Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Cottonwood Lakes to Whitney

Has anyone gone from Cottonwood Lakes to Whitney? There are 7 of us hiking the first week of September and would like to get as much info on this route as possible. We are all ex Boys Souts and leaders with lots of hiking experience. How are the bugs, bears, animals, etc.
Thanks
Doug

Just did this trip a couple weeks ago. Great route. Plenty of water at all the camp areas; Cottonwood, Rock Cr, Guyot Cr, Crabtree, Guitar Lk, etc. No bugs. We spoke to dozens of hikers who had been on the trail anywhere from 2 days to 30 days and none had seen any bears. Lots of deer at Lower Crabtree Meadows. Lots of marmots. We had rain each afternoon, but clear mornings and nights with pleasant temps.

The smart thing we all agreed to do was to push a little farthter early in the trip so our pre-smmit day was just from Crabtree to Guitar lake. Nice rest before the big hill.

We, also, are ex-scouts who did Whitney 30 years ago. We all came together to see if we could do it again. We all did it!!

Good luck, you'll have a great time on a great trail.

What about parking at the Cottonwood Trail head? We are going to camp there Saturday night and leave Sunday morning. What about keeping a car at the Whitney Portal for a week? Do we need reservations? Can I call you for more details? We plan to do the route in 8 days, with one full rest day at Cottonwood Lakes and one at Guitar Lake.

Thanks
Doug in Santa Rosa, CA

Doug,

Just did this hike last month as well although we went from HSM =>Long Lake =>Lower Soldier Lake =>Guyot Creek => tarn above Guitar Lake => summit and out to the Portal. 3rd time on this route. It was the best yet. Weather was superb and water supply was OK along the way. I also bagged Mt.Langley as an extra peak as well. Check out my TR on this board:
TR: HSM to Whitney Portal July 8-12, 2007
Pictures are here.

BTW the six of us are all Eagle Scouts and had another wonderful adventure in the Mt. Whitney Wilderness...a great place to hike every time we go!

Keep in mind that the last water is the pond just beyond Guitar lake which means that there is no water until the springs on the switchbacks.

I was just up there this past weekend (hiked from Onion Valley). Even though I did camp much farther up the trail, I did so with having my dinner at the pond and hiking another 30 minutes to my usual campsite (which used to have a stream to drink from; dry year).

When I left the pond, I filled 2 water bottles (liter) and my pot which holds a liter (duck taped the lid closed.

Otherwise, no big deal if you decided to camp either at Guitar or the pond.... just thought you should know.

paul

Like Dave, I did almost this same trip with some scouts two weeks ago, going over Cottonwood Pass. Aside from the daily rain, it was a great trip. I only got bit by mosquitoes a couple times, which is a rare treat in the sierra. Water at Rock Creek, Guyot Creek, Crabtree Meadow, Guitar Lake, and the tarn above Guitar Lake (where we camped). When we left the tarn, I was carrying 4L water (I like to stay well hydrated).

I didn't see any bears, but did see bear scat at Crabtree Meadow. Deer were plentiful, as were the marmots at the tarn above Guitar Lake.

You have taking 8 days. This means you will have a lot of time on your hands, figure on being done hiking by 2 PM on most days.

You might start thinking about lengthing your hiking days and doing some extra peak bagging along the way.

First thing I'd do was to change the starting point. Utilize Cottonwood Pass and finish your first day at Chicken Spring Lake. This allows for a worthy side trip to Cirque Peak. This is a 10 mile day with the side trip.

Day #3...is down to lower Rock Creek crossing. A ~9 mile day.

Day #4...More adventure or save the adventure for another day. Head up to Guyot Peak from Guyot Saddle or hike through to Guitar Lake and use this for a lay over day or two.

Day #4...Layover...head up to Mts. Young and Hale or head up to Hitchcock Lakes.

Day #5...Summit at dawn. It is the only way to fly. Finish your day where your legs take you...Trail Camp, Outpost Camp, Lone Pine Laek or back to the the Portal.

Day #6...Out if you haven't done it already.

If I can't talk you into this one then...

Leaving CL/NAP Trailhead make the first stream crossing then about 100' beyond make a left hand turn and head up the South Fork Trail...it is not on any map but it on the map at the message board. This short cut will deposit you at South Fork Lakes, where you can head back down trail a bit to a junction to enter the Cottonwood Lakes basin or go cross country to meet up with the trail between South Fork Lakes #2 and #3. This will deposit you at the Long Lake camping area...the west end across the High Lake outlet being best. This sets you up for a trip to Cirque Peak or Mt. Langley on your layover day.

Then follow the rest of what I laid out.