Hiking to the Incredible Bishop Pass

Located in California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada, the hike to Bishop Pass takes you into some incredible alpine terrain without asking too much!  Beginning at about 10,000 feet, this trail takes you up to one of the most stunning passes in the Sierra and past a chain of beautiful alpine lakes. While the overall mileage and vertical gain might look like a lot, this hike is actually pretty manageable, and if you are looking for a way to access some incredible...

The Brutal 18 Mile 1,000 Island Lake Loop!

Rising high above the town of Mammoth in California’s Eastern Sierra, the Ansel Adams Wilderness contains some of the nation’s greatest unspoiled wild areas.  Bisected by both the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, this area has some absolutely stunning scenery, and the highlight of the whole thing might be 1,000 Island Lake. While this lake probably doesn’t actually have 1000 islands, 1000 Island Lake does have quite a few!  More impressive though is the stunning Ritter Range...

Hiking The Awesome Rush Creek Trail To Agnew Lake

The Eastern Sierra around Mammoth Lakes California is one of the greatest hiking regions of the country, but due to the lack of any national parks in the area, the region is relatively unknown!  About 30 minutes to the north of Mammoth, the June Lake area has some amazing hiking, and one of those awesome hikes is the Rush Creek Trail to Agnew Lake! This short but relatively steep trail begins in the high desert and climbs into the rugged...

The Castle Peak and Basin Peak Loop

On a brutally hot Labor Day Weekend, Loralei and I were up in Tahoe to escape the heat.  The hope was the higher we went, the cooler it would be.  To that end, we planned on a double summit hike of Castle Peak and Basin Peak, a pair of 9,000 foot mountains a bit north of Tahoe itself.  While it was cooler at 9,000 feet than it was at lower elevations, this was still a very toasty outing! Miles/Elevation: 8.9...

Lake Tahoe Hiking: Summiting Granite Chief

The namesake of an entire wilderness area, Granite Chief is one of the highest and most visible peaks of the Granite Chief Wilderness, and the northern Lake Tahoe Basin.   At just over 9,000 feet, Granite Chief isn’t the biggest mountain, but with a trailhead elevation of only about 6,200 feet, a journey to the top is a tough day!  Starting from the Palisades Tahoe resort in Olympic Valley, this hike will take you to the highest reaches of the ski...

A Triple Summit Day: The Rose-Houghton-Relay Loop

It’s not often that I go out and do a 17 mile hike, but when I do, you know I’m excited about it!  My first really big hike of 2022, this loop hitting 3 mountain summits would take me through some of Lake Tahoe’s absolute best high altitude terrain! Starting with an easy jaunt to Galena Falls, this loop would then take me to the summits of Mt Rose, Mt Houghton, and Relay Peak!  While each mountain on its own...

Lake Tahoe Hiking: Mt Houghton and Relay Peak

Near the north shore of Lake Tahoe there are a pair of mountains connected by a ridgeline that make for an awesome day hike.  Neither Relay Peak nor Mt Houghton is an incredibly prominent or noteworthy peak on their own, but when paired together, this two summit day hike is pretty great! Each standing a few hundred feet above 10,000, these are real mountains with real dangers, but for even moderately fit hikers this is an accessible challenge.  If you’re...

Lake Tahoe Hiking: Summiting Mt Rose

Rising 6,000 feet above nearby Reno and 4,500 above the waters of Lake Tahoe, Mt Rose is the second highest summit in the Lake Tahoe area, and one of the most visible peaks in the northern Sierra Nevada.  In fact, this is the highest mountain in the Sierra north of Lake Tahoe! You might think that such a peak would be a serious mountaineering endeavor, but in this case, it’s actually relatively easy!  The Mt Rose Highway ascends to nearly...