Note: It’s been awhile since I have blogged due to getting up to speed at a new job, but I’ve been adventuring all summer on the weekends with many routes that I hope to share over the coming months. For more “instant” content, see the sidebar below for Instagram photos. The Trinity Alps High Route…
Category: Climbing
Pick Creek Loop 2018
Pick Creek is a spectacular rugged creek that is a classic of the Ventana Wilderness. The centerpiece is stunning Pick Creek Falls which shoots over a ledge with an 80 ft free-fall into a large, clear pool surrounded by lovely grove of old growth Santa Lucia Firs. Just downstream of Pick Creek Falls is a…
The Drain via Cabezo Prieto
“The Drain” is an aesthetic and spectacular route that ascends from the depths of the Ventana Creek Cirque to the summit of Ventana Double Cone in the most rugged coastal terrain of the lower 48. The route provides an authentic sense of adventure in a truly wild canyon that is rugged and unspoiled. The feature…
Uncovered Route: The Window & Kandlbinder via Cabezo Prieto
Kandlbinder Peak and the Window are two of the more remote spots in the Ventana Wilderness. For extensive background on these spectacular locations see a prior post here. Prior to the Soberanes Fire the standard route to both Kandlbinder and the Window was via the Pico Scout Camp up the Little Sur River and then…
Black Cone Loop
The Black Cone Trail bisects one of the most remote regions of the Ventana Wilderness from Pine Ridge to Strawberry Valley with outstanding views of the seldom-seen North Fork Big Sur River drainage and Ventana Double Cone. The trail has a reputation for being rugged and difficult with sloping tread, brush and lack of reliable…
Mount Andrea Lawrence
Mount Andrea Lawrence was named in 2013 when President Obama signed into law legislation officially naming this beautiful summit in honor of Olympian and environmentalist Andrea Mead Lawrence. Prior to the official naming, the 12,245 ft mountain was sometimes known as “Gem Peak” as evidenced by the cover of an older summit register. The mountain is taller,…
Hooper Senger Loop
The Hooper Senger Loop is an aesthetic 27.6 mile complete loop in a scenic region of the High Sierra including carry-overs of Mount Senger and Mount Hooper. Since the region is well west of the crest, the topography and summits are not high relative to the crest, but the views are spectacular and the large…
Ritter Loop
Mount Ritter is the centerpiece peak of the Ansel Adams Wilderness, and at 13,150 ft, it’s also the highest peak in the region with a commanding view of the surrounding landscape. Together with its close neighbor Mount Banner, the two peaks are visible from virtually anywhere in the Ansel Adams Wilderness and are a familiar…
Mount Gardiner
Centrally located in Kings Canyon National Park, 12,907 ft Mount Gardiner has one of the most beautiful northern aspects in the High Sierra. The many buttresses and cliffs of this north side tower above Gardiner Basin which contains over a dozen pristine alpine lakes ranging from treeline elevations up to desolate rockbound bodies of water….
Mount Harrington
Mount Harrington is an impressive but relatively unknown peak along the Monarch Divide which separates the glacier-carved canyons of the South and Middle Forks of the Kings River. The peak lies within the Monarch Wilderness on National Forest land, perhaps the most rugged and alpine region of this relatively small wilderness area that is adjacent…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures