Kaiser Peak Hike 2022
Dale Matson
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This is my annual penultimate trail fitness hike to get ready for backpacking. My previous 2 years were outliers since I finished in under 8 hours. Yesterday was more typical time of latter life with a 9-hour finish. My original times were three hours up and two hours down. Those were the days when I had my trail companion Susie.
https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2014/05/susie-airedale-my-trail-companion-part.html
With our lack of snow, the “creek season” is quickly over with and three liters of water is needed for this 11.2-mile hike. You can see evidence of the Creek Fire as you ascend. I would rate it “difficult” because it also has 3,400’ of total gain with a maximum altitude of 10,300’.
There were some deadfalls that I had to route around but the air temperature was great. I saw deer track but no deer. It is worth noting that if you want to cut your trip short, the first Huntington Lake overlook is about 2.2 miles (8,400’). The next stopping place is College Rock which is about 9,000’. The Sierra Nevada begins to pop up at College Rock. It’s a nice trail to College Rock except for a big deadfall.
The next section you will notice the thinner air and the final section has three false summits. The view east at the summit, while somewhat hazy, is better than to the west. It is a 360-degree view and some of the small lakes to the east below Kaiser Peak are not visible from the very top.
The view is north of Mammoth and includes Banner/Ritter and Mammoth Mountain. (You can see the gondola house on top). You can see to the nearer north east, Mammoth Pool Reservoir. Further south you can see Red Slate, Red and White Mountains, and Edison Lake. Further South you can see the Mono Divide, Recess Peak, Mt. Jepson and Bear Creek Spire. Further South you can see Massive Mount Goddard. If you have a peak finder app on your smart phone, make sure you bring it.
If you are up for it, it is a 5-star hike!
