites on the north shore. I do not think the lake has fish. I heard several frogs. The lake is very pretty with an impressive rock cliff to the south. It was 4PM, too late to continue to Ram Lakes. This was a good decision giving me time for a bath, camp chores and some leisurely wandering around. I camped on a nice flat spot of short red dry vegetation next to a dried up pond. There was flat but a bit rocky ground under big trees close by but it had no view. Humidity was low enough that I was not worried about being under trees to avoid dew on the tent. I did cook in the shelter of some short trees wearing my down jacket since it was shady and moved out into the last of the sunshine to eat. I gladly went into the tent at 6PM; it had been a long but beautiful day and I only ran into one other person. I had the best sleep of the trip on my pillow-top vegetation “mattress”.


Photos of Glennette Lake on next page

Photos of Glennette Lake (day4)


Day5. 9/27: Glennette Lake to Pika Lake (10535)
(7.3 miles, 4.4 hours, 1435 feet gain/ 1715 feet loss)

It would be a fairly short day so again did not get going until 8:45AM. Luckily after an easy and obvious drop to Glen Lake (10700), I found a come-and-go use trail around the west shores. In the past I had taken the east shores and became hung up in cliffs and thick brush. Rather than continue down the drainage as it became a little canyon, I cut due north and soon intersected the trail about a quarter mile below Ram Lakes. The trail to Purple Lake was on the whole, distinct and easy to follow except for a few places where it split with one branch staying in the bushes by the meadows and the other higher in the trees. The creek was flowing nice clear water so I topped off my water bottle.

Day 5 Continued


Once I reached the PCT at Purple Lake I ran into a “bubble” of south-bound PCT hikers. At the Duck Lake junction I ran into a large pack-train of nearly 10 horses including pack horses and riders. Then at the outlet of Duck Lake, there were plenty of fishermen and day-hikers. I had planned on going out via Deer Lakes. All the while hiking I would go back and forth about Deer Lake vs. Pike Lake. I had been to Deer Lakes in 2010 and knew it had good fishing, but when I reached Duck Pass junction, I got lazy and just dropped to Pika Lake where I was the only person camped there. One day-hiking family only stayed an hour or so. At about 1PM I reached a wonderful site on the south shore that I had found on the first day while I was wandering around.

After camp chores I had time to go down to Duck Lake and fish, with no luck. Back at camp I decided I wanted a bath so went to the boulders on the south shores of Pika Lake. Fortunately I brought my fishing pole. There were many smallish fish but they had no interest in my fly and I was too lazy to change flies. But I never found a suitable place to take a bath.

I went back to camp and found a nice private bathing spot in a small pond below my camp. I managed to wander around taking photos and keeping entertained until dinner time at 5:30PM. My campsite had a perfect rock “kitchen” with an amazing view of a long drawn out sunset. Immediately it was cold, but the tent was under tree cover so I was quite cozy all night. Just after dark, coyotes howled back and forth. Then a piercing howl sounded like a coyote was on the shore close to my tent. No wonder their howl is heard for miles!




Day6. 9/27: Pika Lake to Coldwater Trailhead (9150) via Duck Pass
(4.3 miles, 2.2 hours, 360 feet gain/ 1735 feet loss)


My only concern was to get home before dark and before I had to drive into the setting sun. Although I did not need to get up, I slept well and was wide awake at 6AM. I had organized well the evening before so got on the trail 7:45 before the sun hit my campsite. I started out freezing in only my regular hiking clothes knowing that once the sun hit, I would be plenty warm. In fact, just over Duck Pass I stopped and shed down to one layer. First person I met was a trail runner, then more and more day hikers. It was Saturday and plenty of people were early birds too. When I reached the parking lot, a car was patiently waiting for my prime spot right next to the trailhead.


Everything was going great on the drive home. The aspen on Monitor Pass were glowing yellow. The roads were filled with happy motorcyclists. Then at Woodsford, I turned up the road and came to a line of stopped traffic. Soon many cars were turning around and going back down. An ambulance came down the road, then a fire truck, then a wrecked truck on a flatbed. I deduced it was wreck and I would eventually get through. I turned off the engine and waited. It was not a serious wreck, but with all the traffic going up to Hope Valley to view the fall colors it took 45 minutes to get everyone through the one lane, once the crashed vehicles were taken out. From there on over Luther and Echo Passes traffic was fine.

This likely will be my last backpack of the season. Even with nice weather and in spite of cold mornings, the nights are just too long. Every night I was so achy and swore I would bail out; every morning I felt better but woke up at 4AM, bored until the first light. Once the sun hit, the world was wonderful. Afternoons were warm and lovely to poke around once at camp. And the route was perfect for fall colors with relatively easy days mostly on good trails. And surprisingly, once off the PCT I was blessed with amazing solitude. And there was hardly a trace of haze or smoke in the air. It was a very good trip, if one ignores the long nights.

The only adjustments I made to my summer gear were an 8-oz down jacket with hood in place of a 4oz down sweater, and a balaclava instead of a beanie. I also had plenty of socks, since I found a pair in the bottom of my sleeping bag from my previous trip. My only sleeping bag is rated to 10-degrees which was fine for shoulder season. I do wish I had a light summer bag. I could have left the fishing gear home given being totally skunked. I took crocks, but could have easily left them home too.

Thanks for another very informative report with good photos.

Neat trip of a combination one commonly doesn't see in an up-and-back be it from Mammoth or McGee, which is to include Hortense and Ram Lakes basin. I haven't put all of those together in one trip myself, having done Mammoth to Hortense in a trip in the mid 90s, Ram Lakes and vicinity from Convict Lake in the early 90s and revisiting Hortense in 2018 on a loop out of Edison. Sorry to hear about your achy nights sleeping as well as the slow traffic on 88. I'll be headed out that way (Carson Pass) tomorrow with my son. We, however, will not be backpacking or car camping, but rather spending two nights in Minden/Gardnerville while doing dayhikes on each of the three days. I'm about to head for the gym where I do the maintenance and repairs that help to minimize those aches and pains. However, aches and pains because I work out happen, too.

I fell short of actually getting to Ram Lakes. I have been there twice before but I was a bit worried about being under the cliffs that morning daylight would arrive very late in the morning. I think I had the most fun at Hortense Lakes. There are tons of little nooks and crannies to explore and it is in an impressive setting. I did not catch fish, but I think if I had spin-fished I could have. I am pretty impatient. If I do not get a bit or see a rise in half an hour or so, I just give up and go exploring instead. I had been close but never to Glennette Lake, so camping there was a treat too. Pike Lake has always been great, even though I have been there many times. I checked out more of the area west of the lake towards Duck Lake where I found lots of nice but apparently well used camp sites. In all, it was a good end for the season.

Great trip report.

I then ran into a flock of fuzzy gray and white birds.

These birds look to me like ptarmigans transitioning from summer colors to winder colors. My favorite birds in Sierra. One can get very close to them.

It is always a guess as to where the sun will rise over the ridges.

SunSurveyorLite app is useful for seeing where the sun will rise.