|
Split Mt (4285m) is one of the highest mountains in California. It is also one of the most difficult to hike in a day.
The driveThe trailhead to Split Mountain is located southwest of Big Pine. From hwy 395 it is about 24 km of unpaved road to the trailhead for Red Lake. The last 8 kms are a major adventure in itself. When in Big Pine, turn west onto Crocker Rd, then left on McMurray Meadows Rd. That's where the paved road ends. You are at an immediate fork. Turn left (as if you are going back to Big Pine). The road is ok for a while, but will get extremely bad for the last 8kms. There is a sign that discourages 2WD cars and it is not an exaggeration. In 2007 we managed to drive a low-clearance 2WD car all the way to the trailhead but it took about 3 hours (and 4 hours coming out). We frequently had to get off the car and literally pave the road, either to cover colossal holes or, more often, to remove stones that would have ripped the car apart. Whether you have a 2WD or 4WD, be prepared to seriously scratch the sides because of the overgrown thorny vegetation. (In general, both the conditions of the road and the conditions of the trail were worse than we could infer from reports published on the Web in previous years, which probably means that neither the road nor the trail have been maintained in a while). In summer they are dry, but in other seasons you also have to cross two creeks. (I subsequently used a different strategy: load a mountain bike in the car, drive till the point where a pipe crossed the road, park the car, ride the last 8kms on the mountain bike).See directions to Red Lake, but basically: After taking the left branch of McMurray Meadows Rd, the dirt road will continue more or less smoothly for about 14 kms (30 minutes) until you get to a place with a large parking area on the right (that may look like a junction at night). As you curve left, you will notice a fence on the right handside. The road gets worse, but in 2007 it was still ok for a low-clearance car. When you get to a very visible fork, the sign is missing but you have to turn left and go downhill. These are the last 8kms that are really difficult with a low-clearance car. First you will get to a pipe that sticks out from the dirt. It is actually one of the easiest obstacles. After this one the road does down again, quite steeply, and it is in really bad shape. The next junction is onle 1-2 kms away, but it will take you a while. Turn right at that junction (in 2007 there was a sign indicating the Red Lake trailhead, and in any case the other side was gated). Basically you now want to bear right till the end, and follow any sign that says "Road 10S01". When you see the trailhead sign in the distance, try to remember that there is no limit to human stupidity: you will come to a final fork, and the trailhead is on the right, while the parking lot is on the left... but the sign that says so is completely covered by vegetation, and the sign/board that says "Red Lake Trailhead" is at the parking lot, not at the trailhead. The "Red Lake Trailhead" sign is useless as usual. It doesn't even offer a map of where the trail is and goes. There is water at the (real) trailhead. Finding the trailhead is actually a mixed blessing, because the trail goes in the totally wrong direction via very long switchbacks. I guess the idea was to gain elevation gradually and then, after about one hour, start following the creek towards the mountain. I started hiking from the parking lot in the general west direction, simply coasting the creek. It is not easy because the terrain is frequently unstable, but it is definitely shorter, and at some point (before the junction with the southern tributary), it was easy to climb to the trail that, by then, was parallel to the creek. Split Mt is not visible yet (you'd have to cross to the other side of the creek to take a great picture of it). Either way, after the junction with that tributary, the trail starts going up very steeply. You cannot see the creek anymore because there is a little ridge between the trail and the creekbed, but you are simply coasting the creek towards Red Lake. When you enter thick vegetation, you are about one hour from the lake. The trailIt is an 8km hike from the trailhead (2002m) to the first lake (about 3100m) and then to Red Lake (3188m). Split Mt is right west of this lake, easy to identify because of its "split". The summit is the northern one (the southern one is unnamed). Luckily, the northern slope of that northern summit is a gently rising plateau (not visible from the lake). That is the easiest route to the top. Follow the the creek feeding Red Lake (in the general direction west/northwest). After about 30', you reach the bottom of a saddle that is basically a Z. It is relatively easy to ascend the saddle, mostly via talus rock. Once at the top, one enters a bowl (basically a small glacier). There is a hill in the middle, and one has a choice to go to the left or to the right. Once at the other end of the bowl, one has to climb a class-3 chute that is quite steep. There are two ways to do it: a very narrow gorge (very visible from below) or a use trail to its right (also very visible in the summer) that runs mostly along the ridge. The latter is recommended, especially downhill. At the top, turn left (south) to follow the ridge that leads to a series of summits until the real summit appears in all its glory. This ascent is the easiest part of the hike. The distance hiked from Red Lake to the summit along this route is short, but the elevation gain is more than 1,000 meters. The view from the top includes all the biggest mountains: Mt Whitney, Mt Williamson, White Mountain, North Palisade, Mt Russell, etc.
Milestones:
|
Links:Pictures of the hikes GPS coordinates Weather forecast Highway 395 Weather Bishop Weather Bishop chamber of commerce Bishop visitor center Highway 395 |
