Hiking Mt Tyndall

Notes by piero scaruffi | See Travel resources | See Other California hikes
Mt Tyndall (4273 m) is located next door to Mt Williamson and reachable in a (long) day hike via Shepherd Pass. (See this page for details on the trail to Shepherd Pass).
The Shepherd Pass trailhead is near Independence, California, which is south of Bishop. If you need to camp on the mountain, the Bishop ranger station hands out permits between 12pm and 5pm (near KMART on the other side of 395). Permits are required only if you camp on the trail. Mt Williamson is closed to hikers from July 16 through mid December, but Mt Tyndall is open year-round.
July and August are the ideal time to hike this trail because: there is no snow; storms are rare.

Trail description


The hike is long and hard because the trailhead for Shepherd Pass is only at 2000m.
The trail from the parking lot to Shepherd Pass is a sandy trail. There are two trailheads for the Shepherd Pass Trail, one for hikers and the other for stock. Those hiking the stock trail hike an extra 2 kms. The only reason to hike the stock trail is if you don't feel like driving your car to the hiker's trailhead.
The trail begins in the Symmes Creek canyon. It crosses Symmes Creek four times. If the water is too high, you may skip the second and third crossing by bushwacking along the right bank of the creek. After the fourth crossing, the trail begins the steep climb up Mt Begin (officially 55 switchbacks but i counted 67). At the top, you reach a "saddle" and cross to the other side into the Shepherd Creek canyon. You can see Mt Williamson's north face from here. Then you walk down (a 160 m of altitude loss) until a fifth creek crossing. The new canyon in front of you is surrounded by waterfalls. The wall in front of you, topped by trees, is where Anvil Camp is. Shepherd Pass is further up, at the top of the mountains that you see in front of you.
The trail starts climbing up very long switchbacks. Anvil Camp is at the top of the huge waterfall in front of you.
The trail after Anvil Camp is a brutal series of steep switchback up rocky terrain. The trail winds up to the right of a snow patch and reaches Shepherd Pass.

When you reach Shepherd Pass, you see Mt Tyndall in front of you (slightly left). You see the spine very well: that's the northwest route.
It can be hiked to the summit following the northwest ridge or the north rib, although it is more of a class-2 climb than a "hike". The north rib is by far the favorite.
It is a grand total of 39.6 km round-trip from the Independence trailhead to the summit of Tyndall.
What you see from Shepherd Pass is the north face of Tyndall (the summit of Tyndall is about 2 kms southeast of Shepherd Pass, the end of the spine). The most popular route is the "north rib". From Tyndall Pass walk over the crest that heads east (left) towards Williamson but bear right. At some point you will identify a "ramp" of stones that provides a bridge to approach the north side of Tyndall. Look for a line of boulders parallel to the east ridge of Tyndall: that is the "north rib", and it is just above this "ramp". This is a long tedious scramble up tallus rock that takes you to the ridge. The summit of Tyndall is to the left of this rib and it will become more and more clearly visible as you climb up the rib. Most climbers recommend to stay on the right of the rib (if nothing else because you get some shade) but towards the top you should move to the left of it, otherwise you may end up into the wrong chimney. At the top of the rib, you should see a chimney slightly to your left (the chimney closest to the top). Any chimney would do, but the others are scary steep. Enter this chimney and you'll emerge on the very crest of the mountain. Most people walk down one or two boulders on the other side, where it is easier and safer to talk. At this point you are basically at the altitude of the summit. Head left (east) for the summit. It is another 15' of rocks before you get to the summit (as far left as you can go without falling into the Williamson bowl!). Coming down is going to be a lot easier than you think. In 2005 it took me 30' from Shepherd Pass to the ramp, 2 hours to the top of the north rib, 15' to the summit: 2 hours 45'.
The alternative route from Shepherd Pass is to head straight for the northwest ridge (the "spine" of the mountain as you see it from Shepherd Pass) and just crawl over it. This route requires no climbing skills at all, but it has sand and loose thalus.

Pictures of this hike
Topozone of Shepherd Pass, Tyndall and Williamson

Directions from Pleasanton to Independence:
Take the I-580 east towards Stockton
Take I-205 east towards Stockton
Take the I-5 North exit and follow signs for 120 east
After entering Yosemite, turn left on Tioga Rd
Drive through Yosemite until the end of Tioga Rd (Lee Vining) and turn right into US-395
Drive south on US-395 until Independence
From Hwy 395 in Independence, turn west on Market street, drive 7 kms to Foothill road, turn left.
The first parking lot (2kms on Foothill Rd) is the stock trail. In theory, only 4WD can go beyond this point. If you want to reach the hiker's trail, keep going on this very dusty road, and turn right at the next two forks. It's about 2 more kms than the stock trail, which means that it saves you 2kms of hiking. It easily takes 30 minutes from Independence to the trailhead.
There is no campground, but one can just pitch tent at the trailhead and leave the car there.

The total is about 500kms from Pleasanton to Independence.

Links:

California Guidebook
National Parks
California State Parks
California Highway Conditions
Highway 395
Latest weather conditions
Bishop Weather
Bishop Weather
Bishop Weather
High Sierras weather
Lone Pine chamber of commerce
Bishop chamber of commerce
Bishop visitor center
Highway 395
Lone Pine trails
Hotels in Independence

Directions to Shepher Pass trail
Lone Pine trails

Camping

You can park and pitch tent right at the trailhead.

Permits

No permits are required for one-day hiking. Check with Inyo National Forest (1-760-873-2408). Needless to say, if you do want/need a permit, it is an absolute nightmare. Make sure you have an unlimited amount of patience and you are willing to deal with a level of stupidity that defies Darwinian evolution. Make sure to boycott any initiative meant to increase funds for the Inyo National Forest: those funds are mainly used to hire more rangers to enforce more bureaucracy.
Wilderness Permit Office
Inyo National Forest
873 N. Main St
Bishop CA 93514

What To Bring

  • sleeping bag, mattress, pillow
  • blanket (if you get cold easily)
  • fork, knife, spoon, cup
  • flashlight and batteries
  • swim suit
  • insect repellent
  • toilet paper
For the hike...
  • flashlight and batteries
  • hiking boots or good walking shoes
  • sunglasses
  • sunscreen lotion
  • hat
  • LOTS OF WATER AND FOOD FOR THE HIKE
  • 3000-6000 calories in food/powerbars etc
  • light rain jacket for if it starts raining
  • light fleece sweater for the cold part
  • some long pants for the cold part
If I had to list the most serious dangers of the Mt Tyndall hike:
  1. Getting hurt (always #1 concern when I go on a long hike). Carry band aids.
  2. Sunburn (even if the temperature will be chilly most of the way). A hat is very important.
  3. Dehydratation (above 3000m the body needs a lot of water, and there is no water most of the trail). Calculate how much water you need for the 16 kms going up (going down you will be dead anyway).
  4. Altitude (if you suffer from altitude). If it gets bad, walk back down a little bit and see if you recover quickly.
  5. Getting stuck on the way back in the dark. A flashlight is wise, although the moon will still be pretty bright.

For the record...

Check how Tyndall compares with other mountains

Hikers' enemies

If you plan to spend a day at Shepherd Pass, you are required to get a permit from the Lone Pine ranger station or other ranger station (or by phone 760 873-2483, $5 per person in 2003). They are (obviously) closed when you arrive to Lone Pine and they open late enough in the morning to mess up your hiking schedule. They should be willing to leave the permit in a "night box" though.
The Lone Pine rangers seem to have no clue about trails and routes. If you have questions, you can call them (760 876-6200) but it is unlikely that they will know the answers. If you trust their advice, you are literally on your own (some of the worst possible information have come from those rangers). It appears that they never hiked in their life any of the mountains. They appear to be mere bureaucrats handing out permits and selling souvenirs. Your best source of information is the hikers you meet on the mountain. Your money helps hire more bureaucrats to enforce more bureaucracy: it has nothing to do with protecting nature or serving hikers.