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Probably more detail than you need, but...
I had one more chat with Cindy on the permit line this morning. I was curious about why I can currently book a permit for the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead via recreation.gov for May but not for Cottonwood Pass (my preferred access to a Whitney west side approach). Answer: Because Cottonwood Pass is non-quota prior to 6/25 (annually the last Friday in June), there's no reason to "pre-reserve" a permit for any day during, say, May 1-June 24. Once Horseshoe Meadow Road is open (which seems likely to be well before Memorial Day this year - just my guess), permits for the Pass will be available via the website, so outside of its quota period one only needs to reserve one in time to get it via email.
When I commented that the passes for Cottonwood Lakes seem to have been snapped up to a surprising extent already for the summer, she said that permit reservations overall, including those given by entities other than Inyo NF, are running about triple those of a typical year (due presumably to all the covid-lock-down pent-up demand/cabin fever out there).
For those who fish: Fishing at Cottonwood Lakes #s 1-4, previously forbidden until July, is this year only allowed from Sept. 1 - Nov. 30 (see
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=190456&inline).
As for the weather, she said it snowed in Bishop (where she is) the last two days (3/13-14), but it was too warm there to stick at that elevation. Accumulation seemed to be well above 9,000 feet, so unless there's another significant dump soon, it could be an exceptionally low snow year (which you probably already knew). The official annual snow report happens on 4/1, and the people who take the measurements are busy at it as I type this. It's Inyo County that decides when to open the road, and while the counties are usually eager to open things up for the "Fishmas" start of the fishing season in the Eastern Sierra (4/24), Horseshoe Meadow Road is typically the last one Inyo County opens.
See you on the trail — Rico
Rico, thanks for the update and staying on top of this.
Back in 2014, the road up to Horseshoe Meadows opened up around April 28, I drove up on May 3 and got a walkin permit for Trail Pass. It definitely was deserted, but much enjoyable.
In most years, the road is open by Memorial Weekend, and sometime open to the last gate which is about a quarter mile from the Trailhead. I believe 2011 the road wasn't open until July, but then again, a very heavy snow year.
This year is turning into a disaster as for snow, so unless something drastic happens, the road should be open by mid-May. But, things can change.
paul
