July 4th weekend was an interesting time. I was in the middle of switching jobs and had the entire week leading up to the holiday off, which compelled me to make good use of the time. Dana was only working Mon-Wed, which allowed us to leave town as early as Wed night. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. That’s a nice block of time. And given that such a block is rarely available in the summer, I was driven to near insanity trying to pick the best possible “thing” do to.
We had a permit to climb Half Dome in Yosemite the week earlier, but had to cancel since it was my last week of work. So naturally, our first thought was to head up to Yosemite for a few days of backpacking and still get our climb of that famous gray wall. However, given the snow levels in the park – which stubbornly remained above 7000′ through the month of June – most of the trails we needed to hike were still buried (some up to five feet) and many of the rivers we needed to cross were deep. The final nail in the coffin was the fact that Clouds Rest, which we were also planning on hiking, still had a ton of snow on the summit.
Plan B
While thoughts of staying along the coast and possibly travelling north popped into our heads, we knew that was “everyone’s” plan. After all, it is the 4th of July…the time when people who don’t normally go to the beach, do. So, quickly we reverted back to the Sierra’s. We started calling Forest Service offices from Yosemite down to Mt Whitney trying to see what was accessible given the above average snow pack and cold Spring. We settled on Cottonwood Lakes, a few miles south of Mt Whitney. The camping is at 10,000′ and the snow levels were around 11,500′.
After a quick drive up 395 (quick because it was 2hours less than the standard Mammoth drive), we settled in to our campsite at Cottonwood Lakes late Thursday afternoon. Opening day for Golden Trout fishing was Friday, so for a weekday the campsite was definitely packed. We weren’t sure of our hiking plan on Friday. We decided to wing it. Basically get up early, head out for the day, and see what we come across. The trail takes you into the John Muir Wilderness, and the scenery is stunning.
Cottenwood Lakes Basin – Mt Langley to the right
A few hours in, we arrived at High Lake which sits below New Army Pass (12,300′). Beyond New Army Pass was access to Sequoia National Park, the Pacific Crest Trail, and much of the High Sierra. After a stop for lunch, we decided to take a shot at the pass.
Dana at High Lake with New Army in the background
About 1/4 of the way up the switchbacks, we encountered snow. The “actual” pass is not clearly visible unless you’ve already hiked it. While trying to stay on route, the snow got steep & deep. At one point Dana fell through up to her waist and we both got a little sketched. In addition, there was a big cornice hanging up above us baking in the afternoon sun. But the pass was so close! It couldn’t have been more than 200feet higher. Our turn-around time kept sliding from what we originally set of 1PM, to 1:30, to 2PM, to 2:30! We were about to taste defeat, and neither of us could stand it. We hadn’t given thought to New Army prior to this morning, but for some reason we couldn’t bare to come this close and turn around. But each time we crossed steep snow to get back onto some rocks, a few steps later we hit more snow
The picture below shows how close we were, but yet how steep it was. Knowing that it was late, and that we were going to have to come down what we were going up, we turned around. It was a long walk back to the trail head.
What did we take away from this humbling experience? We need ice axes!
The next day we headed to Mammoth. It was HOT along the 395, but when we pulled into Mammoth Lakes, it was 75degrees and perfect. The town was packed – more crowded than a weekend in the winter for sure. Mammoth was going to be our home base for the rest of the trip while we hung with friends, went snowboarding, and explored the hiking that lies past the resort. But first, we needed to look at some ice axes…
Click here to check out the photos from our July 4th adventure