Greg, Nick, Albert and I went on an awesome 3-day weekend trip up to Muir Lake near the Cottonwood Lakes in the southeastern Sierra. We camped at the lake two nights and on our "layover day" we climbed up Old Army Pass then contoured over to Cirque Peak then came back down New Army Pass. Cirque Peak has absolutely fantastic views of Mt. Whitney, Mt. Langley, Olancha Peak, the Great Western Divide, Siberian Outpost, Boreal Plateau, Kern Plateau, Miter Basin, and the Cottonwood Lakes Basin. I never thought I'd hike over Old Army and down New Army again, much less in a day. But I really, really enjoyed the views from up there, especially of Mt. Whitney rising straight above Sky Blue Lake in Miter Basin.
We had absolutely fantastic weather - very warm and pleasant for September! Saw a lot of wildlife - deer, marmots, squirrels and chipmunks galore, hawks, a huge owl flew through camp on the first night, and we heard coyotes on the second. Wonderful stars and an almost full moon at night. Except for feeling very worn out after our hike up to Cirque, I couldn't have asked for a better trip. |
