Robinson Creek canyon is a prominent U-shaped glacier carved valley spilling into Twin Lakes outside of Bridgeport. Sawtooth Ridge towers above the canyon, and despite being relatively lower in elevation than peaks to the south, it’s one of the most rugged segments of the High Sierra. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I also…
Author: pantilat
Mineral, Needham, Sawtooth Loop
Mineral King is a high glacial valley at the south end of the Sierra Nevada nestled beneath the Great Western Divide. The valley has a long history of human interaction dating back to 19th century silver mining, and more recently, aspirations to turn the valley into a ski resort by Walt Disney. Fortunately, preservationists won this…
San Joaquin Mountain
San Joaquin Mountain is among the best routes for high scenic reward for relatively low effort in the Sierra. It’s just over six miles each way from Minaret Summit to San Joaquin Mountain but reaching the peak is basically just the turnaround point as the views are tremendous virtually the entire way. In fact, the…
Eisen & Lippincott
Mount Eisen and Lippincott Mountain are two peaks along a remote stretch of the Great Western Divide between Black Rock Pass and Kaweah Gap. Both peaks are perfectly situated to provide jaw-dropping views of the Kaweah Peaks Ridge that dominate the view to the east. As Bob Burd showed in 2007, a fairly efficient traverse can be…
Four Lakes Loop
The easternmost part of the Trinity Alps is informally known as the Red Trinities due to the distinctive red rock present in this region. However, within the red rock is a section of white granite that is akin to the White Trinities to the west. This white rock stretches from Granite Lake to Gibson Peak…
Thunder Mountain
I seem to be drawn back to Lake Reflection every year, one of my favorite lakes in the High Sierra. The lake sits in a bowl underneath the high peaks of the Kings-Kern Divide and the Great Western Divide. Cliffs tumble to near the water’s edge and beautiful glacier polished granite slabs line the shoreline. The…
Sierra High Route
Note: All photos from iPhone SE – complete photo album here. [Updated August 22, 2016 to add Special Note on Inaccurate Free Maps] The Idea: The Sierra High Route has intrigued me ever since I heard of the fabled 195 mile trek almost a decade ago. The SHR parallels the John Muir Trail but about…
Sierra Adventures Update
It’s been two months since I last blogged but it’s not because I haven’t been busy. Between a hectic workweek in the Bay Area and weekends filled driving to and adventuring in the Sierra I haven’t had a chance to blog. This post will serve as a summary of recent trips with links to full…
2016 High Sierra Adventure Ideas
I had a great winter and spring compiling 116 waterfalls (as of May 28th) in the Big Sur Waterfall Project visiting as many nooks and crannies in the northern Santa Lucia Mountains as I could find. There will always be more waterfalls to chase in the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness, but as the calendar flips to…
Pine Valley
Jack English’s passing on March 3 at the age of 96 brought back memories of my first visit to the Ventana Wilderness in November 2009, a point-to-point run from China Camp down the Carmel River to Los Padres Dam with Gary Gellin and Jim Moyles. It was an amazing introduction to the Ventana and I…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures