Soldier Lake and Mt. Langley

Day 1: 

I drove from Fresno to Lone Pine the night before and camped up Horseshoe Meadows TH. I met up with my friend Corey (who climbed Mt. Stewart with me last year Ring around Kaweahs 2019) and we started towards New Army Pass. Cottonwood Lakes never disappoints and it was beautiful as usual. We were even lucky enough to see some bighorn sheep, something neither of us had seen before. Once over the pass we made our way down to Lower Soldier Lake to camp for the night. 

Day 2:

Our plan today was to climb Mt. Langley. I had done it a couple times before but for Corey, it was his first time. We headed up to Upper Soldier Lake where I made an error and ended up climbing too far north and we had to navigate more difficult terrain than necessary. 

The views from Upper Soldier and the upper drainage were spectacularly stark and barren. This is my favorite type of area in the Sierra and I loved it! Heading north-east towards the wall we made our way up the switchbacks. They are not maintained, but are in remarkably good condition. 

Once we connected to the Mt. Langley trail it was just another hour or so to the summit. 

At this point Corey and I headed in separate directions: he was heading west on a 8 day trip to Lodgepole but I had to be at work the next morning. I headed down Old Army Pass trail (not as bad as the rangers make it seem) and back to my car. This area of the Sierra is well used, but it's still one of my favorite places to be.

Mt. Goddard

 Day 1: Maxon TH - South Fork San Joaquin

I spent the night at Maxon TH and got an early start in the morning. The first 11 miles to Fleming Lake were mostly forest walking, and the scenery didn't pick up until I hit treeline and caught my first glimpses of Hell for Sure Pass. 

A quick stop at Hell for Sure Lake and I was heading up and over. From the lake it was only ~600ft to the pass and it was a quick hop to the top. I didn't think it was that bad. From the pass I saw Mt. Goddard and the mountain that it was! I dropped down the east side of the pass and followed the trail south paralleling the South Fork San Joaquin before I made it down to the river where I camped for the night.

Day 2: San Joaquin - Mt. Goddard - Martha Lake

Early the next morning I started heading up the canyon towards Martha Lake. I followed the trail most of the ways until it fizzled out. Once near the head, there were great views back down Goddard Canyon. 

I arrived at Martha Lake at 9:30 and took a quick break before sizing up Mt. Goddard. It is a big knob of a mountain a full 2,500ft above Martha Lake. I started up, heading right up the slot to the south of Goddard. It was a lot of talus and rock hopping, but there were faint use trails in some places. I especially enjoyed the dark metamorphic rock, it reminded me of walking into Mordor! 

I took a final break at the lake south of the summit before looking up the switch backs up to the SW shoulder. It was very steep and slippery, one step up, half a step back. At the shoulder it was still another 500ft to the top and the 13,000 elevation was slowing me down. I enjoyed the views and eventually made it to the summit! I noticed a smoke plume to the west, which I later found out to be the start of the Creek Fire. The smoke obscured the views a little, but I enjoyed the summit before heading back down to Martha. 

I got back mid-afternoon and enjoyed some relaxation and lounging around, something I don't normally partake in when backpacking. I was also treated to some cool shots of Mt. Goddard and Martha Lake.

Day 3: Martha Lake - Maxon TH

I awoke to a beautiful morning with the smell of smoke in the air. I originally planned 4 days for this trip and had thought about exploring Bench Valley or Red Mountain Basin, but the smoke from the Creek fire was getting worse fast. I decided to go back to Hell for Sure Pass and decide what to do from there. After hoofing it back up (this side is worse than the west side) I decided to bail out due to the rapidly deteriorating conditions. I fastpacked down the hill where the conditions got worse every step I took. I met several other groups with the same thoughts and I made it back to the TH around 7pm. A great hike in some awesome terrain!