Mt. Whitney From Cottonwood Lakes

The ugly talus trail can be seen in the lower right corner of the picture. The trail ends up at the slight notch mid picture on the skyline. Well, a trail through the talus is better than none at all.

Again the Ugly Talus

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

After a few pictures and dry feet I was back on the trail. The first hurdle was that jumble of talus I mentioned earlier. That heap is easily the most annoying point on the trail. At the foot of the rock heap I could see Dave making his way up the trail. Cinching my belt tight I began my way up the twisted mess of a trail. It was as fully bad as I anticipated. Narrow, high stepped, hot even as early morning as it was, twisted, steep, and it just seemed to go on and on.

This a typical trail section between the talus and Mt. Guyot..

Half way to the high point there is trees and the trail improves a little but continues to climb sharply until finally topping out at a small tree studded plateau. I was glad to put that chore behind me. The next section was just a nearly viewless slog, the same as the leg out two days before. I again noted with interest the huge trunks of evenly spaced trees studding a sterile looking sandy gentle hillside.