"While being considered “the easiest of the fourteeners”, I’m sure this hike gets underestimated. It is, in fact, a very challenging hike. At around 20 miles round trip, this one takes all day. I started at around 5:30AM and finished at about 7:30PM (8.5 hours up and 5.5 hours down). I utilized Old Army Pass both ways. My phone died on the way back, but was able to get it recharged along the way, so I didn’t capture all the mileage and elevation hiked on the gpx." — MikeTeeples • Aug 17, 2024

"Met a random person at the meadows on the 12th. They were climbing Langley. At 3am I randomly wake up, see them getting ready, and I went with. This was completely unexpected and it turned out to be the greatest thing I had done all year. Plan to do more 14ers now that I know i can handel it. Time started: 4:30 am Time finish: 10:30 pm" — Wyatt-Dixon • Dec 13, 2023

"Summitted Mount Langley (14,026') as part of a 3-day (2-night) backpack. Took the Cottonwood Lakes trail from Horseshoe Meadows trailhead. Day 1 we backpacked 6 miles in to Cottonwood Lakes, set up camp at Lake #3. Day 2 we tackled Langley. Unfortunately, my full GPS track (all 3 days) is incomplete (died before the summit) due to me not properly recharging my batteries (or keeping them out of the cold), so using the day's track from my Fenix6 on my wrist. We started from our campsite and walked south to rejoin the New Army Pass route. A gorgeous morning - the smoke and haze from the nearby wildfires had blown off overnight, so we enjoyed a crystal-clear and calm morning with cloudless blue skies and mirror-like reflections in the Cottonwood lakes. We went up New Army pass, down to the saddle, and joined the trail to the summit. All was smooth sailing until the last 2 miles. That's the... less fun part. In 2.3 miles, you go from 12,000' to 14,000', and really, it's in the last mile where you go from 12,600' to 14,000' that's the killer. The trail is loose-packed fine gravel - very slippery and slide-y, which is not so good going up. Going down, you go fast - but you need to watch f..." — psychikingjes • Aug 27, 2020

"Climbed up New Army Pass - Very Scenic. Returned down Old Arm Pass - the non maintained trail was easy to follow, but obvious rock slides over the trail have made it a bit loose / tricky to negotiation in a few areas. Although the morning started with clear sunny blue skies, by early afternoon smoke from the "Castle Fire" about 15 miles to the southwest made the final push to the peak difficult. Smoke / Ash made visibility down to ~1 mile. So no views from the peak." — kenmiller • Aug 27, 2020

"Nice day hike out to Mt Langley from the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead. I went up on Old Army Pass and came back on New Army, which has a nice distinct set of views. Old Army is steeper and on looser, tougher terrain, but it's the better route if it's clear of snow and you'll have enough energy left afterwards for the tough sandy scree climb in the top 1.5 miles of Mt Langley." — sareine • Aug 1, 2020

"7.25.2020~Mt Langley (14,032’) solo day jaunt, 22 miles, 5,000’ gain in 8:38hrs. No poles. Not bad for this 52 year old body at touristy pace. The evening prior, I slept in my car at Cottonwood Lakes Campground Lot at 10,000’. Temps dropped to 35 degrees that night.... My route was Up New Army, Down Old Army for a Loop. Old army has some rockfall in a few spots but it wasn’t anything hard to get around. It was clear of snow. New Army is a neat trail. It is non technical, mellow and allows for a cruising pace. The 4 mile ridge to the summit is nice too. It is sandy and I found it easy to go up and fast to descend. I carried light and drank from the streams and alpine lakes. This place is special and has views ta die fer’. I met a lot of nice people along the way. Another great Mini trip. On the way home it got dark in Death Valley (and I was tired) so I camped at a place off the Hwy near the Wildrose/Emigrant Canyon turn off. It was too hot to sleep in my car so I put my bedding on top of the picnic table and slept under the stars all night. It was incredible. The breezes and quiet were intoxicating. I saw 4 shooting stars. https://youtu.be/rzf5-MRr8qY https://youtu.be/coREB8Tf8r..." — paula.raimondi • Jul 25, 2020

"July 3, 2020. Backpacked. Started at Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead, New Army Pass to the summit, then down to Soldier Lake where I camped. July 4th, Siberian Pass to the PCT southbound back to the trailhead. 28.4 miles and 5,640 feet of elevation gain for both days. Counting the stats for day one, the summit day, in this log. A tiny bit of snow on top of New Army Pass. I heard Old Army has more snow and rockfall from the recent earthquake. " — runningvegan • Jul 3, 2020

"The gate to the trailhead was closed, so that added an extra mile each way. Great weather, mosquitoes walking through cottonwood meadows and no need for micro spikes if you take New Army Pass. " — kerryscott • Jun 27, 2020

"Wow! My last backpacking trip of the summer was great. On Saturday we hiked six miles from the Cottonwood Lakes TH to Long Lake, where we set up camp. Sunday was summit day. We set out at 8 am and hiked up New Army Pass. A ways after the pass, the elevation started slowing me down. I put on my headphones for some musical motivation. After lots of short breaks I made it to the summit after hiking for a little bit over four hours. The views were great, and we took pictures and had lunch before heading back down and getting back to camp around four. On Monday we hiked out and rewarded ourselves with Mexican food and milkshakes... and some shopping. So glad I have such a great mountain crew!" — kaylam87 • Sep 2, 2018

"August 4, 2018. My first 14er. Started at 3 am and one of the connecting trails was washed out from heavy rain a few days before. The road was even closed the day before the hike due to mudslides. Finding the washed out trail added on extra miles and we ended up with a 29 mile day hike. Refill your water before you begin the summit. Once above the tree line it is very barren and dry; you will not be able to refill your water until you climb down and reach the Cottenwood Lakes. After 23 miles I had to stop my Garmin watch to save battery and at least record steps. 60,000 steps. " — runningvegan • Aug 4, 2018