California July Hike Suggestions?

14ers in California and Washington state or any other peak in the USA
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IHikeLikeAGirl
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California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by IHikeLikeAGirl »

I will be at Stanford (Palo Alto), in early July. Looking for a day hike that:

1. Is <7Hr drive from Palo Alto (the closer the better, of course)
2. Fairly strenuous (class 2 or a long class 1, don't mind some scree/talus/loose stuff if class 2)
3. Something I can do solo (do prefer seeing other people, in that regard)
4. Would like a trail or fairly easy route finding
5. 10-20 mi RT
6. Can get a permit the morning of the hike (or no permit required).

Would like to get in some altitude (11-14k) and maybe have something pretty or interesting to see along the way.

Is White Mountain fairly ugly? Are the views decent? It appealed to me as it would be 14 mi at 11,900 or above.
Was also thinking of Mt Shasta, but as I said, doesn't have to be a 14er and I have no issues turning back early, if needed.

Any thoughts?
Last edited by IHikeLikeAGirl on Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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TravelingMatt
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by TravelingMatt »

The Desolation Wilderness southwest of Tahoe would be perfect. Disabuse yourself of the need to get into five digits on elevation. Check out Dicks, Jacks or part or all of the Pyramid/Price/Aggasiz traverse. The latter has favorable TH access from the Bay Area as it's well west of the lake.

The Sierra has a huge standard deviation on annual snowfall, and in many years early July is too early. They seem to a bit below average this year, though, so you should be OK.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by peter303 »

Cant go wrong in Yosemite, but finding accomodations is iffy. Half Dome is a classic, but a gamble to get a same day permit.
Mt. Dana or Mt. Conness from Tioga Pass would be alternatives if you couldnt.

Note, the Sierra have afternoon thunderstomrs, so climb area. The Bay area has mountain traffic jams Friday and Sunday evenings.
Last edited by peter303 on Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by IHikeLikeAGirl »

peter303 wrote:Can go wrong in Yosemite, but finding accomodations is iffy.
Note, the Sierra have afternoon thunderstomrs, so climb area. The Bay area has mountain traffic jams Friday and Sunday evenings.
I was going to sleep in my car at the TH, if allowed.

And yes, would be monitoring the clouds and plan to be heading down, well before noon. As I said, turning around early is not a problem for me, should time or weather warrant it.

Thanks for the tips.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by TravelingMatt »

peter303 wrote:the Sierra have afternoon thunderstomrs
This is news to me.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by spiderman »

White Mountain has its own type of beauty that is different from the rest of the Sierras. Seeing the bristlecone pines is definitely worth the trip. I also put Lassen on my long "well-worth climbing" list. I did remember one thunderstorm (morning) in my decade of hiking in California. They do actually exist in that state but the time of day is not predictable and the intensities usually are not bad. The "off the peak by noon" rule certainly does not apply.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by IHikeLikeAGirl »

spiderman wrote:White Mountain has its own type of beauty that is different from the rest of the Sierras. Seeing the bristlecone pines is definitely worth the trip. I also put Lassen on my long "well-worth climbing" list. I did remember one thunderstorm (morning) in my decade of hiking in California. They do actually exist in that state but the time of day is not predictable and the intensities usually are not bad. The "off the peak by noon" rule certainly does not apply.
Ah...well, I'll just keep a keen eye to the sky then.

Thanks for the info on White and Lassen.

I'm open to just about anything, please keep the suggestions coming....
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by DaveSwink »

Clouds Rest in Yosemite, from Tuolume Meadows: http://www.yosemitehikes.com/tioga-road ... s-rest.htm

Pleasant hiking in trees for much of the way with spectacular views at the summit.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by killstorm »

Mount Agassiz (13899') is a nice class 2 hike. The route up to Bishop Pass brings you past a number of lakes as well.
Mount Agassiz from below Bishop Pass.
Mount Agassiz from below Bishop Pass.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by SpringsHiker »

killstorm wrote:Mount Agassiz (13899') is a nice class 2 hike. The route up to Bishop Pass brings you past a number of lakes as well.
This is a full day but doable. The hike up Bishop Pass is beautiful but did not summit Agassiz, although we talked to several who did as a day trip. We did a multi-day hike into the areas and tried to summit the five 14ers nearby (got up over 13,700 but failed due to poor route-finding).

This does require a permit and you may be able to get a permit on the day of the hike but I always view that as risky. I did not drive to Palo Alto but this might possibly exceed your drive time limitation.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by nyker »

IHikeLikeAGirl,

You have a lot of options within a 7r drive that match your criteria!

Yosemite:
Half Dome - permit now required, but likely easy to get; the Classic and my top recommendation despite the crowds. Get started early before 6AM and you'll be fine without a lot of people. Most start the climb between 6 and 8, which means the cables are very crowded after 10-11AM.
Clouds Rest - no permit,
Or... the combo above is also a great, but long day (27mi)
Mt Dana - no permit - I've only climbed this in the snow, which was cool - not sure what the terrain underneath looks like.

Eastern Sierra: Mt Whitney Main Trail - permit required, but good chance at getting (class 1) - see my trip reports on Whitney (3)
Mt Langley don't think you need a permit
Kearsarge Pass from Onion Valley (adding on Mt Gould is 99% class 2 except the summit blocks) - see Mt Gould Trip report.
don't think you need a permit here either unless you go longer on the John Muir Trail.
Starting at Glacier lodge (at the terminus of Crocker st off R395), there is a nice hike into several lakes that I think is about 15 miles, which you hike under the Palisades - but I'd have to confirm this.

White Mountains: White Mountain Peak - No permit, a nice easy 14er, with unique alpine tundra scenery with the White Mountains on one side and the Sierras on the other.

Boundary Peak (cross the border into Nevada) - no permit, very isolated peak nice climb up.

Also nice, but a bit further south are: Mt San Gorgonio (need permit (free)) and Mt San Jacinto - no permit
(look at my trip reports on both of these)

Good luck! Lots of things to do out there.
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Re: California July Hike Suggestions?

Post by peter303 »

IHikeLikeAGirl wrote: I was going to sleep in my car at the [Yosemite} TH, if allowed.
We tried to do that several times in college. The Yosemite rangers know most of the hiding places.
We used to be able to use forest lands on either side of Yosemite, but I dont knwo the state of that these days.
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