The four of us started out from Horseshoe Meadow with packs full of water and snacks, some fishing gear, and one boisterous black Labrador, for a day hike out in John Muir wilderness on Monday afternoon.
The trail head elevation is 10,000 feet, and it's a straightforward climb for four miles on a shady horse trail following Cottonwood Creek, climbing deeper into the back country south of Mount Whitney, till we emerge onto alpine meadow and the junction where the trail forms a loop around two sets of lakes. Last year we took it to the left, to Long Lake where we camped for two days below New Army Pass.
This year we stayed right and stopped at Cottonwood Lake 4 (11,200 feet) to eat and splash and fish for a bit in the shadow of granite piles and commanding juniper pines. With binoculars we could follow a set of hikers descending the switchbacks etched into the bowl below Old Army Pass.
We returned to Horseshoe, completing the 6 hour, 10-mile, class 2 hike (California Hiking; 2003 ed.).
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