mountains Archives - Page 4 of 9

Ragged Peak

Ragged Peak (10,912'), Yosemite National Park

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:July 9, 2013
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

One of the most spectacular views in Yosemite, on the way to Ragged Peak

My second backpacking trip ever in Yosemite was to Young Lakes, a hike that I still remember as very difficult and strenuous. Of course, I was in no kind of hiking shape at the time and my pack weighed about 50 lbs, so when I realized I would be on the same trail again with a stronger body and a daypack I was interested to see if the trail was as difficult as I remembered it to be.
The answer is no, of course not. In fact, it is actually one of the easier hikes in Yosemite! It’s amazing how much experience skews your view of what constitutes ‘easy’. That’s why I never trust guide books that give ratings on a Easy-Difficult scale. But I digress. Why did I return to this trail? To hike a peak, naturally!
Back in…2000? 2001? …when I hiked in to Young Lakes I was impressed by the toothy peak that the trail carefully circled at a distance. It looked intimidating and completely unclimbable to my inexperienced eyes. Recently it popped up on my radar again and I was surprised to read that this peak, Ragged Peak, was a quite doable class 3 summit. So what else to do but pack up and go?

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Mount Baldwin (12,615 ft) via Convict Canyon

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 24, 2012
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:13 Comments

Mount Baldwin is a striking peak. The area boasts the oldest rock in the Sierra, revealing picturesque patterns and colors that contrast strongly with the typical grey Sierra granite. From…

Mt Tom (13,652 ft) from Horton Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 12, 2012
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:2 Comments

The shadow of Mt Tom covering Bishop at Sunset After Sunday's successful climb of Basin I was a bit worried about how sore I'd feel upon waking up Monday morning.…

Basin Mountain (13,240 ft) from Horton Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 9, 2012
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

When you drive along 395 through the Bishop area there are a few prominent peaks that define the skyline. The biggest, most impressive summit is Mount Tom. Tom has always…

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

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:June 25, 2012
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

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…

Trailmaster Peak and Shortcut Point

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:June 7, 2012
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:3 Comments

Trailmaster Peak (high point on the right) The complete failure of our original Memorial Day Weekend plans ended up being a blessing in disguise. Relocating to the un-stormed-on southern Sierra…

Split Mountain from Upper Basin

Split Mountain: 14,058 ft

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 7, 2011
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

There are plenty of options for getting to the summit of Split Mountain, from the walk-up to the technical. Split could be considered the easiest 14k peak in California when looking…

Arrow Peak from Bench Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 5, 2011
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:2 Comments

Arrow Peak from Camp Words of the Day: &$%ing mosquitoes!Despite the mosquitoes this was a great day. Arrow Peak is a wonderful climb from Bench Lake and the views from…

Taboose Pass Trailhead

Taboose Pass to Bench Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:September 4, 2011
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:14 Comments

This year’s long summer Sierra trip was a return to an area I sped through when I hiked the middle stretch of the John Muir Trail in 2006. At that time we came over Pinchot Pass, camped at Lake Marjorie, and then hike through Upper Basin and over Mather Pass the next day. I felt a bit rushed through Upper Basin, mainly because we were trying to outrun a horde of mosquitoes. But it still remained one of my favorite scenic stretches of the JMT and I was looking forward to a day where I could go back and explore.
That day came this summer. Sooz and I planned a nine day outing that would take us over Taboose Pass and down the old John Muir Trail to Cartridge Pass, eventually leading into Lake Basin where we would explore, fish, climb some peaks, and enjoy some Sierra solitude. Depending on the time we spent there we also tried to wedge in a couple of days to do Arrow Peak from Bench Lake and Split Mountain from Upper Basin. With this year’s late snow melt we went in with a flexible itinerary and the ability to change it around depending on how fast we moved and conditions we encountered. It turns out that this was a good plan – snow kept us from getting into Lake Basin and we were able to change plans mid-week.
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