The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Hiking California’s Eastern Sierras (and beyond)

Last month I returned for the first time in 13 years to what is without a doubt my favorite mountain range in the world: California’s Sierra Nevada. I have strong concurrence in my views from John Muir, who dubbed the Sierras the Range of Light, and with good reason.

Staying in Bishop, the largest town by far in Inyo County with a population of 3,500, was ideal for accessing many of the basins of the Eastern High Sierras, as well as the White Mountains to the east on the California/Nevada border, and providing some local walks on my rest days. Enjoy the highlights from some of my many hikes!

Blue Lake, Lake Sabrina basin
Lake Sabrina. Several great hikes can be enjoyed from this trailhead.
Midnight Lake, Lake Sabrina basin
Yosemite Valley and Half Dome from Clouds Rest. This longish (12+ miles and 3100 ft gain) hike from Tenaya Lake was a reprise of the one I did with Clifford in 2010.
Bishop Canal view with clouds and Sierras. My apartment abutted open land and the main stem of the canal.
My backyard at sunrise, Bishop, with a view of the White Mountains. The near hummingbird feeder is the one I now travel with.
The Bishop Canal and path
Some wetlands along the Bishop Canal. I even saw a great blue heron one day, not something you would expect in an otherwise arid environment.
Ancient Bristlecone Pines (Pinus longeava) in the Schulman Grove, White Mountains. The oldest non-clonal tree in the world, at more than 4000 years, is within this grove.
An ancient Bristlecone Pine. I’m not sure whether it’s still alive or not, but it looks amazing.
Reflections in Long Lake, South Lake basin. Along with Sabrina basin, South Lake is easily accessed due west of Bishop.
Sierra beard-tongue
Chocolate Peak with Chocolate Lake reflection, South Lake basin.
Bull Lake panorama, South Lake basin. This is my favorite photo from this post.
My friend John, on our Treasure Lakes hike, South Lake basin
Sierra shooting stars. Most wildflowers were past there prime by mid-August.
Seep Monkey-flowers, always found near streams.
Davidson’s Penstemon
Gilbert Lake view on the Kearsarge Pass trail from Onion Valley, west of Independence, CA.
The view west to Kearsarge Lakes from Kearsarge pass (11,760 ft)
A Golden Mantled ground squirrel, not to be confused with the smaller chipmunk.
An ancient Foxtail pine, closely related to Bristlecone pines. It’s really hard to differentiate them, except that Bristlecone pines don’t grow in this area.
A Bristlecone pine and buck on the climb to Boundary Peak from Queen Canyon, White Mountains
Boundary Peak, looking towards the summit. At 13,147 ft, Boundary Peak is the highest in the state of Nevada
A healthy example of White Mountain buckwheat
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Boundary Peak, my first state high-point since 2016.
Boundary Peak summit view towards Montgomery Peak (near right) in California.
Box Lake, Little Lakes Valley. This popular valley is 1/2 hour north of Bishop.
Gem Lake, Little Lakes Valley
A pack train in Little Lakes Valley
Upper Tyee Lake, accessed from South Lake
An American Pika (Ochotona princeps) above Lower Tyee Lake
A much better photo of a pika. I saw this bold fellow in 2015 on Mt Ida in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies.
Clyde Spires and other peaks, seen from Big Pine Lakes. Big Pine is the next town south of Bishop along the Eastern Sierra corridor.
North Fork, Big Pine Creek
First Lake, Big Pine Lakes
4th Lake lunch view with Palisades glacier, Big Pine Lakes. Palisades is supposedly the largest glacier in the Sierras, but it seems just a pale ghost of its former self. (I think it’s the snow field on the far right here).
4th Lake panorama
Terrain near Moonlight Lake, Sabrina Lake basin. It might have been better to construct this post geographically, but it was easier to do it chronologically!
Hungry Packer Lake with Picture Peak, Sabrina Lake basin. This was another big hike to the uppermost lake in the basin. Consequently, I had this lunch spot to myself.
Route up from Green Lake to Vagabond Peak. I wanted to climb at least one peak in the Sierras, and Vagabond seemed the logical one!
Green Lake and Vagabond Peak (left)
Cushion buckwheat growing in granite
The final summit slopes of Vagabond Peak, 13,350ft (4070m). Another hour of class 2 bouldering remained from here to the summit.
A beautiful example of Alpine mountain sorrel
In honor of Clifford, some gorgeous rocks along the Vagabond Peak route
Summit view NW, Vagabond Peak. The clouds were moving in, and indeed there was a bit of rain on my descent, a rarity in the Sierras in August.
Summit view North, Vagabond Peak
Summit view East, Vagabond Peak, with the White Mountains in the background. The obvious high-point is White Mountain (14,250 ft), which I climbed in 2011.
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Vagabond Peak. The slightly higher Cloudripper is in the middle ground, but represented two additional hours to an already long day, so I saved it for another time.

I apologize for the unusual brevity of my photo captions, but I am heading out to the airport for my flight to London. Upcoming blogs starting next month will feature a traverse of the Picos de Europa in northern Spain, hut-to-hut trekking in the Julian Alps of Slovenia, and some day hikes on São Miguel island in the Portuguese Azores. Until then, take care and enjoy the autumn.

The Vagabond Hiker

Comments

  1. What a great time. I LOVE the alpine! High Sierra route is on my bucket list – or even something off trail there. Thanks for sharing and am looking forward to your next trip!

  3. Hello my friend, I love your pictures and the description. This is a very refreshing Web site. I am from France and with my husband we wonder if it is possible to hike in alpine areas in december/january in california (yosemite…) and in the national Park of the West. Thank you and take care.

    • Yosemite and the Sierras will be covered in snow that rime of the year. If you enjoy desert hiking, I recommend Joshua Tree National Park. It may be a bit cool, bit has many opportunities for hiking, both on trails and off.

    • Yosemite and the Sierras will be covered in snow that time of the year. If you enjoy desert hiking, I recommend Joshua Tree National Park. It may be a bit cool, bit has many opportunities for hiking, both on trails and off.

  4. Hello, I love your pictures and the description. This is a very refreshing Web site. I am from France and with my husband we wonder if it is possible to hike in alpine areas in december/january in california (yosemite…) and in the national Park of the West. Thank you and take care.

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