22-24 Jun 26 - Trip/Conditions Report: McGee Pass & Red Slate Mountain

This week, our shop owners went on a backpacking trip up McGee Creek, which is well-known for its early-summer wildflowers. This time of year, the mosquitoes are ravenous at lower to medium elevations, while the snow is still not fully melted in the high country.

McGee Canyon is located near Crowley Lake. Leave Highway 395 at McGee Creek Lodge, then go straight across the intersection and head up the moraine. The road is paved until McGee Pack Station, after that gravel, but if you drive carefully enough, a sedan can make it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trip/Conditions Report: 

Current As Of: 22-24 June 2026*

Activity During Report: hiking on and off trail, back country camping

Conditions: 

This hike starts out pretty mellow by Eastern Sierra standards. It is almost 2.5 miles from the parking lot to the first creek crossing, but the trail "only" climbs about 930 feet over that distance.

When approaching the creek crossing, the trail splits. Take the right fork that leads to the upper crossing. The lower one is a stock crossing and has no bridge. The upper one has a collapsed bridge that the Forest Service hasn't repaired. You can cross that and from the end of the "bridge", hop onto a rock, then the shore. If you don't trust your balance enough to do that, no shame. Simply opt for the lower crossing (left fork in the trail) and walk across the shallow ford.

Peak snow melt season is over, so the water levels have receded significantly over the past few weeks. 

The second creek crossing has a fully intact bridge and poses no problems. 

The mosquitoes are currently bad between the meadows just past the first creek crossing up until about half a mile below Big McGee Lake.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steelhead Lake

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We did a quick detour to Steelhead Lake and found out that the mosquitoes are pretty bad there. Unfortunately, there are several stagnant ponds right near the lake, which serve as prime breeding ground for the little vampires.

We opted to camp at Big McGee Lake, which offers the last campsites before crossing McGee Pass.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Camping at Big McGee Lake. Pictured: Big Agnes Tiger Wall 2 tent (2021 version), Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 sleeping bag, Osprey Eja 48 backpack (2020 version)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Around the wetlands near the lake, the bugs were pretty bad, but if you camp on a ridge above the water, you get a nice breeze, which keeps them at bay.

In the morning of the second day, we left the campsite with just a day pack and kept hiking towards McGee Pass. The upper end of McGee Canyon always holds snowfields until very late in the season - in 2023, they never fully melted.

As expected, we soon encountered the first snow patch. Most of them were easy to cross in sturdy hiking shoes, except for one. Although nighttime temps were above freezing, the snow had solidified enough to make a traverse across the steep snow treacherous. Luckily, it was pretty easy to cross on the talus and a rock band above the snow field.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ascending towards McGee Pass. Pictured: Patagonia Capilene Sun Hoodie, La Sportiva Akyra II hiking shoes

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the many snowfields in the upper McGee Canyon

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bowl right below the pass is still full of sun cupped snow, but the steep switchbacks leading to the pass are dry.

Just before reaching the pass, we saw our first Skypilot (Polemonium eximium) of the season! This flower is a mountain survival specialist that only grows at the highest of altitudes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skypilot

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once we reached McGee Pass, we got hit by a stiff breeze from the west side. We didn't linger, instead, we made a right turn and headed up the faint route of Red Slate Mountain. Sometimes, it is visible, sometimes not. Towards the summit, the route becomes more important as it skirts several cliffs and drops. This last ascent from the pass is just 0.7 miles long, but climbs 1,240 feet. If you feel yourself slowing down here, don't worry about being out of shape. The route is just really steep. 

Once we reached the summit of Red Slate Mountain at 13,140 feet, we enjoyed the 360 degree panorama. 

Fun fact: Mammoth Mountain looks like a mediocre hill from this angle!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summit Views from Red Slate Mountain

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We returned the same way and found that the snowfields had softened a lot over the course of the day and were much easier to cross.

Later that afternoon, we hiked and scrambled up the lonesome route from Big McGee Lake to Hopkins Pass. This is a remote back country route and also still half covered by snow. The effort was worth it, though, as we got to watch some marmots play chase at the top.

In the morning of the 3rd day, we hiked back down to the trailhead and returned to civilization after a much-needed break.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------