Hiking Shepherd Pass and Mt Williamson

Notes by piero scaruffi | See Travel resources | See Other California hikes

Mt Williamson (4,384m, 36.65610N / 118.3103W) is the second highest peak in California and sixth in the contiguous USA, and lies about 10/15 kms to the north of Mt Whitney (the highest peak in California as well as in the contiguous USA). Mt Williamson is usually approached via Shepherd Pass.
The Shepherd Pass trailhead is near Independence, California, which is south of Bishop. The Bishop ranger station (year 2006) hands out permits between 8am and 5pm (south of Denny's on the same side of the main street). Permits are required only if you camp on the trail. Permit reservation: 760-873-2483 cost $5 each (in 2006)
As of 2011, the area is now open all year (it used to be closed in the summer).

Shepherd Pass route description

The hike is much longer and tougher than Mt Whitney's main trail, as the trailhead for Shepherd Pass is only at 1920m. About 2/3rd of the way one reaches Shepherd Pass at about 3672m, then enters the Williamson Bowl, then climbs up the mountain itself. Except for this last stretch, the trail is mostly easy to follow or guess. There is usually no snow in July at Shepherd Pass. Details below.

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 hikers' trailhead (which is an adventure in itself).

The trail begins in the Symmes Creek canyon. The sandy trail almost immediately crosses Symmes Creek four times. (The Symmes Creek comes down from Mt Bradley, and a south fork comes down from a ridge between Mt Bradley and Mt Keith). If the water is too high, you may skip the second and third crossings by bushwhacking along the right bank of the creek.

After the fourth crossing, the trail begins the steep climb up Mt Begin (about 50-60 switchbacks). At the top, you reach a "saddle" (2770m), which is actually a series of three saddles, and cross to the other side into the Shepherd Creek canyon. From the saddle one can see Mt Williamson's north face sticking out above the hills in the south (Mt Williamson then disappears for most of the hike). Then you walk down (a 160m of altitude loss) until a fifth creek crossing (dry in summer) and then a sixth one (at the bottom of a little waterfall). You have reached (2620m) Mahogany Flats (technically that's the area way below by the creek, that the trail never quite touches).

The new canyon in front of you is surrounded by waterfalls. The wall in front of you up the canyon, topped by trees, is where Anvil Camp is (3130m). 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. You are about to reach Anvil Camp when you cross the seventh creek (usually dry in summer). Anvil Camp is at the top of the huge waterfall in front of you. Anvil Camp is shady and foresty. Yet another creek (this one wilder than all the previous ones) needs to be crossed after Anvil Camp.

Anvil Camp is a popular place to camp but actually infested with mice. Campfires are forbidden. Much better to camp a bit after it, out of the forest.

Two colossal mountains can be seen to the north: the ridge leading to Junction Peak (4233m), slightly northwest of Shepherd Pass, and Mt Keith (4260m), northwest of Anvil Camp or straight north of the "Pothole".

The trail after Anvil Camp is a brutal series of steep switchbacks up rocky terrain. The trail winds up to the right of a snow patch (many hikers lose the trail at this point and head south instead of west) and, after Pothole (another popular camping spot, recognizable because of the green swampy meadow), it reaches Shepherd Pass (3672m). The ascent to the pass is even more brutal, not only very steep but also on loose scree (and often snow till august).

(The route to Shepherd Pass is the one in the snow).

When you reach Shepherd Pass, you see Mt Tyndall in front of you (south).

Look left across the lake (east): that's the direction where Mt Williamson is, but you still cannot see it. Abandon the trail, cross the creek and walk southeast (left) up the ridge past the lake and you will see it emerge from the ridge in all its sinister glory. (If, instead, you keep following the trail, you will be hiking north-west, among beautiful landscape, passing, towards Midway, Milestone and Table mountains, and eventually hitting the Muir trail, but totally unrelated to Mt Williamson).
As you walk up that southeastern ridge above Shepherd Pass, passing another little lake on the left (that you might or might not see), the mountain on your right is Mt Tyndall and Mt Williamson is beginning to emerge in front of you.

You are constantly walking left of Mt Tyndall. Keep left of the rocky area and you should meet the sign about the July 16 closure. The trail from Shepherd Pass to this point is sandy but solid, and the grade is not strenuous at all. Eventually you reach the rim overlooking the Williamson Bowl: a towering boulder on your left, the four lakes, the middle "bridge" that leads to the foot of the mountain, and the mountain itself in front of you. (Things are actually more complicated, but that's how it looks like from the rim).

Now you descend into the Williamson Bowl. (In July there is usually little snow in the "bowl" and little snow on Williamson itself). This is about 3kms past Shepherd Pass.

The so called Williamson Bowl is actually a series of little hills that separate the lakes. Most people descend into the bowl (losing about 100m of altitude) and then walk in between the lakes. As you descend, it looks like there is a "bridge" leading from the wall of the rim to the center of the bowl.

Alas, this bridge is far from a simple straight line up. There are several gaps that create separate hills. It is your choice if you prefer a straight line that goes up and down or if you want to try to keep a stable altitude by walking around the hills. The terrain is mostly rocky. Snow might actually be a godsend in the bowl. On your left (east) you have views of Owens Valley. The Williamson Bowl is about 3kms wide, but you'll probably walk more than 3kms because nobody follows a straight line.

When you reach the fourth and highest lake (3733m, second on your right), coast it to the left (east) and start ascending towards a "black stain" (36.65432N, W118.31733W) left by the snow. (There is usually a snow patch on its right, in which case you want to aim for in between the two). Most likely you will find a use trail created by all the hikers who do the same thing.

The moment you reach the altitude of the black stain, you will notice a wide chute that goes straight up diagonally above the black stain.

If unsure, you are probably not in the chute: the chute is about 20m wide, thus hard to miss. It only climbs 300 vertical meters (and is probably only 500m long) but the grade is a killer. The scree is not as bad as often advertised (in fact, one can almost always use stable rocks to go up faster) but the grade is indeed demanding. (Most recent descriptions of the scree are probably copying descriptions written decades ago: today most of the scree is at the bottom). The summit is physically south of all of this, invisible all the way.
Two thirds into the chute, a tall boulder on the left side of the chute is the key milestone to reach the summit.

It is recommended that you bring with you a picture of this boulder because it is hardly obvious. (Contrary to descriptions i have seen, the boulder does not stop you from continuing up, and it is smaller than other boulders encountered before, so visual recognition could be a great help). If one continues straight, a view of Owens Valley appears, but you just made your life harder because you walked in the opposite direction from the summit, i.e. east instead of west. If you recognized the right boulder, look right. There is a narrow chimney, about 20 meters tall.

The bottom of this chimney is a good place to drop the backpack. The chimney is vertical enough that it requires using your hands, but it is relatively easy class-3 climbing. It just requires a bit of thinking (especially coming down). One emerges to the summit plateau (quite a change of landscape from the chute). The summit to the left (east) is clearly a false "eastern" summit. The 200m ridge to the right leads to a second false "western" summit (but worth the ten-minute climb for the view north) sitting on top of a pile of white boulders.

The real summit is 200m to the left (south) of this western summit and is just a pile of darker and smaller boulders. It is not visible when you emerge from the chimney. It can be reached from the western summit in ten minutes. (I have read this section described as an "easy scramble" or "short walk": at that altitude nothing is easy or fast, and the boulders are truly annoying regardless of how little tired you are).

See my pictures for more details.

(click on map)

If you are in good shape, estimate six hours to Shepherd Pass, six hours to the summit, 10 hours back down non-stop.
There is water at good intervals. Don't forget that on the way back you will still need quite a bit of water for the last devastating hill, the saddle (which is actually three saddles).
If attempting a day-hike to Williamson, there are several factors to consider (besides the distance, of course): 1. the heat, which on a sunny day beats the Grand Canyon; 2. the saddle, which comes at the end of such an exhausting to hike; 3. the bowl, which takes pretty much the same time in both directions.
(Contrary to what advertised on rangers-friendly websites, the Saddle could be avoided by making a more sensible trail. This Saddle exists because of a combination of stupidity, always in vast supply in government bureaucracies, laziness, also in vast supply, and lack of funds. Experienced hikers in fact climb along the Shepherd Creek from an unmarked road south of the official trailhead, thus avoiding the Saddle).

Approximate distances and times (in brackets the 2008 times)
Trailhead: (1920 m)
First creek crossing: 25'
Fourth creek crossing: 40' [30']
Saddle: 2770m, 5 kms (2 hrs 15') [2h 39']
Fifth Creek crossing (usually dry), end of downhill: 6 kms (3 hrs) [3h4']
Sixth Creek crossing (never dry): 2620m, 7 kms (3 hrs 15') [3h20']
Nice rock in shade and camping sites (3h 45')
Big pyramidal boulder by trail (4h 25') [4h34']
Last creek crossing before Anvil (sometimes dry in summer): (5 hours) [4h 52']
Anvil Camp: 3.130 m (5h 15' hrs) [5h 6']
Pothole: 3.200m (5h 45') [6h 27']
Shepherd Pass: 3.672 m, 18 kms (7 hrs 15') [7h 42']
July 16 sign and rim of bowl: 3.900 m, 21 kms (8 hrs 30') [9h12']
Bridge inside bowl: 3720m [9h27']
Fourth lake: 3733m
Black stain, 3 kms from rim (10 hrs) [10h57']
Chimney (12h30'hrs) [13h12']
Summit plateau [13h20']
Mt Williamson: 4.384 m (13 hrs) [13h42']
The return from Mt Williamson to Shepherd Pass takes another 4.5 hours, from Shepherd Pass to the bottom of the saddle takes about 2/3 hours, but hiking up the saddle (45') and then walking down the switchbacks (1h 30') can easily take more than 2 hours. Count 10 hours at a brisk pace from the summit of Mt Williamson to the parking lot.

The town of Independence, the trailhead and the mountains:

North Bairs Creek route

This is the most direct way to the summit, and possibly the easiest, especially downhill. This is a totally cross-country route. (On the Internet i have found several warnings that this route is forbidden in the summer, but i saw absolutely no signs saying so. As far as i can tell, the route is perfectly legal. Maybe the "closure" refers to multi-day hikes, not to day-only hikes).

To reach the trailhead, take Foothill Rd like going to the Shepherd Pass trailhead, but don't turn right at the sign for Shepherd Pass trailhead. Continue straight, past the Shepherd Creek sign. Eventually the road climbs and reaches a point where a creek physically runs through the road. That's the North Bairs Creek. There isn't much of a parking lot. On the northern side of the creek, there is a use-trail that leads over the ridge. Stay on the ridge and climb whenever you can. The creek comes down from very deep gorges that would be very difficult to hike. You are better off staying high on the north ridge until you find a notch to climb to the other side. There are many notches. It depends on how high you are willing to climb.

The higher and lower notches:

and seen from the other side (coming back down):

The lower notch is easier to reach but involves traversing to the left and on the other side it plunges into the creek's canyon. The higher notch requires more climbing but on the other side it's easier to continue without losing too much elevation, and it involves no bushwhacking.

Once on the other side, you need to maintain your elevation as much as possible while walking upstream. If you lose elevation, you will have to bushwhack. Staying at the same elevation may involve a bit of class-2 climbing and a lot of slipping on the sandy gulch. Up above the canyon is the cirque. The route should be obvious: at some point the creek forks, and the left branch comes straight down from the cirque. From the notch it looks like a "ramp" leading up (southwest) to the cirque.

The junction between the two forks is a scenic waterfall. Ideally you want to cross over after that waterfall. Crossing the creek is trivial because there are logs just about everywhere. Once on the other side, coast the left branch up the class 1-2 "ramp". At some point the ramp flattens and the vegetation increases dramatically. The creek makes a bend to the right and then the slope resumes, possibly even steeper. Ascending above the tree line, you are faced with a huge massif. Best is probably to climb it from the right (northern) less loose side. Then you enter the cirque. After going around the two prominent ridges, you reach the bottom of the eastern couloir, very visible from the freeway. This snow field is too steep to be "hiked". Without crampons and an ice axe, it's dangerous and probably very time consuming. On the right (northern) side there is a narrower and humbler couloir. Its snow base is usually higher on that one because it faces south.

Up this couloir the route splits. Take the right turn where the grade is more affordable. This chute is the chute that leads to the east summit (its pyramid should be already visible from the bottom of the chute). This is another very steep snow field, but about 1/4th the way you should notice a diagonal chute to the left. This chute is always filled with snow but you can easily bypass the snow with easy class 2-3 moves. In 15 minutes this diagonal chute takes you to just below the summit plateau. Scramble up the scree and you'll reach the summit plateau, with the summit appearing clearly in the northwest. This route has no bushwhacking.

Landmarks (and 2009 times):

Notch: 2 hours
Crossing the creek (and waterfall): 4h
Green plateau: 6h 15'
Bottom of cirque massif: 7h 45'
Foot of the couloirs: 9h 15'
Split of East Summit chute: 10h 45'
Emerging to below the summit plateau: 12h
Summit plateau: 12h 15'
Summit: 12h 45'

Pictures of this hike

George Creek route

Another way to climb Mt Williamson is via the George Creek drainage. This is a totally cross-country route. It is an odd alternative to the traditional Shepherd Pass route because it involves a lot of bushwhacking without the reward of the Williamson Bowl. However, downhill it might be a better alternative. (On the Internet i have found several warnings that this route is forbidden in the summer, but i saw absolutely no signs saying so, as far as i can tell, the route is perfectly legal).

There are two ways to reach the trailhead. The orthodox way is to drive west on Market Street/ Onyon Valley Rd in Independence and turn left onto Foothill Rd. Turn left as if you are going to the Shepherd Pass trailhead (see directions for Shepherd Pass) but at the sign for Shepherd Pass keep going straight (south) instead of turning right to go to that trailhead. After about 10 kms and two creek crossings (feasible with regular cars), you reach a fork: if you bear right, you go to the South Bairs Creek trailhead, if you go left you get to another fork. At that fork, turn right to reach the George Creek trailhead. Needless to say, it takes a lot of patience to drive all that distance on a bad unpaved unmaintained road, and chances are that something has happened to a section of the road, so you will have to drive all the way back. I personally discourage this route.

You can also get to the same trailhead from the Manzanara National Monument. As of 2011 there was absolutely no sign to get to the George Creek trailhead. Some websites and books talk about a road that starts north of Manzanara, but that road has collapsed and has not been fixed (as of august 2011). Just north of mile 66 on highway 395 pay attention to the bridge marked as 48-14R (this is a very visible sign). If you get to Manzanar, you went too far. Just after this bridge, turn left into an unnamed exit ramp (waypoint II) This is paved for just one minute and bends left. Right after the bend, the pavement ends and you're on your own. You get to a triangle-shaped junction (waypoint HH). Turn right and you'll get to a four-way kjunction (GG). Turn left and you'll drive over a bridge (15 Tons sign). Turn immediately right at the colossal three-way junction (FF). There used to be a gate but you probably won't notice it. Drive to the end of this road where the other gate used to be and turn right (EE): you will be passing three roads on your right marked for Los Angeles City. Ignore them. Turn right only when there is no Los Angeles sign. You will be coasting barbed wire on your right. Turn left when you can (DD). Now you are on George Creek road or 14S03. Stay there for a long time. This is a rocky road but i have done it with a low-clearance vehicle all the way. At the end (CC) you get to a three-way junction with a collapsing sign. You can only read the bottom (Onion Valley Rd) but the top used to say George Creek. Turn left (if you turn right, that's the beginning of what is known as Foothill Rd). This gets more and more sandy. Eventually you reach a point (AA) where only a 4WD vehicle can continue, but you are sio close to the trailhead that it is not worth it. Park there and camp there. From there it's a 15-minute walk to the end of the road, which is the creek itself.

Waypoints according to my old GPS:

AA: 36.64063/118.24339
CC: 66577/22740
DD: 70818/15814
EE: 69374/15497
FF: 70214/13837
GG: 70301/13982
HH: 70633/12986
II: 70903/13116

Print this map:

South Bairs Creek route

Yet another route to Mt Williamson is via the northern fork of South Bairs Creek. It requires less bushwhacking than the George Creek route.

The trailhead for Bairs Creek is located 3 km north of the one for George Creek. If you are coming from Manzanara, follow the above directions to go to the George Creek trailhead but instead of going straight till the end of the road, turn right at the last fork into Foothill Rd. After about 1 km you will find the small parking lot for the south branch of Bairs Creek.

Pictures of these hikes

Directions from Pleasanton to the Shepherd Pass trailhead:
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 road was still unpaved as of 2009
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.

Overview of the Shepherd Pass trail

Ascent to Shepherd Pass (about 6/8 hours, 18kms, almost 1,800m of elevation gain)
Ascent to Williamson Bowl (about 1/2 hours, 3kms)
Crossing of the Williamson Bowl (about 2 hours, 3 kms)
Climbing the chute (about 2 hours, 0.5km, 300m of elevation gain)
Climbing the chimney (about 15', 0.02km, 20m of elevation gain)
Walking to the summit (about 30', 300m)

Links:

Driving directions
Mt Williamson weather
Snow conditions at 3,474 meters
Bishop Weather
Bishop Weather
Bishop Weather

Highway 395
Lone Pine chamber of commerce
Bishop chamber of commerce
Bishop visitor center

Camping at the Shepherd Pass trailhead

You can park and pitch tent right at the trailhead. There are no bear boxes and there is no drinkable water. No bears have been sighted in this area in a long time.

Permits

You do need a permit if you plan to camp on the trail. Check with Inyo National Forest (1-760-873-2408). Both the ranger offices in Lee Vining and Bishop issue permits. I am sure it will eventually change as the bureaucracy keeps getting worse, but, as of 2008, no permits were required for one-day hikes. But this could change as the Inyo National Forest keeps increasing its bureaucracy as it gets more and more money (mainly though the Whitney permit system) and therefore it can afford to hire more and more bureaucrats. Make sure to boycott any initiative meant to increase funds for the Inyo National Forest: those funds are mainly used to hire more staff to enforce more bureaucracy to ruin your experience in the wilderness.
Note that the Inyo rangers rangers seem to have no clue about trails and routes. If you have questions about the trail and conditions, you can call 760 876-6200 but it is unlikely that they will give you a competent answer. It appears that some of them never hiked in their life any of the mountains and might just be mere bureaucrats handing out permits and selling souvenirs. This is a serious mountain that should not be taken lightly, and your best source of information is the hikers you meet on the mountain or at the trailhead.

Despite a big sign that you are entering "bear country", there are no bear boxes at the Shepherd Pass trailhead (as of 2008). There have in fact been no reports of bears anywhere on that trail. Bear canisters are not required if you camp anywhere along that trail (as of 2008). I am not sure why the sign says that "you are entering bear country". It is way too hot in the summer for a bear to survive, and even in other seasons there seems to be no evidence that bears ever used this canyon. If it's a hot day and you have anything smelly in the car, you might just leave it there or hang it from the only tree in the parking lot. Check with the rangers what is the current recommendation (it changes every year depending on which person you talk to). Just don't leave it under your car because ferocious ants and rodents will get to it.