Crabtree Meadows => Tuolumne Meadows
| Start | 761 | mile |
| End | 942 | mile |
| Distance | 181 | miles |
| Maximum Elevation | 13136 | ft |
| Elevation Gain | 32706 | ft |
| Elevation Loss | -34438 | ft |
This section is very long and has a lot of highlights, so the report will be, too. In the moment I only made it to Mammoth Lakes; therefore a little update must follow, but probably only when I will have reached South Lake Tahoe.
I did the section in multiple stretches:
- continue section G until Vidette Meadow and leave there via Kearsarge Pass, with a stay in Bishop
- the stretch over Glen Pass, Pinchot Pass and Mather Pass, but in the inverse direction; after that again a stay in Bishop
- over Selden Pass and Silver Pass to Mammoth Lakes
- after the stay in Mammoth Lakes over Donohue Pass to Tuolumne Meadows and continue into section I until Sonora Pass
2024-6-14 until 6-17
After a very long sleep I started from Crabtree Meadows to Forester Pass. This pass is the highest on the trail, around 4000 m asl, though lower than Mt Whitney. One should cross it in the morning when the snow is still frozen. So the task was set: hike as close as possible to the pass.
The trail crosses several creeks which may have high water; but all three major ones, Wallace, Wright and Tyndall, were mostly harmless, either no more than knee-deep with strong flow, or flowing slower when deeper.
Between these creeks there is a beautiful elevated plane called Bighorn Plateau, completely surrounded by mountains in the distance.
It also offers a good view on Mt Whitney (in the center):
The trail to Forester Pass dips into a little valley and then winds up to the Diamond Mesa, my destination for the night.
The pass is the cut into the mountain range; most of the way up goes via switchbacks blasted into the rock in the 1930s. Luckily, they are nearly free of snow.
I set up my tent close to the frozen lake where the first tentsite, though a bit wet, was just snow-free. The next morning started in the tent with a hot chocolate and a view on the pass:
The ascent itself was easier than assumed; I had started around 6:15 and was on the top 90 min later. In the lower and less steep part we had to shortcut some of the switchbacks through snow, but with a very good boot track. I did not use my crampons there.
Also the infamous chute was nearly free of snow:
But it was very cold at the pass, and because of the snow on the north side we did not stay for a long time.
The north side is not steep, it was easy walking, but I used my crampons here, more for comfort than for safety. About 1 mile of snow until the trail reappeared, still with some snow patches here and there.
When I had arrived in an area with first trees and not just rocks, it was time for an early lunch.
In the afternoon I followed the PCT until the junction to the Bullfrog Lake trail, where I went eastward to approach the Kearsarge Pass. Not far from the pass I set up my tent at the Kearsarge Lake.
At the Bullfrog Lake some deer stayed very quiet when I passed.
The next morning over Kearsarge Pass to the Onion Valley campground. While it was easy to get a hitch down from there to the little town of Independence, the way further to Bishop was difficult. There is a bus line, with just 2 runs per day, but not on weekends (it was Sunday). Finally, together with two other German hikers whom I had met down there, the lady from the gas station shop who lives in Bishop took us along. So it was late afternoon until I arrived there.
Close to the parking lot a ranger had checked my permit:
Bishop is a town of 5000 residents, and like all the area, with a lot of motels and restaurants.
You need a gun or some ammo? – no problem:
But there are also shops for hiking gear where I bought some repair stuff. I stayed at the Quality Inn and had a “zero day”, arriving on Sunday and leaving on Tuesday.
2024-6-18 until 6-24
The next stretch would normally enter via Kearsarge Pass back to the PCT and then go northbound via Glen, Pinchot and Mather Pass and further via Muir, Selden and Silver Pass to Red’s Meadow or Mammoth Lakes. But because of a bridge completely destroyed by the huge amount of snow in 2023, and only rebuilt during this summer, the PCTA recommends a detour around Muir Pass via Bishop Pass to South Lake Bishop, then to North Lake Bishop and reenter the PCT via Piute Pass. This alternate route allows another stay in Bishop if you leave between the two lakes.
I modified this path further in doing the first stretch between Kearsarge and Bishop Pass southbound instead of northbound, which allowed me to meet a lot of people on trail again, and have the more sketchy northern slopes of the passes in the morning and in ascent instead of descent. Thus I entered via Bishop Pass, then crossed Mather, Pinchot and Glen Pass on the PCT, and left another time via Kearsarge Pass.
The trail over Bishop Pass was new to me, and is quite scenic. In spite of its altitude of 3600 m there were no difficult snow crossings.
The pass itself is quite flat.
More warnings about damaged bridges.
The west side had more snow, but easy hiking nevertheless. On the way down I found one of the snow sensors which give us information about the remaining snow, but – more important – allow a forecast of the water supply in the LA area in the coming summer. It is solar powered with a battery in the ground under the rocks.
I set up my tent close to a lake still on the Bishop Pass trail.
Next morning I reached the bridge which is closed for livestock but still good enough for humans, and soon after rejoined the PCT.
A big waterslide directly before the junction:
More warnings because of the bridge outage around 22 miles north of the junction:
No, not this one, on my way southbound – it looked such already five years ago when I crossed it on my JMT hike.
I continued to come as close as possible to Mather Pass, and set up my tent about 4 miles north of it.
The next morning these 4 miles needed quite some time, but I was still early enough to have hard snow on the pass. The sun touches the snow here only around 8 h, and it stays hard until 10 h when I was on top of the pass. The top part is more a rock scramble than snow, but below is a steep snow section.
I used my crampons and the ice axe.
A view down and back on the boot track from where the rock scramble started:
The south side is easy again, with much less snow and not much on the trail.
This is home-turf for marmots:
Between the passes a lot of water, either directly on trail or creeks to be forded.
The next pass, Pinchot, does typically have less snow and is therefore easier to cross. All three – Mather, Pinchot, and Glen – are around 3600 m high.
So I did not have to care too much to be there early enough, and it was an easy walk up and down there.
In the winter, the High Sierra is a dangerous terrain:
Five years ago, and no sign of the body nor gear.
Next day, next pass – but between Pinchot and Glen there is a larger gap and quite some elevation change.
The suspension bridge helps to cross Rock Creek at the lowest point.
It was a long day, in order to come as close as possible to Glen Pass, but I had to stop 4 miles before, already hiking with the head lamp.
The trail was partially destroyed by a snow avalanche in the spring of 2023; therefore also no mile marker 800, which should have been there. In addition, a lot of mosquitos didn’t make it a nice afternoon; luckily I had some DEET spray with me.
The next morning I could approach the pass only later than desired, and it had quite some snow left. The snow started to get a bit slushy already, but I still felt safe with crampons and ice axe.
The lower part was a snowy boot track, but not steep; then one could follow the trail switchbacks with some rock scramble to shortcut snow covered areas, but also a short and steep (>45 deg) ascent through snow. Those who went northbound did this section climbing down backwards.
The last part was a traverse across the snow-covered slope, with a boot track that was more like a ditch, and very safe.
Nevertheless I was happy when this pass was done.
The second challenge of the day was to reach the Onion Valley campground over Kearsarge Pass still the same day. Another pass in the late afternoon.
I made it down around 19 h, hoping for a hitch to Bishop, together with nearly 10 other hikers. Only two cars still left; nice people who would take us all down to Independence, but both would continue to Lone Pine (southbound) instead of Bishop (northbound). With my experience from a week ago, I let the others leave and stayed the night at the campground. This was the right decision; I had a nice evening with another hiker who wanted to start from there the next morning, and a car camper interested in the PCT; and the next morning I got a hitch directly to Bishop within 5 minutes.
Back to Bishop I stayed the first night in the same hotel, but chose for the second one the Hostel California – kind of a reminiscence to the late 1960s. Weed-friendly, of course.
But Bishop has also a small public park,
more slightly strange hostels where you can stay e. g. in an Airstream caravan,
and a “world famous” bakery founded by a family from the Netherlands. Anything else than the sweet slushy factory bread is here a fancy (and expensive) product.
They offer a wide variety of bread; I tested a sandwich with the “original shepherd bread” which was okay-ish, but not more.
The fact that I had smuggled a beer can to their outdoor seating area may be a federal crime, at least…
In the evening in a Mexican restaurant, with a “German” beer (= Pilsener) called Bohemia and brewed in Mexico.
The next morning I still stayed in the hostel, then had a burger for an early lunch, and at noon together with the driver, 4 other hikers and two dogs went in a Jeep to the Piute Pass trailhead, to continue my journey north.
2024-6-25 until 7-2
From the trailhead on the North Lake until the PCT junction it is 17 miles; much more than what I can hike on an afternoon. So I rejoined the PCT only the next day.
Again a lot of mosquitos, and later in the afternoon dark clouds came in, and a slight thunderstorm started. I only got rained on, but was smart enough to set up my tent early and not continue further. It was the only rain in these weeks on trail; while it got hazy in the afternoon in the coming days.
I crossed the pass the next morning, very easy, but quite some snow fields and a lot of water on the west side, similar to Bishop Pass.
Finally I made it back to the PCT and started direction Selden Pass the next morning.
Water and mosquitos continued, otherwise it is a beautiful walk.
The south side of the pass has several lakes at various steps, until you hit the highest point. But the real highlight is Marie Lake on the other side:
I continued another 2 miles and then found a quiet tent spot at a small lake.
The plan was to cross Silver Pass the next day, but the mosquito situation had really escalated around Selden Pass, and my small DEET bottle wouldn’t last very long anymore.
Therefore, when I reached the junction to the Bear Ridge Trail in the afternoon, knowing that it was 6.5 miles to Vermillion Valley Resort on this side trail, I decided to go there for the night. I should be able to make it early enough for a dinner, and hopefully their store would have mosquito repellent.
Lake Edison, a reservoir, was nearly full, different from two years ago.
And I made it in time!
It wasn’t only pizza and beer, but in the store I found the urgently needed DEET.
The next morning I took the ferry – could only get a seat on the 2nd run at 10:30 h – back to the other end of Lake Edison, so that I had to walk only 1.3 miles to the trail and could reach Silver Pass the same day.
After 30 minutes we landed.
With a start close to noon on the PCT I crossed Silver Pass in the late afternoon, and walked another few miles to a tentsite, again close to a lake.
From there I was far enough to approach the junction to the Horseshoe Lake and then Mammoth Lakes, my next town stop, until the next evening.
Beautiful lakes again, and then the mile marker 900:
After a nice evening with some other hikers on a bigger campsite I reached Horseshoe Lake, and then went with the free shuttle bus down to the town of Mammoth Lakes.
2024-7-3 until 7-?
Stretch from Mammoth Lakes to Tuolumne Meadows – to be continued …
Preliminary Update:
I hiked until mile 1330 (Hwy 36 to Chester, past the midpoint) where the trail was closed due to the Park Fire. Instead of skipping ahead I decided to stop there for this year, and hike the Northern half of the trail in 2025, earlier in the year with hopefully less wildfires.
I will update the blog (sections I-M) during the winter.