Fifty Plus (50+) - Horseshoe Meadows/Cottonwood Lakes Climb

New old guy here!

Been knocking off all the eastside canyons in Inyo and Mono Counties this fall. Halloween day, a buddy and I awoke early and drove an hour and a half south to Lone Pine to tackle Horseshoe Meadows Rd. The elevation in Lone Pine is about 3700 ft. The high point of the climb can take you to 10,100 ft at the Cottonwood Pass Pack Station. One way mileage is about 23 miles, depending on how you slice it.

Any who have driven US 395 north from southern California to Mammoth or Reno will recognize the prominent switchbacks coursing their way up the side of the mountain just south of Lone Pine. That's Horseshoe Meadows Rd.

We started at Lone Pine Park (next to the Carl's Jr) and headed up Whitney Portal Rd to Tuttle Creek Rd and a tour through the Alabama Hills. It's a nice approach before the real climbing begins. Tuttle Creek Rd ends at Lubken Cyn Rd where a right turn leads to Horseshoe Meadows Rd. At this point, you've covered 6 1/2 miles and 1100 ft of gain. A 3 mile climb to Horseshoe Meadows Ranch is where the real climb begins at the 5,500 ft level.

The road ramps immediately to 8% and more for the next 10 miles where it tops out at 9,600 ft before a 250 ft decent and the final 2 1/2 mile climb to the trailhead at 10,070. We took a 1/4 mile detour just before the top to the pack station which sits at 10,100 ft for those who are counting. :D

Ride Stats:

47.5 miles and 7385 ft of gain +/-

Here's the ride profile:

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp170/HiltonCreek/CottonwoodLakesTrailhead.jpg


The infamous eastside alluvial fan approaching the base of the climb. This initial traverse seems endless. One nice thing is that the switchbacks get progressively shorter from bottom to top. Picture quality is poor but if you look closely, you can see the switchbacks climbing the side of the mountain ahead:

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp170/HiltonCreek/1031091038b.jpg

Looking down at the Alabama Hills and the town of Lone Pine in the distance:

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp170/HiltonCreek/1031091241b.jpg

The trailhead at the top:

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp170/HiltonCreek/1031091403a.jpg

Owens Dry Lake on the decent:

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp170/HiltonCreek/1031091312b.jpg

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp170/HiltonCreek/1031091542a.jpg


Sorry about the picture quality. These pics are taken with my Motorola camera phone. :D

I have driven this road, it's a tough one but both the view and the meadow at the top are splendid.
Riding it up! Well, that's a dandy. I would love to do it but not sure I will have the guts to give it a try.

Kudos for such a feat. :thumb:

Wow good climb! That's similar to the Mitchell climb here in NC though we don't have to deal with the 10K' elevation.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, . . . . YIKES! That's some climb.

Oh, and welcome New Old Guy. I hate you aleady, in a good way.

oh my-that is a lot of ups for 23 miles. Even a little more climbing than Mt Lemmon in Tucson and over a slightly shorter distance.

oh my-that is a lot of ups for 23 miles. Even a little more climbing than Mt Lemmon in Tucson and over a slightly shorter distance.

I've heard about Mt Lemmon... that it is a big one. Would love to do that someday.

The classic climb out of the Owens Valley is Onion Valley Rd; shorter but more difficult than Horseshoe Meadows, IMO. We did that this past Saturday. A vertical mile of elevation gained over 13 miles; 10 of those at an average grade of about 8 1/2%. Beautiful winding switchbacks over the last 5 miles and the decent is nothing short of epic!!


I would love to do it but not sure I will have the guts to give it a try.

Kudos for such a feat. :thumb:


This was the biggest effort to date for my friend. And, he would never have done it without some encouragement and a lot of beta going in. A valuable lesson learned was that anything is possible if you've got the time. There were sections where he was going less than 4 mph but he made it! :D

I've said it before and I'll say it again, . . . . YIKES! That's some climb.

Oh, and welcome New Old Guy. I hate you aleady, in a good way.

Thanks Mojo! You can do it!!

Reminds me of the days I went Hang gliding there. Flew over 100 miles to Nevada from Horseshoe Meadows. Got to >17,000 ft and flew over 7.5 hours. Boy, those were the days.