trails near Mammoth Lakes

[narc1370]

Just got back from a backpacking trip from Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows. Our first night was Thousand Island via the River Trail. I don’t know what water levels will be like for your trip but for me, they were epic and the San Joaquin was roaring the whole way up. It was easily my favorite trail between that one, PCT, or the JMT to Thousand Island…

And once you get a few miles in, you won’t find many day hikers headed to TIL. You only need to be concerned about the crowds if you choose to camp there. Otherwise, how could you not see this view once in your lifetime?

[Lumbergh21]

Starting at Coldwater Campground (Mary Lake) hike up to Duck Pass then head off trail along the Mammoth Crest to Deer Lakes. When you get to the spot that the trail heads down to George Lake, you have the choice of going to George Lake and catching the shuttle back to Mary Lake (or back to Mammoth if you took the suttle to Mary Lake in the first place), or you can head off trail once again along the Mammoth Crest to Mammoth Pass where you can drop down to Horseshoe Lake and catch the Lakes Basin Shuttle again. The longer hike to Horseshoe Lake is about 14 miles.

[Obsidianpumice]

I ended up doing Duck Pass and part of Convict Creek Trail.

Duck Pass was a pleasant, moderate hike that lets you rack up the miles and do some side trails, such as a trail that leads to Pika Lake. In fact, I found the trail toward Pika Lake to be the most rewarding. The downside is that I definitely got that "tourist trap" feel, but this was July 4th weekend and probably the busiest time of year. Access to the trail was also easy - I drove at night and slept at the Coldwater campground lot for trails.

Convict Creek Trail was partially done. Did not get to Mildred Lake but the views were splendid. The reason for this is that we attempted Mount Morrison based on R J Secor's book which, as most of us know, needs backup sources. A class 2 talus field was climbed, with great views of Convict Lake and crowds below, but it was decided that turning around is best because the route seemed vague and tough to identify.