In the morning we got an early start (but not as early as John) and up up up we went up Old Army Pass. I’d heard a lot of different opinions as to how hard this pass was. It is no longer being maintained but I think it’s in pretty good shape. It is steep and rocky but the trail is easy to find. The views you get of the Cottonwood Lakes Basin on the way up are great!
The top was announced by a sign that we were entering Sequoia National Park and the views looking west to the Kern River Canyon and the Great Western Divide were amazing! I could identify several of the mountains over there as I’d seen them many times from the west, but never from this direction. It was windy up on the pass but not too cold. Immediately after the sign I found a use trail contouring north up the ridge and I took it remembering the directions that I had to climb Mt. Langley. We stayed to the left of several prominent rocks on this ridgeline. Cris climbed some of these rocks and I took his picture.
We contoured up the ridgeline and headed towards a red sandy saddle. The ranger I spoke to at the Mt. Whitney Ranger Station said that this would be a good spot to drop our packs and continue our dayhike to reach the summit of Mt. Langley. It was a good suggestion as there weren’t many marmots or other dangers to our packs here. At this point we met one guy headed down and then shortly afterwards we met John headed down. They were both dayhiking up from the Lakes Basin below and weren’t carrying full packs so that’s why they were a bit quicker summiting than us!
At this point the hike gets hard. The going is really slow as the surface you’re walking on is very sandy. It’s like walking uphill on a beach! But there are many trails that all head up in the same general direction so you just have to pick one and slog on up. And whenever you stop to catch your breath the view is amazing! There are also lots of wildflowers blooming up here - a member of the sunflower family, raspberry buckwheat, rock fringe, lupine, and sky pilot.
At about 800 feet from the summit you reach a rock wall. At this point it’s best to stay to the left. Cris started heading to the right and I followed him although I should’ve gone with my first instinct as the left routes looked easier. When Cris couldn’t go any further we then decided to just take a look off the eastern ridge into the Owen’s Valley. I ate a snack and then we tried to decide what to do. It was 1:00 pm which was still early enough but I was getting tired. We decided to head off to the left again and just when I thought I couldn’t go on any further I just decided to push myself and hike to the top! I was exhausted but by sheer determination we found a route which at this point involved some easy class 3 climbing using our hands. We then saw a huge cairn on the skyline and headed towards it and soon enough found ourselves on the top of Mt. Langley! When I reached the top I felt much better. I was very glad I had pushed myself! We took a few pictures then headed down knowing we still had a long way to go that day.
Down down down we went down the rocky then sandy slopes of Mt. Langley. We found our packs, had a snack, then headed down into the Upper Soldier Lakes area. I was hoping there was a trail to be found going that way and there was. It was a pretty good trail, too, even thought it's not on the map! Along the way we saw lots of evidence of bighorn sheep – lots of scat and tracks. Never saw any sheep, though :(
Once we reached Upper Solder Lake we found a good campsite near the northern shore and then I just collapsed. I was exhausted! I set up my tent and wasn’t very hungry but I drank some ice tea and ate a few crackers with cheese. Then it was early to bed just as the last light was fading from the sky… |
