Day 55-61: Kearsarge Pass to Mammoth Lakes

This section thoroughly lived up to my lofty expectations going in. The scenery, especially in the first few days, was remarkable. The storm clouds lifted Sunday morning and all of the hikers who sheltered in Bishop made their way back to Kearsarge Pass. Luckily, I got out early enough to make it over Kearsarge and back to the PCT, then get over Glen Pass. It was only 12 miles, but not an easy 12 by any stretch. The ascent to Kearsarge Pass was a beautiful but straightforward climb up.

Things got more interesting on Glen Pass. The ascent was straight up, and the thin layer of slush from the weekend storm made the climb extremely tough. I was as tired as I’ve been on trail at the top, only to see what was on the other side. Lots of snow on a real steep slope. I used my ice axe for the first time on trail, and felt pretty comfortable going down, as I have some experience on snow. Unsurprisingly, people less familiar with snow travel were pretty spooked by the descent.

Looking back up at Glen Pass. You can see our tracks on the left side of the picture.

That night I camped with some others at Rae Lakes. This is known to be one of the prettiest spots in the whole Sierra on the PCT, and did not disappoint.

The next day Pinchot Pass was the main event. This climb was long and relentless, with about 3600 feet of ascent over 7 miles. At least the scenery was excellent, which is to be expected when the trail goes over 12000 feet.

Pinchot was probably my second hardest pass so far, behind only Glen. With the next day came yet another pass. The ascent up to Mather Pass was actually pretty mellow until the last mile, which was a welcome break after Pinchot and Glen. The views on the other side were spectacular. Somehow the Sierra was continuing to outdo itself in terms of scenery.

As I walked down the valley, the views stayed their course until I was greeted by one of the best mountain views I have ever seen.

This picture just does not do this spot justice. The contrast of the deep valley and the high mountains made for what I honestly consider a perfect view. Incredible stuff. Even with all the views, I had to push on to get closer to Muir Pass, the next day’s objective. Muir has a reputation of being the snowiest pass on trail, so I wanted to hit it early before it became a slush fest.

The ascent up to Muir Pass in was tough, but not as bad as expected. I hit the backside around noon as the snow was softening, but it was pretty firm the whole way up.

Looking up towards Muir Pass. Still miles of snow to go.

The views by Muir Pass were about as good as the area by Mather. More mind bending, awesome scenery.

I ended up hanging out for a few hours by Evolution Lake, a remarkable spot on the descent down from the pass. This resulted in low mileage on the day, but sometimes you just have to take some time and enjoy what’s around you.

Evolution Lake

That night I camped low, but still had a great view across a meadow and back up the valley.I took my time getting out that morning, as the last few days had been early ones.

The next few days to get to Mammoth were still beautiful, but a bit less spectacular than the first part of this stretch. Selden pass was the objective for day 5. The views were a little underwhelming compared to the previous days, until I hit the pass and saw the other side.

That night I camped at the lake right after the pass, and had maybe my favorite campsite all trip.

The lake, known as Lake Marie, was a spectacular moment in an otherwise dull stretch (relatively dull, it was still quite beautiful, I was just spoiled at this point). The views did not return until Silver Pass, which was actually a pretty brutal climb as part of a 23 mile haul. The views at the top were nice, but still not as dramatic as the earlier passes.

The next day was the final one into the town of Mammoth Lakes. It was the first day in a while without a pass, though there was some climbing along the way.

The section from Kearsarge Pass to Mammoth Lakes was one of the toughest yet most rewarding parts of the trail so far. While the biggest mountains seem to be behind me, the next section of trail into Yosemite National Park should be a gem.