Little Lakes Valley to Morgan Pass

The trailhead at Mosquito Flat in the Rock Creek area is one of the highest trailheads in the Sierra at just over 10,000 feet and provides easy access to wonderful hiking, climbing and trail running at Little Lakes Valley. The visitor less inclined to travel many miles will find quintessential High Sierra scenery within merely minutes from the trailhead. The sublime Little Lakes Valley includes over a dozen alpine lakes, and some are quite large in size belying its name, including Box Lake, Ruby Lake and Long Lake. The centerpiece peak at the head of the valley is impressively rugged Bear Creek Spire which provides a spectacular backdrop from many of the lakes. I have seen some truly amazing reflections in Marsh Lake and Long Lake. The easy accessibility of this area makes it one of the most popular trails in the eastern Sierra for hiking and gateway to many climbs and scrambles. On any nice summer weekend the main parking loop and overflow parking down the road will be filled to the rim. The vast majority of hikers follow the relatively flat trail through Little Lakes Valley to a turn around point at Chickenfoot Lake or Gem Lakes. Beyond, climbing and scrambling opportunities abound on Bear Creek Spire and the many neighboring peaks. Branching off just uphill from Mosquito Flat is the trail to Mono Pass, which is located on the Sierra Crest and includes great views into the rugged stretch of mountains including Mount Dade, Mount Abott, Mount Mills, and Ruby Peak.  Just beyond Mono Pass is an easy scramble through sand and talus to the summit of Mount Starr where there is a grand view of the region, featured on my blog in July. The photos below are from an afternoon trail run to Morgan Pass through Little Lakes Valley. The eight mile out-and-back through Little Lakes Valley to Morgan Pass makes for an excellent easy trail run with little elevation change and largely non-technical trail.  In fact, this is one of the few high elevation trails in the eastern Sierra that are very runnable.