Red Slate Mountain

Red Slate Mountain 13,123′
Sierra Nevada
Total Time: 9:10
Distance: 19.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 6500′
Crux: Class 2
Trailhead: McGee Creek: trash, pit tiolets

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There are two summits over 13,000′ in the Mammoth Lakes area. Mount Ritter is the tallest and most well known, dominating the western skyline and visible from many spots in the Sierra as far south as the Palisades. Despite being only a few feet smaller, Red Slate Mountain is far more obscure, tucked up McGee Canyon and hidden from sight by the Mount Morrison group above Convict Lake. It is one of 35 Sierra Club Mountaineers Peaks, featuring a long technical snow climb via the north couloir. However unlike many of the other Mountaineers Peaks, it has a more straightforward option, an easy class 2 route above McGee Pass, seeing regular summits throughout the summer months. And with essentially nonexistent snowpack in the Sierra this summer, it would be my route of choice. I had a rough night of sleep and after some tossing and turning, got out of bed before my alarm at 3:30 AM in Mammoth Lakes, having breakfast and driving 20 minutes to the McGee Creek Trailhead. I was fine with the early start- the trailhead is well known to be hot, exposed and dusty for the first few miles, and I was happy to put those behind me before sunrise. There was a creek crossing a few miles in that I hit just before the sun came up, struggling to find the log crossing in the dark just downstream of the actual trail. Mount Crocker came into view as the sun rose, looking quite distant yet considerably closer than my actual objective of Red Slate Mountain.

The trail crossed back over the stream and I entered pine forest for the first time that day, the area downright pleasant with small streams and waterfalls along with a couple small lakes, one right off the trail where I took my first break of the morning. There was a morning glow on the peaks at the head of the canyon, illuminating what I thought was the summit of Red Slate Mountain. In actuality, it was the unnamed summit 12,388,’ with Red Slate hidden from view further up canyon.

I realized the summit above was not Red Slate as I continued along the trail, quickly bypassing this sub-peak reaching Big McGee Lake. There were a few tents along the lake shore but no one up at such an early hour, the sun barely up for the day.

I continued past the lake, the trail switchbacking to the northwest towards McGee Pass with the actual summit in sight for the first time all day. I reached the pass before 8:30 AM, and from below it looked like an unenjoyable scree slog, red talus leading to a summit cap of choss.

But the mountain was popular, and I found an excellent use trail leading up from the pass, briefly disappearing on the lower angled slopes near the base but reforming near a bulge halfway up the slope. It would be easy to keep the effort essentially first class, and I cheated to the east to try and find at least a little bit of scrambling for the morning.

I reached the summit in about an hour from McGee Pass, quite pleased with my time for the morning. The skies were quite smoky thanks to the Dixie Fire, and you could barely make out Mount Ritter and Banner to the north. The most interesting view was to the west towards Isaak Walton, Silver Peak and the Silver Divide, along with the Mount Morrison group to the southeast. The Abbott group was directly south, although largely obscured by the heavy smoke.

After a short break, I started back down the southeast slopes, passing a solo backpacker just below the summit who was on the last day of a 5 day trip. The campers from Big McGee Lake were all heading up, and I passed a pair of hikers just above the pass, another four some at the pass itself, and yet another foursome near Little McGee Lake. A popular summit indeed.

I filtered some water near Little McGee Lake and passed quite a few more hikers out for the day, including a random middle aged European couple with the woman wearing a bikini in search of Horsetail Falls. I took one final break at the larger creek crossing and soaked my shirt for the hot and exposed hike out, not quite as unpleasant as I expected but certainly hot.

The trailhead was full when I made it back to the car, taking about 9 hours in total. I headed back to Mammoth for dinner at Mammoth Brewing before driving back over Tioga Pass for work in Fresno the next day.