Coyote Flat, Vagabond Peak (aka Cloudripper Jr.) (13,374′) and The Hunchback (12,311′)

Thunder & Lightning Lake with Vagabond Peak
Thunder & Lightning Lake with Vagabond Peak

Another summer weekend, another whirlwind trip to the Eastern Sierra. This time my destination was the peaks of the Inconsolable Range, a sharp ridge on the eastern edge of the Sierra just north of the Palisades and Bishop Pass. Rather than use the traditional Bishop Pass trail approach, we decided to access the ridge from the east via Coyote Flat, an open plateau at an altitude of about 10,000 ft that sits between the Inconsolables and the town of Bishop.

Although it is only about 20 miles outside of Bishop, Coyote Flat is a relatively quiet and empty place, especially when compared to the nearby Sierra access points of South Lake and Lake Sabrina. The reason? The only road that goes into Coyote Flat is a class II/III 4×4 road that switchbacks steeply and rocky from 5000 ft to 10,000 ft. The road was rough but fun, bouncing us around quite a bit as we drove the 22 miles from Manor Market along 168, through Coyote Flat, to the end of the road at the wilderness boundary along Baker Creek.

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Black Mountain (of the White Mountains)

Summit and Sierra
Summit and Sierra

Black Mountain is the southernmost peak in the White Mountains, most commonly known as the home of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest. On the northern end of the range is White Mountain, the third highest peak in California at 14,246 feet.

Black Mountain, while ‘only’ checking in at 9,083 feet, is still an impressive peak when viewed from the west. When driving south along 395 it is the prominent peak outside of Big Pine just north of where route 168 cuts between the Whites and the Inyos.

This is a fairly easy class 2 peak for the experienced desert peak bagger, but what it lacks in challenge it makes up for in views of the Sierra across Owen’s Valley. From the peak the view of the Palisades is incredible, and on a clear day the view extends from the southern Sierra to the peaks of  Yosemite. Keep your eye open along the way for ancient bristlecones – there is a small grove along the route.

If You Go

Sierra View
Sierra View

Trailhead Access
Access is by an old mining road. After turning off of SR 168 on White Mountain Road, go 1/2 mile past the entrance station and turn left on a well-used 4WD track. This is an old narrow and twisty mining road with sharp and big rocks. While 4WD was never necessary for the experienced drivers in our group, high clearance definitely was – passenger cars should not go on this road, at the very least the sharp rocks present a danger to your tires, nevermind the clearance issues.  Drive about 4 miles until you see a campsite and parking area near the remains of an old mine. Park here.


Route
There is no trail to the summit. To find a basic use trail follow the old blocked road to the left of the parking – look for the cairn leading off of the road. We headed to the mine and then scrambled up the steep and scree-covered slope – this was the most difficult part of the hike.

Links

Track

Black Mountain (Inyo-White Mountains) at EveryTrail

The first snow camp of the season

Camp
Camp

To put it mildly, last winter’s minimal snowfall was dissapointing. We only got out on one snowcamping outing, and there was so little snow that we were able to have a campfire in a ring that was melted out. We’re now officially ahead of last winter’s snow tally by getting out for an overnight snowshoe this weekend near Shaver Lake.

Highway 168 has a bunch of sno-parks, but most cater to snowmobilers. For me, the joy of being out in the backcountry in winter is the solitude and peace and quiet that is difficult to find in the summer. Therefore, I don’t like going to places where I’ll be interrupted by the annoying buzz of snowmobiles. Fortunately there are a couple of areas along 168 that are snowmobile-free ski trailheads, but we discovered that these are packed with families who come to picnic and sled, making things a bit difficult.

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