Mt. Whitney From Cottonwood Lakes

Guitar Lake and the Kaweahs as seen from near "The Tarns".

The Tarns at "The Tarns"

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

I noticed one lone hiker following me down the mountain, the only other hiker I saw on the west side switchbacks that day, other than Dave. Speaking of which, I finally caught up with Dave at a small stream where he was tanking up and having a snack. This marked the end of the rough switchbacks and the beginning of the trail back to camp. I found a nice large warm rock to sit on and joined Dave for a chat.

One of the tarns in the area of "The Tarns".

Back on the trail, which was much less annoying going down, I noticed "The Tarns" were becoming populated. I shuddered to think of all the toilet paper that must be buried in the area and wondered why a small pit toilet had not been built in such a popular area there at the foot of Mt. Whitney.