Each of the past four years I have run the High Sierra Trail to Hamilton Lakes, Kaweah Gap and nearby Precipice Lake. The rugged beauty of this region never ceases to amaze and inspire, from the sapphire blue of Hamilton Lakes and Precipice Lake to the sheer granite walls of Angel Wings and the Valhallas….
“Lion Loop” – Lion Rock and Triple Divide Peak
The “Lion Loop” is a spectacular large loop that I designed out of Wolverton utilizing the High Sierra Trail and the Tablelands to access one of the most remote corners of the High Sierra along the Great Western Divide. Lion Lake is the centerpiece feature of the route and is absolutely stunning with Triple Divide…
Mount Shasta, Clear Creek Route
Opting to leave the Bay Area Saturday morning to avoid Friday evening traffic on Labor Day Weekend (with the Bay Bridge closed) was a good choice. The primary objective for the weekend was the Trinity Alps (see prior posts), but Shasta seemed like a fun objective to squeeze in Saturday midday. On my first attempt…
Caribou Lakes, Trinity Alps
The Caribou Lakes area is one of the finest regions of the Trinity Alps with fantastic scenery and beautiful alpine lakes. The trailhead is at the end of a long and slow gravel road that is quite rocky in spots; passable in low-clearance sedans but caution must be exercised. The extra effort required to reach…
Trinity Alps Traverse
The Trinity Alps are a spectacular subrange within the Klamath Mountain Range in northwestern California. At the core of the Trinity Alps is section of high, white granite peaks known as the White Trinities. These mountains are impressively rugged and due tot their geographical location, they contain elements of the Cascade mountains to the north…
Mount Stanford and Kings-Kern Loop
Mount Stanford is a very attractive mountain located on the Kings-Kern Divide straddling Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. At 13,973 ft, it’s just shy of fourteen thousand feet so it doesn’t draw the attention comparable to Sierra fourteeners, but it’s just as impressive of a mountain in terms of stature, difficulty to surmount, and…
Annotated Panoramas Collection
Check out the complete set of Annotated Panoramas on Flickr.
Red Slate Mountain
The region between Rock Creek and Mammoth Lakes hasn’t drawn my attention in the past. I’ve always thought the peaks in this sector of the High Sierra are loose choss piles (at least that’s how they look from Hwy 395), devoid of the granite ruggedness found in other parts of the range. While Red Slate…
Mount Hoffmann
Mount Hoffmann is geographically near the center of Yosemite National Park. Along with Tuolumne Peak, it forms a small subrange between Tenaya Canyon and Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne with impressive prominence from other high regions of Yosemite. It therefore comes as no surprise that Mount Hoffman’s 10,850 foot summit has one of the best…
Sawtooth Loop: Matterhorn Peak – Finger Peaks – Kettle Peak
Photos here. The “Sawtooth Loop” is a spectacular route through one of the most scenic regions of the High Sierra and a personal favorite. I call this particular route the Sawtooth Loop since it circumnavigates an impressively rugged subrange of the Sierra crest known as Sawtooth Ridge that straddles Yosemite national park’s northern boundary and…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures