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Photos Maps Summary: Walk along scenic San Joaquin Ridge to San Joaquin Mountain near Mammoth Lakes on this dayhike. Most people start from the beautiful Minaret Vista, but a four-wheel drive road will take you up to the trailhead near Deadman Pass. The views along this road are fantastic and it is not hard to believe that this is enough for most people. However, if you can make it to the summit you'll be rewarded with absolutely fabulous views toward the Ritter Range with many lakes spread out below, including Shadow, Garnet, and Thousand Island. But those are just the views to the west and northwest. Mono Lake is visible to the northeast and the High Sierra is visible to the south with Mammoth Mountain front and center. Another reward of making it to the summit is that you are likely to be alone or among very few other people. Wildflowers accompany you much of the way into late-summer.Distance: 7.2 miles round-trip (11.65 miles round-trip from the Minaret Vista)Elevation Gain/Loss: 2,425' total (3,425' total from the Minaret Vista)Season: July to OctoberFees & Permits: None for dayhikers
Finding the Trailhead: 37.68497 N, 119.06555 W (Deadman Pass Trailhead). From the southbound exit junction of US-395 with CA-203 east of Mammoth Lakes, follow CA-203 west for ~3.7 miles and turn right onto Minaret Road (CA-203). Follow the road for another ~5.4 miles, past Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, and turn right toward the Minaret Vista just before reaching the entrance station to Devils Postpile National Monument. If you have a high-clearance vehicle with decent tires, immediately turn right onto a dirt road heading northeast and follow it as it turns sharply to the northwest. If you do not have a high-clearance vehicle continue to the Minaret Vista and park. Follow the trail that leaves to the north behind the bathrooms. The trail will intersect with a dirt road after ~0.15 miles. Shortly after this there is a side-road to the left that can be taken instead of the main road. This side-road re-intersects with the main road in ~0.2 miles. In total, hiking to San Joaquin Mountain this way will add ~4.45 miles round-trip (and ~1,000' of elevation gain/loss). If you're following the main dirt road (w/ a high-clearance vehicle), you'll come to the intersection with the trail from the Minaret Vista after ~0.4 miles on the dirt road. Continue following the road as it turns to the northeast and begins to climb more steeply. The road will then turn to the north and pass through a few rocky sections. Most of the road is in very good shape, but these few rocky and steep sections necessitate high-clearance and decent tires. Views to the west improve with every second, but views in almost every direction are good. After ~1.8 miles on the dirt road, it forks. However, the right/straight road is quickly blocked off. Therefore, stay left and continue climbing to the northwest and north-northwest. The last section of road is climbed and the end is met at the trailhead (~2.5 miles total on the dirt road). The trail begins to the north-northwest.
The Hike: From the end of the dirt road follow the trail to the north-northwest and then northwest as it begins to descend. Soon the trail reaches a very steep descent through many tiny switchbacks. Be careful on your way down as the path is dusty with lots of loose rocks. Near the bottom of this steep section, a side-trail comes in from the east. We're not sure where this trail originates from. Continuing to the northwest, the trail flattens and reaches Deadman Pass at ~0.45 miles. Lots of vetch, lupine, and paintbrush can be found along this section in mid- to late-summer. Further to the northwest the trail begins to climb steeply again. Along this slope some clustered broomrape can be found later in the summer. A snag arch is passed through near the top of this steep climb before the trail flattens some to continue climbing to the northwest along the sandy slope on the west side of the ridge. The trail then crosses over to the east side of the ridge and flattens out completely near the ridge line before another steep climb. Take a look back from where you came from occasionally for ever improving views to the southeast and south. A couple of small switchbacks are passed through on the east side of the ridge before an unnamed summit is reached (~1.9 miles; Peak 10896). Here a cairn greets those who've made it as well as a fantastic view of the Ritter Range with Gladys, Rosalie, and Shadow Lakes below. For those starting from the Minaret Vista this is a good turnaround point (~4.1 miles for them). All along the ridge line be on the look out for beautiful lupine and Brewer's monkeyflower. The trail continues downhill to the west and in some parts is hard to see. However, as long as you stay close to the ridge line you should pick it up again. In some cases, little cairns help mark the way. The trail shifts to the northwest for a short while to pass between some stunted white-bark pine before proceeding to the west for a bit and turning to the northwest again. Here, again, the trail disappears in some places as it travels over the rocky ridge line. Continuing to the northwest over relatively flat terrain the trail passes through more patches of stunted white-bark pine before starting another steep climb on the east side of the ridge to the north and then west to reach the ridge line again. Here the trail splits in a few different paths that eventually meet up. The ridge line is then once again followed to the north-northwest before it is left for the west side as the trail approaches Two Teats. The relatively steep climb continues up to between the two 'teats' (~2.95 miles). Views toward the Ritter Range continue to improve as more lakes become visible below them. On the north side of Two Teats the trail steeply descends toward the ridge line. The east side of the ridge is much steeper and a few spires that resemble sharp teeth are passed just west of the ridge line. This section of the trail is pretty rocky and again there are multiple paths that split off. Just past these spires the col between Two Teats and San Joaquin Mountain is reached (~3.1 miles). Now the final steep climb begins. The trail begins by following close to the ridge line on the west side before leaving it to the north-northwest and rejoining it soon after. The trail crosses over the ridge line just west of the southeast shoulder of San Joaquin Mountain. The final climb then follows closely to the ridge line and passes through some rock outcroppings. The soil changes from brownish-red to darker brown just below the summit. The summit is reached at ~3.6 miles and the summit register can be found among the rock piles slightly southeast of the true summit. We continued a short distance to the northwest to find a fantastic view toward the Ritter Range. From this vantage point, we could make out many lakes including Gladys, Rosalie, Shadow, Ediza, Nydiver(s), Laura, Clarice, Altha, Garnet, Ruby, and Thousand Island. Mono Lake is also easily visible to the north-northeast and Crowley to the southeast. Major peaks visible include Iron Mountain, The Minarets, Mt Ritter, Banner Peak, Mt Davis, Rodgers Peak, Mt Lyell, Mt Maclure, Donohue Peak, Blacktop Peak, Kuna Peak, and Parker Peak. In the distance to the southeast many more are visible including Mammoth Mountain, Laurel Mountain, Bloody Mountain, Red Slate Mountain, Black and White Mountain, Mt Abbott, Mt Gabb, Mt Hilgard, and Recess Peak. We really took our time on the summit and enjoyed the fantastic scenery and solitude. When the time came to leave, we retraced our steps back to the trailhead and our car.
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