Re: Sonora Pass/Hwy 108 - Day Hike Ideas?

Hi everyone,

I thought I would turn to my friends here for some advice on day hikes in the Pinecrest Lake / Sonora Pass area. I am sneaking away with the family for a car camping weekend up at Pinecrest Lake and was wondering if there are any epic day hikes that I am missing.

I've done some initial research on the local trails near the lake and the easy ascent up to Sonora Peak, but not much else. I've driven over the pass a few times but never stopped to enjoy the area. I'd hate to miss something really cool.

Any thoughts would be welcome...thanks in advance!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

The hike up from St. Mary's Pass trailhead up to the top of Sonora Peak is indeed great--but it probably won't meet your definition of epic. At least it has a great view.

up Disaster Creek and down Arnot Creek? Boulder Lake and back? Lost and Sword Lakes/ All of these are nice, but don't compare to Cloud's Rest, Half Dome, or North Dome...

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Jay,

There is a 4.0 mile loop trail east of the Pinecrest Lake campground, a 6.5 mile round trip trail from Kennedy Meadow to Relief Reservoir, a 5.0 mile round trip trail from Saint Mary's Pass to Sonora Peak, a 9.0 mile round trip trail from Sonora Pass along the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2.0 mile round trip trail from Sardine Meadow to Sardine Falls, and a 6.0 mile round trip trail to Leavitt Lake.

Epic? Perhaps along the ridges of the PCT.

Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2012 12:03PM by tomdisco.

What time of year are you going? Its not epic, but if you're going around the second or third week of October the hike from Leavitt Meadows up to Roosevelt and Lane Lakes would have pretty nice color and wouldn't involve very much vertical.

OK, epic might be a bit of an over reach...I'll settle for "awesome" or even "really cool".

I think I'm leaning towards a hike to Relief Reservoir from Kennedy Meadows. Thanks for that one, Jim!

You people are awesome...as usual!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

Relief Resevoir? Not unless you like horse dookie
Of course you can dayhike to Granite Dome...
(a nice 30 mile dayhike)
This I might call epic...

Leavitt Peak from Sonora Pass is purty.

(why must everything be called epic now-a-dayz?)
(drives me friggin bananas)

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Chick-on, I agree about Relief Reservoir. I dont care about the horse crap, but I wouldn't call that epic or spectacular at all. Its a lot of uphill for little reward. And I mean a LOT of uphill. I'd vote on going out the high point of Sonora Pass...

Whatever you do, don't fall for "the trail of the ancient dwarves" unless you like dinky short dayhikes on paved trail and... not a lot to look at. (The dwarves are tiny pine trees growing in cracks in the rock.)

If you have a high clearance vehicle ask at the ranger station about the largest juniper tree in the world. It's not really a hike so much as a place to go, but along the same forest service road you can stop in Long Valley and have a wander around - it's pretty gorgeous. I remember many camping trips there as a kid, once we hiked up to the saddle at the far end of the valley and looked down on some of the lakes of the Emigrant Wilderness.

I really enjoyed my hike up Sonora Peak...don't discard it. Most of my experience Sonora Pass -> east.

Look at Latopie Lake and Leavitt Peak, Blue Canyon Lake. Do you fish? Checkout Kirman Lake (especially if you have a float tube).

If you have a 4WD vehicle some of the roads on the north side of 108 east of Sonora Pass lead to some awesome views.

There is a lot to do out there.

I like the hike up to Leavitt Peak from the pass proper. Nice view from the top.

Closer to Pinecrest, Sword and Lost lakes are both nice. They were super crowded when I visited though.

Quote
edg
I like the hike up to Leavitt Peak from the pass proper. Nice view from the top.

Yes, this is what I meant above. I just looked at some of my pix from there... and
you can actually see Banner, Ritter, and Mt. Lyell from there.
Plus you can say you hiked the PCT.

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Thanks everyone for your help!

I'm leaving tomorrow and will have a full day to myself before Mom and the kids show up. I think I'l do some of the high elevation hiking on my own and then some easier stuff with the family. Blue Canyon and Blue Canyon Lake are at the top of my list along with Sonora Peak. I'll see what happens when I get up there.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I love this forum!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

Hi everyone,

Back at my desk...ugh!

On Friday, I set up camp at Pinecrest Lake and made my way up to Sonora Pass/Peak and the PCT via the Saint Mary's trailhead. It was a beautiful day and only saw three people on the trail. It is not often that I get to hike by myself and I really enjoyed the experience. The solitude is just what I needed, especially with a weekend of catering to my Mother-in-Law about to begin!

Made it up to the summit before 4pm, and back to the campsite before the family showed up at 6:30. Sorry, no decent pictures. My camera ran out of power as I left.

As a side note, the trout fishing at Pinecrest Lake was outstanding. My kids and I were fishing from shore and limited each morning in a couple of hours. I never got my pole in the water. I could barely keep up with the kids and all the fish they were catching. All told, we caught over 25 fish in 2 days ranging from a small skillet size to a nice 3lb native rainbow.

Thanks for all the advice!

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"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

Thanks for the trip update. There really is a ton of pretty country off 108.