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 for the bigger rocks, as the fine gravel on the bigger rocks is VERY slippery and can easily lead to slides and falls. Won't lie, I didn't have fun on those last 2 miles to the summit. But, I did it. And I'm glad I did. LVMC Classic 50 Peak #21 for me, my 3rd California 14'er, and my 4th 14'er that I've summited thus far. We came down Old Army Pass, which is no longer maintained by the USFS. There was some rockfall, but you could navigate around it, enough hikers still use the trail. However, I'm glad we went up New Army pass, it's a much better (and safer) trail. That being said, the sight of the huge Lakes #4 and #5 was incredible. I only wish that the smoke and haze and ash from the wildfires had not blown in and obscured our view. Most of the trip down, I wore my neck gaiter over my nose and mouth to try and filter some of the particulates out of the smoky air we were hiking through. Visibility was... poor. It felt very post-apocalyptic (had a Mad Max vibe to it). We backpacked out the next day via the Army Pass trail, past lakes #1 and #2. Total hike mileage was 24.5 miles spread across 3 days. I'm glad we backpacked rather than day-hiked it; the area is spectacular, and it was nice to have the time to enjoy the scenery instead of feeling like I couldn't stop and take photos.