Mt. Whitney From Cottonwood Lakes

The view from our camp was excellent, and below us was a beautiful grassy meadows with flowers. Here in this picture from camp you can see lower Soldier Lake with the white Meter Basin walls soaring above all.

A Return to Soldier Lake

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

Back on the trail it was just a matter of gutting it out over the next few easily graded miles. I met a Ranger along the way who demanded to see my permit. I was in no mood to chat so I departed as soon as the paperwork was examined and stowed away. I was having a record year for permit examinations.
Finally I reached the small lake and large meadow holding the last crossing of Rock Creek. Near where the steep switchbacks lead to the outlet of Soldier Lake, I put down my chair, sprayed to repel the hoards of mosquitoes, and sat down to wait for Dave. I had a fine view across the meadow and lake, and after five minutes or so I saw Dave as a small moving speck across the lake. After 15 minutes he had caught up with me. We debated the merits of staying at the nearby campsites, but decided to head up to Soldier Lake after all.
After slogging up the last steep switchbacks, we parked our bags and did a thorough search for a decent campsite. This time we had different results. Dave went across the small outlet stream in the meadow and followed the obvious trail on the east side of the meadow and not only found a bear box, but a large level excellent site with great spots for packs and cooking. This site can be found by taking the right fork obvious trail at the foot of the meadow if you are coming from the direction of the Army passes. Follow the trail until you reach the bear box and a search of the area will reveal several good sites.
Gratefully I trudged the last few paces to the camp and dropped into my chair for a good rest. It had been a long and tedious day as such things go in the Sierra, and I was glad it was over for the most part. My energy level was sluggish that day though the hiking seemed easy enough. The next day I knew would be far more interesting, and I was looking forward to seeing new things.
Meanwhile, after a long bit of relaxation, we began to set up camp. I was not motivated to set up the Wing, the mosquitoes were not a problem there and rain was pretty much out of the picture, so as a concession to Dave I suggested we sleep out without the Wing, a suggestion that was quickly accepted. For some reason I always prefer to sleep with some protection, if only to keep the wind off and making clothing changes easier, but the more I do these Sierra trips, the more I resent the hassle of shelter erecting and striking. I have to hand it to Dave, an old hand at backpacking who prefers sleeping out, he may have the right idea. One of my earliest trips to the high country, Lassen Park, was done sleeping out and I have not repeated that experience much. While you always have to have some kind of shelter for those days when the weather is a little extra frisky, that is not the Sierra norm, especially during the summer and fall. Tropical storms are the biggest threat for rain, and usually you can get a forecast to avoid these storms, or at least be prepared for them. This trip had been prefaced with weeks of sporadic rain showers, but those conditions disappeared completely by our trip. And as it turned out, the rest of the trip was spent sleeping out and I have to admit it was OK. I may have to do more of that depending on conditions and location.

Our short hike to the hill above Soldier Lake on the East side of the lake yielded some nice views and this picture. I wish I had taken the time to see the upper Soldier Lake..

We had made good time so after cleaning up and rehydrating, we decided to do some low key exploring. We had heard there was a trail to upper Soldier Lake and decided to follow the trail next to camp and see if it led to the upper lake.
The trail next to camp was well defined and even better than some old Wilderness trails. It obviously let to the rocky camp area next to the lake on the south end, and a faint marshy track let further north along the lake. The marshy track encouraged some hopping about to keep my lightweight shoes dry. Once on dry land the trail faded away among some poor camps on a hillside. Going to the right of the hill there is a grassy ramp leading behind the small hill next to the lake where fair views of the lake can be had. Behind the hill was another wet meadow and a faint steep sandy use trail leading upward to the upper lake. The route did not look all that inviting, and after a sit-down to enjoy the lake view I returned to camp for some serious relaxation with my book, snacks, water bottle, the view and a scant few mosquitoes.
This evening we made the most of by staying up long enough to see the stars after the chores were done. The nights had been turning cold making sleeping more pleasant, and the nip of cold chased us to our bags and finally to sleep. I awoke once, and instead of seeing tent fabric, I saw millions of stars on a moonless night. Not a bad way to sleep I have to admit.