Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion FUN NEW GAME!

That's quite a back yard. Incidentally, I left out of the caption that the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center and Joe Dodge Lodge (the Presidential Range's Whitney Portal, IAVC and Hostel all-in-one) is at the bottom right of the shot.

KevinR -- your most recent post seems to suggest that it might be considered a day hike, but honestly, it wasn't that clear to me as to the specifics of what you were saying. More detail might help. (Or if I'm wrong, and others could see precisely what you were describing, let me know!) For example, when you say "this way" "less than 20" . . . WHAT "way"? Precisely what starting and ending points are involved to wind up being less than 20 miles in contrast to the starting and ending points being 33.8 miles that I found? I was able to confirm online that Mahogany Flats is 7 miles of descent from the summit. I can buy in to the idea of someone hanging out there to pick up a returning hiker to finish the day hike (even noting that it's a 1 1/2 mile 4 wheel drive road to end the drive to Mahogany Flats). If you or someone else can come up with some definitive information for a route that describes Badwater to the Telescope summit in only 20 miles or less we then have a 27 mile hike that to my mind CAN be called a day hike. (As always, anything I opine can be commented on!)

saltydog -- EXCELLENT nomination for Mount Washington! And you get the honor of being the first to nominate a hike east of the Mississippi. (I'll bet there are other worthy hikes we need to consider in the east. I'm also wondering when the first hike involving a slot canyon will be nominated.)

With your assumed concurrence, and based on my double checking online, it looks like we can consider a Mount Washington day hike as being an up and back using ANY trail or combination of two trails. (I noted that the Tuckerman Ravine and Lions Head trails are the two most popular.)

Like many others, I have done a day RIDE of Mount Washington. Up and back in my trusty 2001 Toyota Celica, with a short walk from the parking lot to the actual summit. This was in the late summer, but boy, once on the top, with no jacket, it was colder than a witch's single mammary gland -- as well as being fogged out. In other words, typical for Mount Washington.

RenoFrank, Flume Trail -- Lake Tahoe, Nevada looks good for me. Just one question though -- the hits that come up Googling show this to be primarily a biking trail. I presume hikers are allowed? ARE there quite a few hikers on the trail at any given time? (Also, I see that this is primarily a one way trail, with a shuttle available at one end back to the start, although I presume you could do it as a round trip if you were really ambitious.)

Summary of nominated hikes updated.

Absolutely: sorry if that wasn't clear: lots of variations possible, peaks to bag, 5+ rock, etc all starting and finishing at Pinkham Notch.

Whoa! Don't look to me for anything regarding the feasibility of hiking Telescope from Badwater! All I was pointing out is that your starting point looks to be far east of the "usual" starting point.

I've done Telescope several times from Mahogany Flats, the usual TH. It's 14 miles, a delightful hike, especially in early fall. And, BTW - the PS maintains the access road beyond the kilns, and a 4x4 is rarely needed.

Now that's a neat piece of info, Kevin. The only time I've done Telescope I started from the kilns due to the beta on the road conditions. I do recall thinking at the time that I would not want to drive it in a rental car. Has the condition improved to the degree that high-clearance isn't necessary, or just not necessarily a 4X4?

And I was wondering when the East would get some love on bucket list hikes. Not many, I know, but Mt. Washington is definitely up there. The Springer Mountain or Kathadin legs on the AT would probably qualify on the "iconic" side, as they begin and end the trail.

Flume Trail: I've been on the trail several times. Seems to be more bikes than hikers but never a problem. I always go midweek. And I've hiked the trail in both directions. A shuttle: from Spooner Lake up to Marlette Lake, out on the Flume Trail, and down Tunnel Creek to Hidden Beach at Lake Tahoe. We always leave a car at the Hidden Beach area although parking is illegal at the trail's end. You have to park by the road about 1/4 mile away. And I've done it as an out and back from both directions: from Hidden Beach up Tunnel Creek to Flume Trail and over to Marlette Lake then back down to Hidden Beach - about 16 miles total. Or from Spooner Lake take the fairly new trail up to Marlette Lake and out on the Flume Trail going as far as you like depending how long you want your hike to be. There's a nice spot to stop for lunch above Sand Harbor (that's where my picture is taken from)and then return to Spooner Lake.

Re: the road to Mahagony Flats - not too far above the kilns is a gate which the FS closes when the road gets icy/snow-covered. You can never be certain of even getting to the kilns as a rainstorm can wash out the road/cover it with 2' of gravel, etc, and if this happens in the fall, the FS may wait until spring to fix it. As for the condition of the road above the gate - IIRC about 5 years the FS did some major work widening & grading it, and at times it's rather smooth. Whether it was done for visitors or for maintenance access as there are solar-powered communications up there - either way it gets you to the same place. Having said that - it only takes one or two yahoos with a 4x4 to gun their way to top and the road can develop some deep ruts. Having said that - there's another campground and pull outs in that mile or two where you can park if the road is beyond your comfort level.

As for East Coast hikes - yes, there are lots of them, and Washington is a good one. Personally, I like the loop hike from the west (Ammo to Monroe then Washington and return via Jewell), especially now with year-round access, but the western side from Tucks is great also. Keep in mind that high avalanche danger during the winter closes the Bowl itself, and a section of the Tuckerman trail is re-routed. As a New Englander who has been fortunate to live, work and play in many places in the US, there are many great hikes in the East as well as the Pacific NW, but this is a Sierra-centric board, so mostly I enjoy watching what others enjoy in the SW where I lived most recently for 7 years.

In the absence of any future input defining a Badwater starting point making the one way distance to the summit of Telescope Peak 20 miles or less (as discussed in previous posts), I think there are probably enough fans to justify the nomination of -- at least -- the "standard" 14 mile or so hike from Mahogany Flats to the summit and back.

Hereby nominated and summary post updated . If a well defined Badwater (in lieu of Mahogany Flats) to Telescope trek is posted that makes it a day hike (7 miles return from summit to Mahogany PLUS one way to summit from Badwater (20 miles or under?) has got to be doable in a day), then we can ADD that to the nominations.

Hope this makes sense.

Kevin: I'll agree with you on C2C - a good workout, but not the most scenic desert hike. It's also at the point that it's a pretty crowded trail on the weekends in the spring and fall. At this point, I like to do it once in the fall and once in the spring but if I didn't live fairly close to it I wouldn't do it again.

The trouble with picking out the best day hikes is that we all have different limitations as to what we are able to do in a day.

Funny, I would think that's precisely why the actual list includes such a variety of hikes. But, I've been known to be wrong.

But just for shits and giggles: I'll throw Table Mountain (Great Western Divide) into the mix.

Table Mountain (Great Western Divide), Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP, California is added to the nominations. Looks like a hike promoting less of "giggles" and more of the noun preceding it according to Bob Burd's trip report (Laura was part of that hike).

The hike, both trail and a route, starts and finishes at Shepherd Pass Trailhead. Although a very tough hike, the trip report covers events within a calendar day, so, ergo, it's a day hike!

I noted in Wikipedia that THIS Table Mountain is the highest of 21 Table Mountains in California. (Challenge for someone --do all 21!)

> THIS Table Mountain is the highest of 21 Table Mountains in California. (Challenge for someone --do all 21!)

  Not there's a unique challenge!

I've pushed my bicycle to the top of the Table Mountain here. But I've never been inside the casino.

And it may be more of a challenge in the "do"ing of them all to actually FIND them before climbing them!

Come on, we need a real fan of summits named "Table Mountain" to start a new thread about all this! And why limit it to California? Can someone list and codify all Table Mountains for each of the 50 states? LOL!

(And after all that, we could entertain other mountain names claimed by many mountains -- I'm sure there's lots of them. The "What In The World Happened Here" (WITWHH) thread could be jeopardized by a tidal wave of fresh new enthusiasm for this new research oriented activity!)

Along that line, how many "Twin Lakes" are there in California?

Or Sand Canyons, for that matter... or Silver Lakes?

I hope you mean its a day hike because it starts and finishes at the Shepherd Pass Trail Head, not the pass itself. Otherwise, I'd feel free to nominate the Denali West Buttress Summit from Camp 4!

How many famous "Camp 4"'s are there? I get confused even within the confines of Yosemite.

Yup, trailhead. I'd throw in Observation and Shakspere (yeah, it is spelled that way), but I didn't think much of the Deer Meadow area of the JMT. The rest of the hike is actually incredibly scenic, bounded by the Palisades, the Black Divide, and looking into the Dumbbell Lake basin.

I also think the first 3 miles of the McGee Creek trail, either in full flower or full fall color, is one of the best local hikes around.

Where at? When I google Shakspere, I get the predictable.