Exploring the Lakes of the Silver Divide, John Muir Wilderness, California

The Trip

On this trip, we will experience superlative High Sierra scenery and have four layover days for additional exploration of some of the lesser-known areas of the John Muir Wilderness. We enter the John Muir Wilderness from Lake George near the Mammoth Lakes resort and enjoy expansive views from the Mammoth Crest on the way to our first camp at Deer Lakes.  On the second day we hike past Duck Lake on our way our second camp at Purple Lake.  Our first layover day will allow us to explore Ram Lake and other lakes in a high alpine basin. Our next destination is Grassy Lake, where will have two layover days to explore the several lakes in the area, such as Olive and Peter Pande. A long day’s hike, about half of which is on the John Muir Trail, brings us near Silver Pass before we descend to upper Fish Creek. Climbing up the creek into the upper basin, we have one layover day to explore this beautiful alpine basin. The next two days are spent hiking over McGee Pass, camping a night at Big McGee Lake, before exiting the wilderness.

The total distance hiked on six moving days is about 40 miles with a total elevation gain of about 9,000 feet and descents totaling about 10,000 feet. Pack animals will carry our gear while we enjoy the scenery with only day packs. There are four layover days on the trail plus another two days car camping at Rock Creek for acclimation, which gives a total of 12 days for the entire trip.

Day 1: We will meet by 4 p.m. at a location on Rock Creek near Tom's Place south of Mammoth Lakes (at roughly 10,000 feet). Directions to Rock Creek will be provided before the trip to participants. After a couple of hours of getting to know our fellow trip members, we will have dinner at about 6 p.m. 

Day 2: This will be a day to acclimate to the higher elevation before departing on our backcountry experience. We will take a day hike in the Rock Creek area, most likely in the Little Valley area.

Day 3: After an early wakeup call, we will gather our gear (up to 30 pounds) in duffels for the packer. Then after breakfast we will take a shuttle about 45 minutes to the Lake George trailhead near Mammoth Lakes resort. Starting at an elevation of about 9,000 feet, we climb steeply (over 2,000 feet) and then descend 600 feet to reach Deer Lakes (at 10,700 feet) on one of the largest elevation gains of the trip. We will enjoy panoramic views from the Mammoth Crest during our hike. (About 5.2 miles and 2,283 feet of elevation gain.)

Day 4: Today’s hike takes us past Duck Lake to Purple Lake (Distance of 5.8 miles with an elevation gain of 930 feet and a total descent of 1,684 feet.) 

Day 5: Layover day. Today we will have a chance to explore the Ram Lake basin.

Day 6: We will follow Purple Creek towards Cascade Valley and follow the Minnow Creek trail to Grassy Lake. (About 6 miles with 1,275 feet of elevation gain and 1,672 feet of elevation loss.)

Day 7: Layover day. We will explore Olive, Peter Pande, and Anne lakes.

Day 8: Layover day. More time to explore the several lakes within a short distance of Grassy Lake.

Day 9: This day we will make a long move to the Upper Fish Creek Basin. We first climb to the lakes below Silver Pass, then descend to Fish Creek. Making a steady climb up Fish Creek, we pass Tully Hole on our way to our camp in the Upper Fish Creek Basin at Horse Heaven (at 9,700 feet). (About 8 miles and 2,100 feet of elevation gain.)

Day 10: Layover day. We will explore Upper Fish Creek Basin, with the possibility of visiting Lee and Cecil lakes.

Day 11: Climbing over McGee Pass, we descend to camp at Big McGee Lake. (About 6.5 miles and over 2,700 feet of elevation gain.)

Day 12: On our final day, we will hike the downhill trail to the McGee Pass Trailhead, a distance of about seven miles. The packer will furnish a shuttle back to our vehicles at the pack station.

Getting There

Our camp for the first two nights will be at a location on Rock Creek. The road up Rock Creek goes west from Highway 395 at Tom’s Place, on the east side of the Sierra, about 15 miles south of Mammoth Lakes. The sign at the turnoff from the Highway reads both Rock Creek and Tom’s Place. Directions to the exact location of our meeting place will be given at a later date to those who have signed up for the trip. 

Sierra Club leaders are not allowed to make carpool arrangements for participants, but a list of trip members to contact for possible ride-sharing arrangements will be provided before the trip. If you are flying in from outside of California, the nearest large airports are Reno, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. There is also a smaller airport at Mammoth Lakes.

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

We will use our individual tents and sleeping bags for accommodations on all nights of the trip. At each camp, a latrine will be dug and a sit-down toilet and toilet tent will be set up by the packers. Folding chairs will be provided for comfort in camp. A large tarp will be set up in camp in case of rain. All meals will be prepared and served by an experienced cook, beginning with dinner on the first day and ending with lunch on the last day. The cook will also handle the cleanup after meals. Trip members will be able to fill out a food preference and dietary restrictions form online so the food and beverages provided can more closely meet trip member needs. 

Trip Difficulty

A careful reading of the itinerary above will give you a good idea of the difficulty of the trip. The frequent layover days give the trip a moderately strenuous rating overall. The trip is suitable for most people in good health who follow a regular conditioning program and have at least some prior wilderness experience. A good rule of thumb is that participants should be able to hike at least 2 miles per hour at sea level on hikes of 6 to 8 miles that involve elevation gains of 1 to 2,000 feet. Note that two of the moving days feature elevation gains of over 2,000 feet over a distance of about 6 miles. All the hiking on moving days is on trails, but we will have the opportunity of cross-country hiking on some of the layover days. Depending on the snowpack for the year, we may have some stream crossings that will require wading. The weather is usually quite good and dry at this time of the year, but you should be prepared for wet and cold just in case. Normal daytime high temperatures are in the 60s and 70s, and lows at night are from the low 30s to the 40s, but fairly extreme variations do sometimes occur and you should be prepared for colder nights and days. For most of the trip we will be at an elevation of about 10,000 feet, with the high point at McGee Pass at around 12,000 feet. We have included a day and a half at elevation before we start on the trail as part of the trip to make sure everyone has at least that much acclimation before starting on the trail. If you have had trouble adjusting to elevation you should consider spending more time at elevation before we meet.

Equipment and Clothing

Those signing up for the trip will be furnished, a couple of months before the trip, with a detailed checklist of required and optional personal items they should bring on the trip. These items will be very similar to what you would bring on a backpack trip, except that the generous 30-pound limit means that you can indulge in a little more luxury. (Your tent is not included in the 30-pound limit.) You only need a day pack to carry gear since the mules will carry everything except what you will need during the day on the trail. The gear to be carried on the mules should be placed in one or two duffels bags that fit easily into the pack panniers (duffel dimensions to be provided). A sturdy pair of boots -- broken in but not worn out, with good quality soles -- are needed. Your sleeping bag should be comfortable to about 25 F in case we get a cold spell. You can get by with a higher temperature rated bag if you are willing to wear a warm layer to bed. A quality tent is recommended since we are camping at relatively high elevations and need to be prepared in case stormy weather catches us in an exposed location. The packer will furnish stoves, cookware, cooking utensils (including eating utensils and plates for trip members) and food. You will also have a camp chair provided. You should bring a mug or insulated beverage container for your hot drinks and a plastic container for lunch sandwiches. The Sierra Club will furnish a group first-aid kit and a satellite phone in case of emergency. You are expected to furnish your own basic first-aid supplies, such as band aids, blister material, headache relief, etc.

References

There are many sources of information on the Sierra Nevada in general, and also some that relate more specifically to the area we are visiting. The same is true of maps. We will list a few of each and leave it to you to search online if you want to find others. 

Maps: 

• The Tom Harrison maps “Mammoth High Country” and “Mono Divide High Country” together cover our route. Go to http://tomharrisonmaps.com/ to find these two maps ($12.95 and $9.95, respectively). 
• National Geographic “Mammoth Lakes Mono Divide” (Map 809) (https://tinyurl.com/69bd6jnr) -- $14.95
• The following U.S.G.S. 7.5-minute maps together cover most of our planned route:
• Bloody Mountain
• Graveyard Peak
• Mount Abbot
• Convict Lake 

These maps may be purchased online at http://store.usgs.gov/

Books:

• Wenk, Elizabeth and White, Mike, Sierra South.
• Smith, Genny, Mammoth Lakes Sierra.
• Arnot, Phil, John Muir’s Range of Light.
• Storer and Usinger, Sierra Nevada Natural History.
• Secor, RJ, The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes and Trails.
• Starr, Walter A., Starr's Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region.
• Horn, Elisabeth, Sierra Nevada Wildflowers.

Conservation

Our conservation focus and discussions will be on issues affecting Sierra wilderness areas. This includes how wilderness is defined, designated, and preserved. Our contribution to wilderness preservation will be to follow Leave No Trace principles. 

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.