On November 9, 1975 I took a ten mile round trip day hike in the Horseshoe Meadows Area on the Cottonwood Lake Trail to Golden Trout Camp then over to the cabin at upper end of Horseshoe Meadows and back. Nice day - a little cool as the evening came on.
On January 25, 1976 I took a six mile round trip day hike up the Little Cottonwood Creek Trail to the top of the divide above Golden Trout Camp. (9300 to 10500) Practically no snow. Nice day.
On February 12-15, 1976 I joined with two members of Exporer Post 82, Ellie Heston and Randy Peterson and guests Scott Morton, Jim Nettleton and John Bullock on a 21 mile round trip snow backpack in the Cottonwood Creek area.
We drove to the end of the plowed road at Carroll Creek, then with my 4WD made it up past the Forest Service sign. (Later Scott Morton got his bronco about two miles further.). We snowshoed (John skied) up the road. Roy Dressel from Visalia, on skis, caught up with us. We all camped together at a Heliport on the road about five miles from where we started.
Friday, Roy and John took off and eventually made the top of New Army Pass on skis. The five remaining, with three in various stages of sore throat and sniffles, continued to the Pack Station and camped.
We laid over a day. Jim and Scott after a late start tried Trail Peak and found loose powder on the north slope. They got close to the top but turned back for lack of time. Ellie went site seeing in the area, and Randy & I hiked to Horseshoe Meadows and return.
Sunday we hiked all the way out to the bronco and home after a sort of mixed up trip. We all had a good time with pleasant weather.
On June 8, 1976, Election Day, I took a 12 mile round trip day hike to Mulkey Pass, then along the new PCT to Trail Pass and on to Cottonwood Pass, then back down to the roadhead. Windy and cloudy but a beautiful day.
On March 27, 1977 I took a 4 mile round trip day hike. I drove to the old lower Cottonwood Creek roadhead and hiked about two miles up the trail. It is an old wagon road for about 1 mile to the bridge. You can see pieces of sawed lumber - found some with square nails - from the Bridge area up. Remnants of the old log flume. Nice trail.
Stevens Sawmill at Horseshoe Meadows
In June 1873 Colonel Sherman Stevens built a sawmill and flume on Cottonwood Creek high in the Sierra. Some remains of the flume were seen on the above trip.
The flume connected with the Los Angeles Bullion Road. The lumber from the flume was used for timbering in the mine and buildings, and the wood was turned into charcoal in these kilns, then hauled to Stevens Wharf east of here on Owens Lake. There it was put on the steamer the "Bessie Brady" or the "Mollie Stevens," hauled directly across the lake, and from there wagons took it up the "Yellow Grade" to Cerro Gordo Mine, high in the Inyo Mountains above Keeler. M.W. Belshaw's furnaces had used all available wood around the Cerro Gordo and this charcoal was necessary to continued production.
The bullion which was then taken out by the reverse of this route was hauled to Los Angeles on Remi Nadeau's 14, 16, 18 animal freight wagons and played a major part in the building of that little pueblo into the city of today.
More history of this will be found here and here.
Stevens Sawmill Flume in Cottonwood Creek
Stevens Sawmill at Horseshoe Meadows
Ox Drawn Wagon at Stevens Sawmill
On April 17, 1977 I took a 10 mile round trip day hike. From the Cottonwood Creek trailhead at Horseshoe Meadows I hiked up the Cottonwood Lake trail to Muir Lake and back. Some snow at the higher elevations but you could work around much of it. It is melting fast. The lake was still frozen. Nice hike.
On October 23, 1977 neighbor boys John Roberts, Rody Troeter and David Troeter and I took an 11 mile round trip day hike. Left home about 8 a.m., started hiking about 9 a.m. on the Cottonwood Creek Trail. Stopped at Golden Trout Camp about 11 a.m. for snacks, then made it on to Cottonwood Lake Number 4 by 12:30 for lunch. Left about 1:30 and made the car around 3:15. Slight overcast with occasional sun was very pleasant. Could have been hot except for the thin clouds. A very pleasant day hike.
On June 4, 1978 neighbor boys John Roberts and Raymond Lombard and I took a 6+ mile round trip day hike. Drove to the old lower Cottonwood Creek roadhead. We hiked together to the lower bridge where John and Raymond pooped out from staying up too late the night before.
I hiked on up the trail, crossed Little Cottonwood Creek on a log and reached the sight of the second bridge that was wiped out in 1969. Took a little under 3 hours with several food stops and 1200 foot elevation gain in 3 miles.
The creek was really running full - too high to cross safely where the bridge was out. It looked like there was an old trail that continued up the north side to rejoin the main trail. Will have to check that out on another trip. Trail was in good shape for the most part - the high water was getting to it in a few spots. Many nice campsites scattered along the way.
On July 1-2, 1978 Stan Haye and I took a 10 mile round trip backpack. Drove to Cottonwood trailhead Saturday morning and hiked main trail to South Fork Lakes and on to Cirque Lake, making camp leisurely about 2 p.m. Some snow still on the trail but no real problems. New Army Pass still heavily snowed in with cornice. Cirque Lake nice camp for this time of year.
Sunday we hiked down the outlet of Cirque Lake - very pretty valley with many nice campsites. Arrived at South Fork Meadows and joined trail. Nice hike down to the main trail. Lots of campsites. A few campers. Met Ranger and her dog. Arrived back at the car about 11:30 and drove home. Nice relaxed weekend.
On May 13, 1979 I took a 4 mile round trip day hike. Drove to Cottonwood trailhead and hiked two miles into the cabin on Cottonwood Pass trail and back.
On May 20, 1979 I took a 4 mile loop day hike from Cottonwood mill site to Last Chance Meadow and back via Cottonwood Creek.
On July 29, 1979 I took a 12 mile round trip day hike and climbed Trail Peak for the second time. First time was May 3, 1975.
Drove to the roadhead and hit the trail about 9 a.m. Hiked to Mulkey Pass, then on the Pacific Crest Trail to Trail Pass and on around Trail Peak. Climbed Trail Peak, arriving on top just before noon. Had lunch and sunned. Beautiful day. Dropped down to Poison Meadow and refilled water at spring near upper end of meadow. Returned to the trail and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail on to Cottonwood Pass. Arrived about 3:30 and met Stan and Robbie Haye who had just reached the Pass on start of 6 day trip. Had snack with them and headed down after 4 p.m. arriving at the car before 6 p.m. Had a great day.
On June 29, 1980 I took a 9 mile round trip day hike. Drove to the roadhead and hit the trail after 9 a.m. Hiked to Golden Trout Camp and beyond on the old trail. Took the South Fork Lakes/Army Pass fork to about 10,800 and the snow line. The creek was running real high. Decided to not mess with the snow and ate lunch and took a nap. Returned to the car same route and headed home around 4 p.m. Was breezy but nice day.
On November 22, 1980 Jimmy White and I took a 6 mile round trip day hike. Drove to the roadhead sometime around 10 a.m. and hiked to Golden Trout Camp in a leisurely fashion as we were both recuperating from colds. Scattered snow in the shade but the sun was warm. The breeze a little cool and it was chilly in the shade.
Found several people living in one of the cabins (apparently acting as caretakers) but they were off somewhere. A girl named Susan hiked in and we talked with her. She had spent last winter here as caretaker and works for the Forest Service as a Wilderness Ranger Supervisor in the summer. Is living at the McGee Creek Pack Station this winter and working somewhere nearby. We hiked back to the car with a stop for lunch and conversation. Nice day.
On June 13, 1981 I took a 7 mile round trip day hike. Drove up to the Little Cottonwood Creek trail on the high road and hiked up part of the old original trail that came up from Carroll Creek before the road was built.
From a high point I left the trail and headed up the ridge toward Wonoga Peak which I reached around noon. Ate lunch and enjoyed the view for about an hour, then headed down to the Little Cottonwood Creek trail, then up the trail to the ridge above Golden Trout Camp. Arrived at ridge about 4 p.m. and after a rest returned to the car by about 6 p.m. Was a very nice day - a little cool breeze near the top. No bugs to speak of. Pack station has a fenced meadow with their stock in near the ridge (maybe a mile below the ridge or less).
On September 20, 1981 I took a 12 mile round trip day hike. Started about 9:30 at the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead. Hiked to South Fork Lakes for lunch, then went up the lake basin to its head and crossed over to the Army Pass trail which I followed back to the road. Beautiful weather and nice exercise.
On August 1, 1982 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike. Decided I better get in a conditioning hike before the week-long trip coming up so drove to the Little Cottonwood trailhead and hiked up to the pass that drops into the main Cottonwood Creek at Golden Trout Camp. Had the area all to myself. After a break at the pass I headed up the ridge to the northwest and eventually climbed to the top of Peak 11,297 where there were fine views of the Cottonwood area. After some sun I headed back to the car.
On October 31, 1982 I took a 5 mile round trip day hike. Feeling the need to get out of the house I drove up to the end of the Horseshoe Meadows road. This gave me a chance to check out the snow conditions and I found several inches on the last mile of road.
Hiked through the snow on the Cottonwood Pass trail to the creek crossing above the Forest Service cabin and then headed out across the meadow to check out the snow on my way back to the car. Found four cows grazing - apparently overlooked by the roundup - tried to herd them down to the Cottonwood Creek cattle driveway but the got away from me. Informed the Forest Service the next day. Enjoyed a pleasant hike.
On November 6, 1982 Jim White and I did a 6 mile round trip day ski. Based on my hike last weekend Jim and I decided to go on a ski tour this weekend. We found that there was still enough snow but much had melted and it was marginal in places. We worked our way across to the slopes of Trail Peak and up into the trees where the skiing was better but the trees and rocks were sort of dangerous. We finally decided to head back to the car and go down to my place and work on sewing a tent for Jim.
On May 7, 1983 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike, my first getting in shape hike of the year. Hiked about four miles up the creek and back to the car.
On June 11, 1983 I took a 4 mile round trip day hike to get in shape for the hiking season. Drove to the end of the road and did the four mile round trip hike to the Forest Service Cabin on the Cottonwood Pass Trail and back. Quite a bit of snow still on the ground.
On June 12, 1983, after enjoying myself yesterday, went back and took a 6 mile rond trip day hike up to Golden Trout Camp. The creek was pretty high so I stayed on the old trail. Lots of snow patches in the trees and at the camp. Winter snow's had broken the camp bridge. Enjoyed the hike.
On June 18, 1983 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike. Am writing this up much later and not sure where I went at Horseshoe Meadows but think I hiked up along the ridge between Horseshoe and Cottonwood creeks, over the saddle toward Cirque Lake and on up to the meadow before Cirque Lake. There were a number of ponds (lakes) on the ridge along with patches of snow. Very nice day.
On June 25, 1983 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike. Hiked up Cottonwood Creek which continued to run high. Went off to the right at the normal creek crossing and contoured up the hill and around into an easterly fork of Cottonwood Creek that took me up near Owen's Point at a saddle overlooking the Owen's Valley. Snow patches and wet ground in this upper meadow but was a very nice hike.
On July 2, 1983 I took a 14 mile round trip day hike. I hiked up Little Cottonwood Creek from the road and turned up the mountain to the north just above the fenced pasture. Hiked up an old trail to the top of the ridge which brought me into the valley I had visited last weekend.
Continued on to Owen's Point Peak for lunch, nice view and some sun. Was feeling good and weather was great so decided to continue north along the main ridge toward Mount Langley. Everything was going great so continued to the top of Peak 12,840 which has great views of the Cottonwood basin, Langley, etc.
Headed back in mid-afternoon and retraced my tracks to Little Cottonwood and back to the road. A very pleasant 14 mile hike.
On July 9, 1983 I took a 12 mile round trip day hike. I took off from the end of the road and followed the ridge between Horseshoe and Cottonwood, over the saddle and on toward Cirque Lake. Got higher than necessary on the ridge south of Cirque Lake and had to drop down to the lake. There was an occupied campsite but no-one was apparently home.
Crossed on over the ridge to South Fork Lakes and met some hikers in the area. Followed the trail from the outlet of the lowest South Fork Lake over toward Cottonwood Creek. Cut up higher near the trail junction and came in on the lowest Cottonwood Lake.
Crossed the stream below the lake where people were fishing and continued cross country to Muir Lake which was very pleasant and campers were just setting up. Went up over the ridge to the east of the lake and dropped down into Hidden Lake where a small group was setting up camp. This lake is kind of hard to find from the lower end.
Continued on to the main Cottonwood trail and followed it almost to the road. At the beaver dams I crossed the creek and more or less contoured around toward my car at the road's end. Covered lots of country on this hike and got a good workout.
On July 16, 1983 I took a 9 mile round trip day hike. I decided to do something a bit different so from road's end at Horseshoe Meadows I hiked the trail to Mulkey Pass. At the pass I followed the ridge back easterly that separates Last Chance Meadow from Mulkey Meadow. The Pacific Crest Trail runs along the lower side to the southwest.
I stayed high on the ridge and enjoyed great views of the Cottonwood area. Worked my way out over easy terrain to the end of the ridge where there is a nice view point just before the world drops off into the Owen's Valley. Peak 11,062 (Edge of the World).
Got a good workout climbing several hills. Contoured a little lower on the southwest side coming back and then crossed over the ridge in a nice saddle that dropped me onto the Mulkey Pass Trail near its lower end. Followed the main trail back to my car. Another great Cottonwood area hike.
On July 23, 1983 I took a 10 mile round trip day hike continuing my weekend exploration of the Cottonwood area. Took off from the end of the road up the ridge toward Cirque Lake. The flowers were really blooming as the ground began to finally dry out some from the heavy winter. The ponds were still around.
Crossed the saddle into the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek and crossed over a meadow to the trail then continued to a small lake (nice campsite) at the base of Peak 11,415. Climbed steeply to the top of this whale of peak which stands between the North and South Forks.
After lunch on top I strolled down to the southern end enjoying views of the Cottonwood Basin all along the way. Dropped back down to the small lake and returned to my car via the same saddle and ridge. When crossing the South Fork Meadow I saw several deer, one with a cow bell. Enjoyed another nice day.
On July 31, 1983 I took a 12 mile round trip hike. The Forest Service had no parking signs up at the roadhead for road construction so I parked just above the pack station in the hiker parking and headed up the old trail and then up onto the road.
Took the Trail Pass trail and turned north on the Pacific Crest Trail on top of the pass. Enjoyed the always pleasant hike to Poison Meadow with a quick water stop at a trailside spring. Continued on to Cottonwood Pass for lunch. Saw the first hikers of the day at the pass.
After crossing a large snowfield I headed down the main trail where I noticed the packer's trail they used to by-pass the snow. Decided to see where it went. It climbed up through a nice area and crossed a saddle on the ridge before heading for Chicken Spring Lake. I turned around on the saddle and contoured over the next ridge easterly to the headwaters of Horseshoe Meadow Creek.
I followed down next to the creek on easy terrain to the main trail just above the Forest Service Cabin and on back to my car. At the parking area I ran into Jim Carpentier and his girl on a picnic. Jim was a member of Troop 82 when I hiked with them in 1975-76. He had been working at a mine in Nevada and was now heading for Arizona to learn to be a welder. It was another great hike for me.
On August 27, 1983 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike. Parked at the lower area again and hiked up to the road's end then along my usual ridge toward Cirque Lake. Crossed the saddle and headed for the meadow south of the lake. At the head of the meadow I stayed lower than previously and contoured around to come in right at lake level.
Circling the west side of the lake I passed a campsite with someone apparently sunbathing. I continued on up the ridge toward South Fork Lakes and eventually intersected the New Army Pass Trail just below Long Lake.
I headed down the trail and shortly contoured to the left over to Cottonwood Lake #3 which I hadn't seen in several years. After lunch I started toward Old Army Pass then decided to head back toward the car. I enjoyed a pleasant hike down the main trail, passing a Sierra Club group coming in. Another beautiful day.
On September 11, 1983 I took a 9 mile round trip day hike. The contractor was busy working on the lower portion of the road and work was underway on the new Forest Service Campground at the end of the road but nothing was happening today so I parked at road's end before heading across Horseshoe Meadow to the "island" in its center.
I crossed the island and contoured into Poison Meadow Creek and up the north side to lower Poison Meadow. I continued up the northerly ridge to the Sierra Crest then along the crest to Peak 11,630 near Cottonwood Pass. There was a Marmot carcass (winter kill) in the rocks on top and a nice view.
After some sun and lunch I continued on to the Pass and then headed down the main trail back to my car. Don't believe I saw anyone else all day - enjoyed a nice hike.
On October 2, 1983 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike. The first snow storm of the season had dumped a lot of snow so I decided to check out Cottonwood Pass. From the end of the road I started off in about an inch of sloppy wet snow which soon grew to four inches as I started up the hill toward the pass.
It was soon six inches but easy going. On top there was six to eight inches but the weather was warm and sunny. To the west all I could see was snow. After lunch the clouds started gathering and I headed down as the temperature cooled. It looked like time to get the skis ready as I headed home for a hot shower.
On October 16, 1983 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike. My notes say "Cottonwood Ridge" but I'm not really sure what I did on this hike. I think I headed up my usual ridge toward Cirque Lake but didn't climb to the saddle. Instead I contoured around into the lower headwaters of Horseshoe Creek and eventually turned back toward the trail and headed for the car. Think it was just a pleasant uneventful hike.
On October 23, 1983 I took an 8 mile round trip day hike. After three weeks the snow was mostly gone as I headed up my usual ridge in the direction of Cirque Lake. I crossed the saddle and headed up into the lower meadow as a few clouds whizzed by high above.
After lunch in the upper meadow I decided the gathering weather meant time to head down. This time I took a slightly different route around the east and south side of a peak next to the saddle and a little snow and sleet fell as I dropped down onto the lower ridge. It soon stopped as I continued toward the car.
The Forest Service contractor was continuing work during the week on the new campground and the road contractor was continuing to spread base material up the main road - but winter was coming.
On October 30, 1983 I took a 6 mile round trip day hike. Again, my notes say "Cottonwood" but I don't remember what exactly I did. Anyway I'm sure I enjoyed a pleasant hike.
On November 5, 1983 I took a 9 mile round trip day hike. It was a beautiful day as I headed up my usual ridge toward Cirque Lake. This time instead of crossing the saddle I contoured to the west and climbed to the headwaters of Horseshoe Meadows Creek, then crossed a ridge and continued to the top of the saddle north of Cottonwood Pass on the trail used by the packers to by-pass the snow on the pass this summer.
I continued on along the well-worn trail to Chicken Spring Lake which I had all to myself. It was a bit windy as I relaxed behind some rocks for lunch. After a while I headed on down the Pacific Crest Trail to Cottonwood Pass and down the main trail back to my car. Didn't see another person all day and had a very pleasant hike.
On November 12, 1983 I took a 2 mile round trip day hike. I decided to check out snow conditions at Horseshoe Meadows. The contractor had finally decided to pull out. I hiked up through an inch or two of fresh snow on the newly graded campground road for about a mile and returned to my car. Time to bring my skis.
On November 19, 1983 I took a 4 mile round trip ski tour. I drove to the end of the road with my skis and skied up the new campground road on barely enough snow. It got a little deeper up on the ridge as I headed toward the saddle leading to Cirque Lake. As I got higher the rockier terrain eliminated the skiing, so after lunch I skied back down (including a few grinding slides on the gravel). Need more snow.
On November 26, 1983 I took a 7 mile round trip ski tour. More snow had fallen so I returned up the Horseshoe Meadows road. I was able to drive to within about two miles of the hill top before the road drops into Cottonwood Creek. It was pretty icy for a ways but things improved as I continued up the road on my skis.
After a while another skier from Lone Pine (a teacher) caught up with me and we skied over the hill and down to the sawmill area. He had to go back but I continued on to the pack station site and up the hill to the main Cottonwood Trailhead.
After lunch I headed back. After climbing to the hill top the skiing down the road was pretty fast and treacherous due to icy conditions. Finally the ice became too much for me so I walked the last half mile or so. A bitter wind was blowing so the car was a happy refuge as I headed down for a hot shower.
On December 18, 1983 I took a 4 mile round trip ski tour with Jim White. Jim White was due home and we hoped to go skiing so I decided to check out the conditions on Horseshoe. Had to stop the car a little lower down at a heavy drift but much of the road was clear of snow as I hiked about two miles up it. Not very promising for skiing unless we were to walk several miles carrying our skis. We later decided to go to North Lake.
On January 28, 1984 I took a 4 mile round trip ski tour. I decided to checkout Horseshoe again to see if I wanted to bring my new Ramer ski's up there. Was able to drive to the spot about two miles below the hill top before being stopped by a shaded drift.
I hiked two miles up the road to the hill top on mostly bare road - only thin snow in a few places. Most of the hill down to Cottonwood was bare but it looked like plenty of snow in the basin itself.
When I got back to the car some kids and their dad or older brother had a pickup stuck in the snow so I helped pull them out with my cable before heading home for a hot shower.
On February 19, 1984 I took a 10 mile round trip ski tour. Anxious to give my Ramer skis another try so got an early start and drove up the road to a spot about two miles from the top of the ridge. A persistent patch of snow blocked the road but on examination I saw that someone had driven through so I decided to try.
Got stuck and had to do some shoveling to get out. Decided that if I put on tire chains I could probably make it so put on all four chains. Promptly got stuck even better. Digging just kept allowing me to back down the road into the same snow drift. Finally I got the cables out and using a nearby tree and my electric winch pulled the front of the car around (in effect turned the car around) and finally got unstuck.
Took the chains off, picked up the cable, etc. and moved the car to a parking spot - just as another car showed up. It was now 10:30 a.m. after spending about two hours messing around. Put my skis on top of my pack and started hiking up the road - it was clear of snow for most of the next two miles. Finally found enough to ski on after passing Little Cottonwood Creek.
Skied up to the ridge top and then had to walk again for a few hundred yards before skiing down a short section of the road. Again walked down to the Sawmill trail. Skied from that point up past the pack station site and to the end of the road - to where the new campground road was under construction.
It was now 2:30. There was lots of snow on the road from the pack station on. Ate a snack, adjusted wax and headed down the hill. Some others had proceeded me and laid a track which I had used coming up. This allowed me to tour pretty good down the hill even though I couldn't get up a lot of speed.
It was better from about the Cottonwood trail down to the end of the snow. I was suffering from the getting unstuck digging and trudged slowly up the hill with several rest stops. At the top, I was again able to ski for a while almost to Little Cottonwood Creek. Then it was a hike back to the car which I reached about 5 p.m. Got my exercise and a little skiing and the weather was very pleasant
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