Leavitt Peak / Grizzly Peak / Black Hawk Mountain / Granite Dome
Ascents of Leavitt Peak (East Slope from the PCT, class 1), Grizzly Peak (West Slope, class 2), Black Hawk Mountain (Southeast Ridge, class 1) and Granite Dome (East Ridge from Lewis Lake, class 2), with Robert Zeithammer, October 23-25, 2020.
Timeline:
October 23, 2020. We left the trailhead at Sonora Pass at 8:18. We hiked up the PCT to a pass overlooking Latopie Lake, and dropped our packs shortly thereafter to climb Leavitt Peak, reaching the summit at 10:58. This was my second time up this rather bland mountain, having previously visited in November of 2018. We proceeded along the PCT, on a barren ridge, toward the Kennedy Creek drainage. We ascended the other side of the drainage along an old dirt road, leading to a moonscape-like cirque, over Peak 10,825. The trail then dropped steeply into the Emigrant Lakes basin. We found some clothing strewn on the trail on our way to High Emigrant Lake, and took it with us. A party camped at a nearby tarn told us it likely belonged to a solo hiker, and that we should leave the gear near the outlet of High Emigrant Lake (this we did). We took a cross-country shortcut to Emigrant Meadow Lake along Cherry Creek, where we stopped for the night at 17:18. (A 9:00 hour day, 17.1 miles, 4,000 feet of elevation gain).
October 24, 2020. We left camp to climb Grizzly Peak at 8:29. This was a quick 2-mile jaunt to the peak’s volcanic summit, where we enjoyed great views. The excursion went quickly. We were back in camp at 10:27. We packed up quickly and left at 10:51, heading northeast toward Brown Bear Pass and on to Lunch Meadow. We stopped there for lunch before heading up the Southeast Ridge of Black Hawk Mountain with our full packs. Our plan was to traverse the mountain and camp at the Lewis Lakes. This went without any problem, over mostly class 1 terrain (there was a bit of class 2 down a granite-filled gully to reach the largest of the Lewis Lakes). We reached the summit of Black Hawk Mountain at 14:05, had a snack on the wind-sheltered side of the summit, and then descended the NW side toward Black Hawk Lake. We were in camp at the main Lewis Lake at 15:55. (A 7:25 hour day, 10.2 miles, 2,770 feet of elevation gain).
October 25, 2020. Robert got up a bit before me to see the sunrise. It was a cold morning but we spent an hour of contemplation on some granite outcroppings, taking in the views and the solitude. Since the weather was good and the day still long, Robert suggested we climb Granite Dome before returning to Kennedy Meadows. This I eagerly accepted. We left camp at 8:20, hiked up a steep class 2 gully to the east slope of the peak, and followed the easy terrain from there to the summit. We were on the summit of Granite Dome at 9:33. This was probably the highlight of the trip because of the views, the crisp morning and the impressive granitic terrain surrounding the mountain on all sides. We were back in camp at 10:53 and packed up. The descent northward toward the trail involved some interesting routefinding down some dry creek beds and granite slabs. We stopped for lunch at 13:00 near the trail, and then proceeded toward Relief Reservoir. As we neared Kennedy Meadows, we met a nice hiker named Andrew who agreed to drive us back to our car at Sonora Pass. We continued on down an impressive canyon, across two footbridges, and on to the Kennedy Meadows cabins where we waited for Andrew. We hiked toward his car along the road with him, chatting about his life as a nurse in times of COVID. We reached the parking area at the Deadman campground at 17:01. Andrew drove me to Sonora Pass some 8.5 miles east of the Kennedy Meadows area. I then returned to pick up Robert and the packs. We had burgers and beers in Lee Vining and went home to Mammoth. (A 8:41 hour day, 14.6 miles, 2,080 feet of elevation gain).
Trip totals: 25:06 hours, 41.9 miles, 8,850 feet of elevation gain.