Mt. Whitney From Cottonwood Lakes
The changing light and wind give a new look to the Hitchcock Lakes and Mt. Hitchcock. Note the interesting rock formations below. The Kaweahs and the Great Western Divide makes up the horizon.
A Window SeatMt. Whitney Trip from Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead. June 2000.
Past the junction it was hard not to stop now and then to admire the view, so I did. In civilization, the reach of your vision hardly ever exceeds the surrounding walls, your neighbors across the street, or down the freeway a ways. There on the flanks of Mt. Whitney my vision embraced a tableau that reached over a hundred miles in distance and embraced thousands of square miles in one glance. I had a view that usually only birds enjoy from day to day, and as a bonus there was no airplane window between me and this lofty view. For me, that is a call of the wild and the reward for the mountaineer, and such moments should be savored and not rushed.
