26 Jun 25 - Trip/Conditions Report: Pine Creek Pass & South Ridge of Merriam Peak (13,103 ft)

Our owners finally had a 3-day weekend to escape the heat in Bishop, so they naturally fled into the High Sierra! Here's what they found when they went over Pine Creek Pass:

Trip/Conditions Report: 

Current As Of: 24-26 June 2025*

Activity During Report: Hiking, off-trail travel, alpine scrambling on class 3 route

Conditions: 

The mosquitoes are at their worst these days between about 9,000 ft and 10,500 ft elevation. Basically, if you see green herbs and grass on the ground, you will see mosquitoes - right in that temperate climate belt in the mountains. It is definitely nice to bring some repellent and/or head nets here.

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The creek crossing above Pine Lake

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Once you get above treeline, there are only very few mosquitoes left. 

Going up to Pine Creek Pass was a beautiful hike. The trail is in stellar shape, except for three tiny snowfields near the pass. All three of them can be bypassed via dry ground, though. We did not carry snow traction, nor ice axes. All creek crossings can be done via logs or rock hopping. Our feet stayed dry the whole way.

Once on the pass, we turned right and left the trail to go into the Royce Lakes Basin, where we set up camp for the night.

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Off-trail hiking above Pine Creek Pass

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Nothing beats a good camp site in the High Sierra

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We knew from fellow hikers as well as satellite images, that the snowfield leading up to the Royce-Merriam Saddle still reaches from wall to wall, so we opted for the South Ridge of Merriam Peak instead, since this was a snow-free route. 

The next morning, we went around the little lake at the southern end of the Royce Lakes Basin (elevation 11,379 ft) and ascended the Eastern slope towards the low point in the South Ridge of Merriam Peak (37.3027, -118.7671). There were still some snowfields near the top, but there is a narrow passageway to avoid needing snow traction. 

Once on the ridge, the first half was easy class 1 walking among an awesome display of Skypilot flowers (Polemonium eximium).

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Skypilot on Merriam Peak's South Ridge

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The second half of the ridge is a beautiful class 3 scramble, where you sometimes have to choose the eastern or western side. Staying true to the ridge is more like class 4 with loose blocks.

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One crossing of the ridge led us thru a hole in the rocks

At the end, we ended up on the northwestern side, where we met with the regular class 2 route that comes up from the Royce-Merriam Saddle, and then we were on the summit. Surprisingly, we were the very first entry of 2025 in the summit register!

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The summit view from Merriam Peak towards the West

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To get down, we simply re-traced our steps. 

Gear seen in the photos: 

• Tent: Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2 (we have an older version, hence the color difference)
• Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 deg
• Sleeping Pad: Thermarest Z-Lite Sol
• Backpack: Osprey Eja
• Shoes: La Sportiva Bushido