Im going camping this weekend and was trying to decide on a place to go. Right now Im in between Mosquito Pass, Weston Pass, and Mt. Bross. I wanted to do Wheeler lake, but Im taking my wife and I want her to enjoy the ride up. So Im looking for something from someone who has been up recently to sway me one way or another.
I just got back from the Buena Vista area. We went there as a club function. I was the only one with a stock rig and didn't feel like having the club drag my truck over every obstacle on the trails that they were on. Some of the discussion leading up to this weekend was about camping spots that were near Cottonwood lake. I saw that there were a couple of trails above the lake.
We spent Saturday exploring the area. It is a beautiful valley and a great area to camp. On the trails above the lake are lots of sites that can easily hold 3 and some up to 10 vehicles. The road is J**p rough but LC smooth. I kept my spare tire under the truck all day and didn't regret not moving it into the back. There are lots of old mine working to explore. I got stopped by a snow drift across a shelf road (FR 344) at 11,500. The trail continued up over a saddle and overlooks the town of alpine.
There is a stream that flows down the valley with lots of campsites along it. They are not on top of each other but about every 100 or so yards. There are other campsites up the side of the canyon if you don't want to be right on the stream.
The only downside is it is a long ways to the good camping. If you are planning on staying put, you will love it. If you want to use it as a base to explore other trails it will be a long drive out. It is 6 miles up the Cottonwood pass road (FR 306) to the turnoff to Cottonwood lake (FR 344) and another 4 miles to the lake. Then another 10 miles of trail to the top.
So Im looking for something from someone who has been up recently to sway me one way or another. 
