Goat Mountain / Marion Peak / State Peak / Kennedy Mountain
Ascents of Goat Mountain (Northwest Ridge, class 2), Marion Peak (Northwest Ridge, class 3), State Peak (Northeast Ridge, class 2-3) and Kennedy Mountain (from Kennedy Pass, class 1-2), with Ronald Kleber, Moritz Meyer-ter-Vehn and René Renteria, June 16-21, 2025
Timeline:
June 15, 2025. This trip was supposed to include Robert Zeithammer, but he had to drop out a couple of weeks before due to personal reasons. He had invited our UCLA colleague Moritz Meyer-ter-Vehn to join, and this would be my first trip with him. René and Ronald would also take part, and so there would be more participants than I am used to. On June 15, Moritz, René and I left LA in the early afternoon and we drove to Kings Canyon. We stopped for dinner at the Pinehurst Lodge Bar and Grill, a 5-mile detour from our path. This is an excursion that I might not repeat, as dining at Grant Grove is a much more convenient option, with better food. At least we had some burgers and beer before the start of our 6-day backcountry trip. We continued on our way and reached Kings Canyon at sundown. I had booked us a campsite at the Sentinel Campground, and we settled down for the night - René and Moritz each in a tent and me in the back of my car. Around midnight there was a big commotion nearby, as a bear had gotten into a large trash container that someone had left unlocked. Campers got in their cars, fearful that the bear would attack them, which added to the disturbance (of course, the bear could not care less about the campers). I got up to see what the fuss was about but quickly went back to sleep - I needed to gather my strength for what lay ahead. The bear stayed around the trash container for the rest of the night, and possibly part of the following day.
June 16, 2025. Approach from Road's End to Grouse Lake, ascent of Goat Mountain. We woke up early and drove to Road's End where Ronald was supposed to join us, having driven down from Davis for much of the night. We settled down in front of the ranger station to have breakfast while we waited for Ronald. The ranger, a young man, joined us for a while and we regaled him with tales of our past adventures. Soon Ronald arrived, we wrapped up breakfast and went to park at the Copper Creek Trailhead. We set out on the trail at 8:26. This was going to be a long day, as the plan called for hiking up to Grouse Lake and climbing Goat Mountain that very evening. The miles up the trail that follows Copper Creek went by steadily. We stopped for lunch on the trail, in the shade of some trees. Soon we reached the point where it is necessary to leave the Granite Pass trail to head cross-country to Grouse Lake (a use trail exists in places). We found nice campsites on the shores of the lake and set up our tents. Around 16:00 we left for Goat Mountain, climbing its class 2 Northwest Ridge, and reaching the summit at 18:35 (we encountered a couple of class 3 moves because some snow covered the easier path in places). The evening light enhanced the views and we were content. There was a particularly nice view of the northwestern aspect of Mount Gardiner, as well as a great view of the Kings-Kern Divide and the Brewer Group. We came down the West Slope of Goat Mountain, and were back in camp at 20:09. We were all quite tired from this big day as three of us had come up straight from sea level without any acclimatization (and I had recently finished a rather intense trip to the Miter Basin). We had dinner and retired to the tents for a comfortable night. (11:43 hours elapsed, 9:25 hours moving, 12.79 miles, 7,130 feet of elevation gain)
June 17, 2025. Hike from Grouse Lake to State Lakes. There were a lot of miles between us and our next destination, State Lakes. My plan had been to climb State Peak in the afternoon of this day, but there would not be enough time. From Grouse Lake there are two options to go over the Monarch Divide. The more direct way is to head north from the lake over Grouse Lake Pass and then Goat Crest Saddle - the beginning of Roper's Sierra High Route. A longer way that stays on trail most of the way is to return to the Granite Pass trail, and to go over Granite Pass. We opted for the second option. We left camp at 8:30, hiked through beautiful Granite Basin, and were atop Granite Pass at 11:00. On the other side of the Monarch Divide, we encountered very wet conditions where mosquitoes thrived. They would haunt us for the following four days. We descended on the northern side of the pass along Dougherty Creek, through forests, crossing paths with a party of two hikers. It was 14:37 when we came to the junction with the State Lakes Trail. We turned right, and reached the higher of the two State Lakes at 16:00. We found nice campsites at a short distance from the lake, but there was little running water. In the afternoon we went for a swim in the lake, Moritz swimming the whole span of it. In the evening we enjoyed the comforts of camp, despite persistent mosquitoes. (7:35 hours elapsed, 6:20 hours moving, 11.59 miles, 2,387 feet of elevation gain)
June 18, 2025. Ascent of Marion Peak. This was the best day of the trip - a fantastic day of mountaineering. Since we had not managed to climb State Peak the day before, we resolved to do a grand traverse of Marion Peak. This would involve heading north toward Horseshoe Lakes, going over Gray Pass, crossing the drainage of the South Fork of Cartridge Creek, going over White Pass, heading up the Northwest Ridge of Marion Peak, down its Southeast Slope, and then skirting the Cirque Crest on its southeastern side to regain State Peak and State Lakes. This is exactly the plan we followed. We left camp at 7:02 and hiked the trail that leads to Horseshoe Lakes. We then hiked cross-country (though there is a use trail in places) to Gray Pass, where we were greeted to fantastic views of Goddard Canyon, of the Black Divide, of LeConte Canyon and especially of the Devils Crags. We then descended into the cirque that forms the headwaters of the South Fork of Cartridge Creek, a magnificent area full of lakes, steams, granite slabs and wildflowers. We took a break there for water and snacks, and then headed in the direction of White Pass, which I thought was an obvious saddle ahead of us, right above the drainage. This caused me to make a mistake, as I led us toward a ridge that I presumed was the Northwest Ridge of Marion Peak, but that in fact a spur extending west from the main peak. Soon realizing my mistake, I spotted White Pass a short distance away and we headed there. The ridge we were planning to climb rises straight from the pass, over initially easy terrain. As one proceeds, one encounters narrower and steeper parts of the ridge, requiring some class 3 climbing. Ronald and I climbed close to Moritz, who had never been on such terrain, so that he would feel safer, while René continued ahead. The terrain eased a bit as we approached the summit. It was 13:41 when we reached the top. We stopped to take numerous pictures of the outstanding views, had some food, and then descended the loose Southeast Slope of Marion Peak toward the southeastern aspect of the Cirque Crest.
There are several drainages delineated by prominent spurs that one needs to cross in order to gain the saddle northeast of State Peak. Crossing the first spur, named "Cirque Ridge" in Secor's book, went smoothly, over snow and granite slabs. The last drainage, however, had more lingering snow than the others, including a steep slope rising toward the last spur before State Peak ("State Peak Ridge" in Secor's book). This turned out to be the crux of the day. We put on our crampons as some of the snow was firm and steep. The sun was getting low on the horizon as we approached the steeper part of the snow field, and the rock where the snow ended, leading to the top of the spur, was of unknown difficulty. René took the lead and kicked steps in the soft and steepening snow. The snow cover was thin near where it connected with the rock below the crest of the spur, and the rock below looked like it could be class 4, so we worried the whole slab of snow would crumble and slide. But everything held, René led confidently with me close behind and with Ronald and Moritz following us, until we finally reached the class 3 rock above the snow. This proved easier than anticipated. We reached the crest of the spur at 19:00, in full view of the Northeast Ridge of State Peak in the setting sun. We headed for the saddle at the base of that ridge, and decided that it was too late to climb State Peak. We located a steep but short chute on the northwest side of the saddle and descended toward the tarns below over a mix of snow and rock. Then it was smooth sailing back to the upper State Lake and camp (20:58). (13:56 hours elapsed, 12:00 hours moving, 11.97 miles, 4,160 feet of elevation gain)
June 19, 2025. Ascent of State Peak, hike to Volcanic Lakes. We had left State Peak unclimbed, and this could not stand. But René and Moritz wanted some rest from the previous day, so Ronald and I went without them. We left camp at 8:14 and retraced our steps up the lakes and tarns leading up the drainage northwest of State Peak. We knew the way and had a good time on the approach, chatting and enjoying the morning light on the surrounding scenery. We reached the saddle at 10:30 and headed up the Northeast Ridge of State Peak, which consists of class 2-3 rock (we stayed on the crest, but easier terrain is found left of the crest). We were on the summit at 11:19. There were great views of Arrow Peak, Taboose Pass, the Palisades, and the Goddard and Black Divide areas. We then retraced our steps, reaching camp at 13:44. René and Moritz had spent a restful morning and were eager to get going. After some rest and food, we packed up camp and left at 16:04. We rejoined the State Lakes trail, but rather than returning over Granite Pass, we decided to prolong the trip a bit by crossing the Monarch Divide at Kennedy Pass. This would give us a chance to climb Kennedy Mountain. There was not a lot of day left, but we tried to hike as far as we could along the Kennedy Pass trail. We stopped at one of the northernmost of the Volcanic Lakes, along the West Fork of Dougherty Creek. It was a nice camp on some benches above the lake, and we made a fire to keep the mosquitoes at bay. (8:27 hours elapsed, 7:19 hours moving, 10.25 miles, 2,892 feet of elevation gain)
June 20, 2025. Hike from Volcanic Lakes to Kennedy Pass, ascent of Kennedy Mountain. We left camp at 7:51 and continued along the Kennedy Pass trail. This was initially quite well defined, but became unmaintained and harder to follow when reaching Kennedy Canyon. This area is beautiful, but it was teeming with mosquitoes, so we tried to make it through as fast as we could. Soon we were in view of the Monarch Divide, and the trail (or what remains of it) snaked its way up to Kennedy Pass past some lakes and tarns. Some snow lingered on the northern side of the pass as seen from the tarn at the base of this last slope. But this was easy to navigate, and we reached the pass at 15:00. The views were outstanding toward the Palisades, the Goddard Divide and the Black Divide, etc. I tried to convince Moritz that moments like these make all the efforts to reach these remote places worth it. I think he bought it. We dropped our packs at the pass and headed up the easy terrain toward Kennedy Mountain, reaching the summit at 15:41. We could now stare down toward Kings Canyon, but a lot of miles still stood between us and the road. We regained Kennedy Pass and the trail and started down (on this side too, the trail was at times hard to follow). At an elevation of about 9,300 feet we came to a stream crossing with good water, so we looked for a flat campsite in the vicinity. It was slim pickings, but we found a nice spot on a bench about a tenth of a mile uphill from the stream (18:00). This was our last night out, so we finished off our food, enjoyed a campfire, and got some rest ahead of the remaining nine miles of hiking the following day. (10:09 hours elapsed, 7:57 hours moving, 12.87 miles, 3,786 feet of elevation gain)
June 21, 2025. Return to Lewis Creek Trailhead. We left camp at 8:52. We followed the unmaintained trail down to Frypan Meadow, and the junction with the Lewis Creek trail (10:53). Now the trail was better defined, and we could pick up the pace. There were a few easy stream crossings, but the downhill miles went quickly despite our fatigue. We reached the Lewis Creek trailhead at 13:29. Our cars, however, were at Road's End. René and Moritz went for a bath in the Kings River while Ronald and I set out walking on the road, hoping to catch a ride. This took a while, but an elderly couple with a gigantic truck eventually picked us up. We sat in the bed of the truck (featuring an "NRA Lifetime Member" sticker), and were dropped off at the permit issuing station. We then walked the short distance to the parking lot and drove back to the Lewis Creek trailhead where we took our turn bathing in the river. We went for lunch at Cedar Grove, but the burger window had just closed. We got snacks instead. We then parted ways with Ronald. We dropped Moritz off at the Fresno bus station so he could return to LA. René and I headed north, across Yosemite, to reach Mammoth in the late evening and get some rest ahead of our next adventure. (4:37 hours elapsed, 4:13 hours moving, 8.94 miles, 428 feet of elevation gain)
Trip Totals: 56:27 hours elapsed, 47:12 hours moving, 68.41 miles, 20,783 feet of elevation gain