The quiet of the mountain trail suddenly gave way to a rumbling, roaring sound. My first reaction was to think it was a fighter jet, since they can occasionally appear over remote areas. Almost instantaneously, though, I realized it was something else—something potentially dangerous.
High altitude trek
My wife Edie and I were on a four-night trip down Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra region to camp along Rock Creek Road, one of the highest roads in the Sierra Nevada range. At the end of this road is the highest trailhead in the range, Mosquito Flat, at 10,255 feet above sea level—higher than Tioga Pass or Whitney Portal. From there, the hiker has access to an almost unlimited number of alpine lakes and mountains for day hiking or backpacking.
Modernhiker.com describes the trail this way: “The hike into Little Lakes Valley (sometimes called Rock Creek Valley or Canyon) is a beautiful, surprisingly approachable high-altitude trek filled with towering Sierra Nevada peaks, a series of stunning, picturesque alpine lakes, and lovely fall foliage if you can time it right.”
Gem Lakes
The goal on our first day was to make it 3.6 miles up to the Gem Lakes by lunchtime, and then continue as far as Morgan Pass if time and energy allowed. Within barely a half-mile of hiking, though, a spectacular view of Mack Lake and the towering 13,000-foot peaks beyond showed us that this wasn’t a hike that saved the best for last—on this hike, you’re hit with a huge dose of High Sierra beauty without even having to do much work at all. There is, however, much more beauty to come for those who can make a day of it and keep hiking.
Fall foliage
You can never be sure exactly when fall foliage colors will peak, but late September this year turned out to be a great time for seeing the Aspens in all their fiery hues of yellow and orange. The nights were cold (35 degrees), the days were crisp but comfortable (low to mid 60s), and between that and the fall colors, a wonderful autumn feeling was in the air.
Morgan Pass
Although there were plenty of people on the main trail, we had no trouble finding a peaceful spot next to one of the scenic Gem Lakes, where we had an entire lake to ourselves to enjoy our lunch. Afterwards, we continued upward on the trail, making it to the top of Morgan Pass at 11,120 feet above sea level. I love reaching a mountain pass, because from there you get to see what’s on the other side of the divide as a whole new vista opens up before you. Although we didn’t plan to go much further than the pass, we did at least hike to Upper Morgan Lake, which was close to the spot where a dramatic natural event would take place shortly thereafter.
Rockfall
Of all the sounds one can hear in the mountains, the sound of an avalanche or rockfall is one of the scariest. As soon as I realized it was not a plane, I looked up and saw big rocks falling from a steep cliff, and a large cloud of dust rising above. If the rocks had looked like they were falling down a cliff directly above us, it would have been time to make a hasty retreat, and to look for a very large rock or tree to get behind. In this case, though, the rockfall was happening just close enough to make it loud and exciting, but just far enough away that we could enjoy nature’s awesome power without worrying about being injured or worse. Large, fallen rocks and boulders are a common sight on most of the High Sierra trails where we hike, but only rarely do we get to actually see a rockfall occur. To have seen and heard this one was a special treat.
By the end of this day we had put in nine gorgeous miles over the course of eight leisurely hours—a perfect day in the mountains.
Ruby Lake and Mono Pass
The next day, we started at the same Mosquito Flat trailhead, but this time, about a half-mile in, we split off to the Ruby Lake-Mono Pass trail. Sharon Giacomazzi’s book, Exploring Eastern Sierra Canyons, describes this hike as “strenuous,” and adds, “The extraordinary trip to Mono Pass should be on every hiker’s to-do list.” (It should be noted that this Mono Pass is not the pass of the same name in Yosemite National Park.)
After just 2.3 miles of climbing, we reached 11,121 feet elevation and Ruby Lake, described by Giacomazzi as “a stunning watery gem set in a drop-dead gorgeous granite cirque topped by spiky pinnacles.” For those who want a shorter hike, this could be a final destination, a place to have lunch and relax in splendor before heading back down the trail. For us, though, the hike was just getting started.
Four-wheel drive
For those continuing on to Mono Pass, Giacomazzi recommends that hikers get their bodies “in four-wheel drive mode and attack the remaining 1.7 miles to Mono Pass.” The trail becomes steep and narrow, with sharp drop-offs requiring careful attention to one’s footing. The difficulty of hiking uphill at high elevation, including the occasional headache, is compensated for by the spectacular views that increase with each step. The views of Ruby lake, surrounded by lofty peaks, were phenomenal, and I took many photos from that section of the trail.
Reaching the pass
About two hours of heavy slogging later, we finally reached the lofty heights of the 12,045-foot Mono Pass—a dramatic, rocky crossing of the mountains with the surroundings resembling a moonscape. Patches of snow appeared here and there, and looking a half-mile ahead, the steely-blue waters of Summit Lake stood out in this stark, barren setting. After a well-deserved lunch break resting against a large rock, we made our way down to the lake to marvel at its impossibly blue color and clarity, reminding me of what the waters around a Greek island might look like.
One more view
As spectacular as the views were, we knew that there was still at least one more view up there that we should not miss, thanks to Giacomazzi’s book. She wrote, “To the left a faint path cuts uphill for .25 miles to an unbelievable vista. Find a soft rock and feast on sweeping views of the Mono Recesses, the jewel-like lakes in the Pioneer Basin, and several snow-capped peaks.” Reaching this spectacular vantage point, we could see right away that the book was not exaggerating. The Mono Recesses are a series of four hanging valleys above Mono Creek. At the head of each recess is a glacial cirque, and there are more mountains and lakes than one can even count. It is one of those vistas where you have to sit down for a while, in silence, and just take it all in. As the hour approached 3:30 p.m., though, it was time to start the long trek down the mountain to the trailhead, where the late afternoon light would play beautifully over the Little Lakes Valley the entire way. This ended up being a 10-mile hike, over the course of a nine-hour day, and was truly one of the top hikes we’ve done in the Sierra.
Take-it-easy day
On our final day in the Little Lakes Valley area, we decided to take it a little easier, after two full days of challenging hikes. On this day, we slept in a little later, relaxed around camp a little longer, and visited the Rock Creek Lakes Resort on our way up to the trailhead. At the rustic resort, visitors can grab breakfast or lunch, shop in the store, or rent a cabin. We’re always looking for a souvenir magnet or patch for our van, and we found a nice one there. Proceeding to the Rock Creek Lake Campground, we found a parking spot and then got on the Tamarack Lakes trail. This trail is a much less traveled path than the ones we’d taken the past two days, and although it’s listed as a strenuous 12-mile route, we’d be doing a modified version of it that would end up being a perfect half-day hike of 6.5 miles.
Rather than hiking all the way to Tamarack Lakes, we arrived at Kenneth Lake by lunchtime, then did the steep climb up to Francis lake, located in a glacier-carved cirque surrounded by snowy peaks, including Mount Morgan at 13,748 feet. After two days of hiking, it was challenging getting up to yet another high elevation lake, but as is always the case, the reward was worth the effort. One of the things that made this hike really stand out was the profusion of colorful Aspens lit up by the late afternoon sun. It was a striking reminder that we timed this fall trip right by planning it for late September.
Hidden treasure
While gazing out at the incredible beauty of the Little Lakes Valley, it struck me as amazing that after 40 years of camping and hiking in California, we had never really explored this incredible place. It goes to show what a wealth of choices we have in this state—and in the west—that it’s taken us this long to get here. While it is a popular destination, Rock Creek Road and the Little Lakes Valley is probably a little bit more off the beaten path and less well-known than the big destinations like Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Its remote location off Highway 395 in the eastern Sierra puts it just far enough away from the big population centers of San Francisco and Los Angeles that it gets fewer casual visitors and tourists than other places get. This may be a place that we return to next fall, to see some areas we missed this time, do some different hikes, and experience the brilliant fall colors once again.
If you go
Location: The road to Little Lakes Valley is located 40 miles south of Lee Vining on Highway 395. Look for the signs for Tom’s Place resort, and head west from there on Rock Creek Road.
Accommodations: There are a number of campgrounds along this road, with some taking advance reservations and some being first-come-first-serve. We stayed at East Fork Campground, which is one of the larger ones in the area, with 133 sites. Reservations can be made through Recreation.gov. There are also fully-equipped cabins available at the Rock Creek Lakes Resort and at the Rock Creek Lodge. Due to the high elevation and cold conditions here in winter, the resorts close by October and the road and campgrounds may close intermittently, depending on snowfall. In other words, this is a summer-fall destination.
Trail guide: Exploring Eastern Sierra Canyons – Sonora Pass to Pine Creek, by Sharon Giacomazzi, Bored Feet Press, c. 2015
Trail Map: Mono Divide High Country, Tom Harrison Maps, c. 2016
Contributing writer Steve Gorman has been a resident of Alameda since 2000, when he fell in love with the history and architecture of this unique town. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Steve-Gorman.
