[rubywrangler]

The first weekend I was in Bishop it was too cold for backpacking so I did a dayhike to Cloudripper (13,525) and Vagabond (13,374) peaks via Green lake, from the South lake trailhead. I had read that Cloudripper has great views and had considered climbing it from Chocolate lakes a couple years ago, but was scared off by the long class 4 gully on that side. The Green lake route is mostly a walk-up with some easy scrambling near the summit. The temperature barely got above freezing all day but it wasn't THAT painful as long as I stayed in the sun, except for a very windy section of the route above Green lake. I took the pipeline shortcut from the trailhead which literally means you walk on an old cast iron pipe for about a mile before joining up with the trail. After passing golden meadows and Brown lake and Green lake, the trail climbs up to a huge plateau and then drops down the other side into the Big Pine lakes drainage. I left the trail near its highest point and climbed up the ridge and over Vagabond to Cloudripper. On the way I accidentally disturbed a cute little burrowing owl, the highlight of my day. Cloudripper does have excellent views as advertised! It was calm and sunny on top so I stayed for awhile. Eventually my hands started to get cold so I went back over Vagabond and then dropped straight down a steep, sandy talus slope to a swampy meadow south of Green lake, trying to avoid the wind. I have a pretty strong internal furnace but by now my descent route was in shade and it was steep enough that I couldn't move fast enough to stay warm, it was kind of miserable. Probably should have stuck with the normal route which was still in the sun. My hydration hose froze and cracked, first time ever! I was chilled to the bone by the time I got back to the car and was very happy to be staying in town instead of camping that night. Took the longest hot shower I've had in awhile!

pipeline

autumn meadow color

green lake

huge plateau

burrowing owl

vagabond and cloudripper

cloudripper from vagabond

cloudripper summit

maybe the class 4 gully?

summit pano

chocolate peak environs

The weather warmed up over the next few days so I had a chance to squeeze in one more multiday trip. I pored over maps and trip reports and came up with a short list of three trips. Then I of course picked the one that was inaccessible - the road to the trailhead was closed for paving on the day I started hiking. Doh! Luckily one of the other options started right up the road, because I was already getting a late start due to morning meetings that ran long. It was almost 1pm when I left my car at the Hilton lakes trailhead and headed up the road about a mile to Mosquito Flat. I love the way these roads fling you into the alpine. Views are great even before you leave the parking lot. After ~1/2 mile the trail splits; I took the right fork up to Mono pass. The weather was gloriously warm and sunny and this trail has really spectacular views all the way to the pass: Little lakes valley, the surrounding peaks, Ruby lake. Mono pass itself is very big and barren. It took longer than expected to get across and it was super windy and cold. I passed a couple more lakes on the descent and then took the side trail to Fourth Recess lake, where I camped. Another super pretty spot, although it was already in shadow when I arrived. I figured the temperature would drop quickly after sunset so I suited up in my stay-puff marshmallow man costume (puffy jacket, pants, booties), ate dinner, and snuggled in for a long night of reading and sleeping. The forecasted lows were mid-30s, but I don't know if the temp ever got below 45 on the whole trip. I woke up sweaty and had to de-puffy both nights! And friday morning was warm enough for shorts

little lakes valley

ruby lake

stripes

ruby lake

mono pass area

summit lake

one of the trail lakes

4th recess

4th recess lake

4th recess lake

4th recess lake

Friday started with an easy hike to Pioneer basin, and it was such a pretty spot that I spent the whole morning meandering and checking out all the different lakes.

approaching pioneer basin

approaching pioneer basin

pioneer basin

pioneer basin

pioneer basin

pioneer basin

pioneer basin

mt stanford

pioneer basin

pioneer basin

Mt. Stanford looked intimidating from afar but up close it seemed ok. Loose and steep, but doable. Still, the idea of slogging up 1000'+ of steep gravelly crap was not appealing so I chose to take the less direct west ridge route (with only a few hundred feet of steep gravelly crap). Eventually the ridge turns from hiking to easy scrambling and then cairns lead you on a traverse off the ridge and up to a pass. From there, it's a quick hike and scramble ~100 yds up to the summit (12,838). Views of Mono recesses, Pioneer basin, and all the way to Ritter and Banner were excellent, but it was very windy and the light wasn't good for photos so I quickly signed the register and went in search of a windbreak.

west ridge

4th recess

pioneer basin

toward mono pass

back down the west ridge

After a snack and changing into pants I descended east toward Stanford lake and then dropped into the Hilton creek drainage. This was a very pretty section of the route with several little tarns along the way, and very easy travel from the summit of Stanford all the way to the lowest tarn at ~10,850. From that tarn to lake 10353 there's a bootpath, but I had trouble staying on it; things got a little schwacky by Sierra standards. Eventually I found my way to the Hilton creek trail for about a mile and then turned south on the way trail to the upper Hilton lakes. The wind was ferocious up there and I was very relieved to find a sheltered campsite in the trees east of lake 10650. Once again I stay-puffed, ate dinner and snuggled in for another much warmer than expected night.

descent route

tarn

tarn

tarn

lake 10353

On Sat morning I got up for sunrise photos then hiked further up the valley to see a few more of the Hilton creek lakes before retracing my steps down to the Hilton creek trail. After passing the lake at ~10300, I left the the trail at the first switchback and traversed east until I met it again, to cut out some elevation loss/gain. The upper part of the Hilton creek trail passes through pretty open meadows, but after that it was a couple hours of a boring slog with lots of annoying minor ups and downs. I reached the car at 12:30 and was glad to have gotten the road walk out of the way on Day 1!

lk 10720

lk 10800+

lk 10800

lk 10650

Overall about 26 miles and 7000' of elevation gain. This could definitely be done as an overnight with an earlier start than I got.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Wandering around the Sierras never gets old.

[Bargainhunter]

Gorgeous photos of some very cool areas. The East Side cold is no joke. "Denali level temps" at times isn't much of an exaggeration. When Galen Rowell did his winter route on Lone Pine Peak it was minus 10F overnight (the coldest I recorded during my trip on Denali was ~ -25F). Sounds like you were prepared for it. Hiking this time of year avoids some of the crowds otherwise at Bishop Pass, etc. and the other popular trailheads. For a chilly winter walkup, try White Mountain. Brrrrr.... Still, fall hikes on the Sierra East Side beat the summer Sierra heat which can be unrelenting (I'm looking at you Mt. Tom). Your pano shot of the Palisades was so crisp! I need to get back down there!

[Stefan]

You definitely motivate me to return to the Sierras!

[Matt]