McGee Creek & Red Slate Mountain

Fall color has long been replaced by snow in the High Sierra, but this post looks back on a great trip at the height of fall color in McGee Creek Canyon. The word colorful best describes this outing from the yellow, orange and red aspen groves in the lower canyon to the sapphire blue of Big McGee Lake, the turquoise of the tarn beneath McGee Pass and the stunning geology of red, white and gray rock of the peaks. On top of all the color was a dusting of snow on the high elevations. It was a fantastic and memorable day in the mountains on a perfect autumn day! Complete photo album here (I’m now only posting a fraction of the photos on the blog).

The region between Rock Creek and Mammoth Lakes hasn’t drawn my attention as much as other parts of the range, but I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Red Slate Mountain in the summer of 2013 and I’ve come to appreicate the unique features of this region. While Red Slate Mountain is arguably a choss pile, I was pleasantly surprised on my first visit to this region finding gorgeous scenery so I was eager to return and see the route in the autumn. The geology of this area is especially fascinating with a palette of rock colors ranging from blazing red to pale white. Along the way we even spotted purple and green rocks. The interesting geology of the region is reflected in the series of photos below. In fact, Red Slate Mountain’s neighbor is aptly name Red & White Mountain with red and white striations throughout its face. Just to the west is the Silver Divide with quintessential gray and white granite I am accustomed to in the High Sierra. While Red Slate Mountain is not an interesting climb via the class 2 route from McGee Pass, the 360 degree view from the summit is outstanding. My favorite vantage was looking down at Lake Dorothy, Constance Lake, and the many other lakes of the Convict Creek basin but entire panorama is breathtaking. To the east the white mountains can be seen and to the south the high peaks of the Bear Creek Spire Group and Red & White Mountain. To the west lies the Silver Divide and to the north the Ritter Range. It’s a sweeping panorama and worthy of a long summit stay to soak in all of the fantastic terrain. The other highlight of the route is passing by a triumvirate of lakes leading up to McGee Pass, each becoming progressively smaller and more desolate as one ascends toward the pass. Big McGee Lake is by far the largest and most scenic with clumps of alpine trees surrounding its shores and Mount Crocker’s north face in the background. In the spring gorgeous wildflower meadows above Big McGee Lake lead to Little McGee Lake tucked in beneath the cliffs of Red & White Mountain. “Mini” McGee is the final tarn below McGee Pass, a desolate place with virtually no vegetation to speak of and crystal clear turquoise waters. This 20 mile roundtrip route makes for an excellent high altitude run as a “one-up” with 6,200+ foot gain, but all downhill on the way back. Complete photo album here.