A Quiet Corner of the Sierra Most People Never See

Описание: We started this trip from the Little Lakes Valley Trailhead (near Mosquito Flats). From there, we hiked over Mono Pass to Fourth Recess Lake, spent the night, then climbed over to Pioneer Basin, set up camp, and climbed Mount Stanford (12,822 ft.). Not the Mount Stanford in Kings Canyon—this is the "slightly shorter but still respectable" Mount Stanford. It’s the tallest of the four peaks in Pioneer Basin and offers enough class 2 scrambling with a sprinkle of class 3 to keep you honest.

If I sound confused about trailhead names in this video, it’s because I am. I mix up names a lot. This trip started in Rock Creek, which is technically the highest drive-up trailhead in the Sierra. There are taller passes, sure, but none where you can roll in with a car and start hiking already at altitude. Perfect for those of us who want to be "in the thick of it" without a 20-mile warm-up.

This wasn’t one of my typical "let’s suffer for fun" peak-bagging trips. It was slower, lighter, and maybe even pleasant. As Kim Stanley Robinson put it in The High Sierra, "visiting basins is a very fine project. They will be beautiful." He wasn’t wrong. Pioneer Basin is its own world, with views of Red Slate Mountain, Red and White Mountain, and a massive sweep back toward Mono Pass, Ruby Peak, and Mount Mills. Not bad for two nights out.

We kept packs ultralight, balanced hiking with loafing around camp, and somehow avoided being eaten alive by mosquitoes (barely). No unique Sierra bragging rights earned, but this trip was as wild, beautiful, and memorable as any.

00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Hiking to Mono Pass
01:08 - Ruby Lake Junction
02:28 - Mono Pass
03:08 - Summit Lake
03:46 - Fourth Recess Lake
04:58 - Morning at Fourth Recess Lake
05:40 - Hiking to Pioneer Basin
06:31 - Split in the Road to Pioneer Basin
07:27 - Mosquitoes Attack
07:56 - Camp at Pioneer Basin
08:15 - Climbing Mount Stanford
09:13 - Stanford Col
09:41 - Scrambling Mount Stanford
12:03 - Summit of Mount Stanford
13:21 - Camp time in Pioneer Basin
14:01 - Morning at Pioneer Basin
14:44 - Return to Little Lakes Trailhead
15:09 - Mono Pass
15:42 - End of Trip

#PioneerBasin #SierraBackpacking #MonoPass