Mt. Whitney From Cottonwood Lakes

Timberline Lake awaited me in the early morning light.

Timberline Lake

Mt. Whitney Trip from Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead. June 2000.

Above camp the terrain gradually took on a very definite sparse tree-line look, with short trees hiding in the sheltered areas in the highest areas until I reached an altitude they could not be seen at all. The trail skirted a meadow that was covered with frost from a cold night that promised to cut into the numbers of mosquitoes. Timberline Lake saw the last of the sizeable shade trees and after the climb out of the small lake basin and the approach to Guitar Lake, I had a real feeling I was without a doubt in the high country tundra.