Mono County, California
It might be hard to believe (actually with my lazy butt it's pretty easy), but I have never been above 13,000 ft. before this hike. I've been wanting to get a 14'er under my belt since I started hiking so I thought it was time since I was in my prime, triathlon, bench pressing 500 lb, 53" vertical leap, tip-top shape........ Jokes aside, I Googled "14,000 ft. peaks in California" and found a list of familiar legendary peaks across or near the Sierras. Unfortunately most of the hikes were either strenuous, technical, or multi-day backpacking trips that I just wasn't ready to commit to. But then a 2,657 ft. elevation gain on a particular hike caught my eye. Even better, it was spread over 5.55 miles (11.1 miles round trip) which is much milder compared to Baldy and Wilson. So I called up my fit friends and decided to cold turkey this hike like the idiot I am.
White Mountain Peak is the highest peak in Mono County and the 3rd highest in California. Some would argue that this hike isn't the best to start off with since there is no possible way of easily acclimating. The trail starts at 11,680 ft. at a gated dirt road and continues through Barcroft Station, a research facility operated by the University of California. The beginning of the hike is extremely mild with minimal elevation gain and gradually turns into a brutal wave of rolling hills to climb and descend until you reach the summit. The summit features a small hut (most likely research related) and an amazing view of all the neighboring mountains. This is a must do!
Distance: 11.1 miles (Out-and-Back)
Elevation Gain: 2,657 ft.
Final Elevation: 14,252 ft.
Directions to the start of the trail: Use the directions feature in Google Maps and enter the following coordinates exactly as shown. This will take you straight to the parking lot at the beginning of the trail. I should note that there is a brutal 22 mile stretch of dirt road that you should prepare for accordingly.
37.557750, -118.236111
Start of the trail.
Barcroft Research Station. Keep right to continue on the trail.
Britt playing with our new friend.
Continuing on... You can see the summit from from here!
Start of the brutal rolling hills.
Rocky last stretch.
Made it! Wow my first 14'er.
#35.
Chris's Difficulty Scale - 7/10
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