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19 May 2026 - Trip Report: Paiute Pass (11,417 ft)
May 24, 2026 3 min read
With the snow rapidly melting we decided to have a look at Paiute Pass. The trail follows a south-facing slope, so it usually melts out sooner than Bishop Pass trail or the trails in the Lake Sabrina Basin.
Trip Report:
Current As Of: 19 May 2026*
Activity During Report: Hiking
Conditions:
North Lake Road is open and there are no mosquitoes yet! Now is the time to go fishing there.
The hike started out snow-free through the forest. Both creek crossings and their log bridges have survived the winter. In the morning, you can even find icicles hanging from the logs. We even saw the first flowering Shooting Star - soon the upper forest will be dotted with these pink flowers.
Looking up at the Waterfall Route of Mount Emerson, we still saw a wet streak in the bottom part of the route, but no more snow up higher. It'll likely dry out soon.
The first snowfield on the trail is at its usual spot: on the switchbacks just below Loch Leven. This shaded area always holds snow for a long time. There were a few footsteps in the snow and at 10am, the snow had softened a fair bit. But still, you want to proceed with caution here!
Rounding the corner by Loch Leven, we were rewarded with the first view of Paiute Pass. The snow looked patchy - not too bad.
The trail was mostly snow free around the lake, but that changed again around Paiute Lake - the next lake up. Just as the trail reached Paiute Lake, there is a short section where it gets flooded during spring season and people have created a bypass over the years. Shockingly, this part of the trail was already dry! A clear sign for how dry this year is.
From here, the trail is part snow part dirt/rock all the way to the pass. When we hiked here, the snow was in perfect condition: soft enough to allow for easy walking without slipping, yet hard enough to avoid almost all postholing. The only sketchy sections were the crossings of small creeks - the snow bridges are no longer weight bearing! Make a big step across them, so you don't risk falling in.
Arriving at Paiute Pass, we set down our packs for a well-deserved lunch break.
The resident marmots tried to get something, but we don't feed wildlife. They have plenty of healthier options to forage for than humans' sandwiches.
To the west, the landscape still looks very snowy, but the snowline is receding and even at altitude, there are enough dry spots for tents.
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Icicles on the first log crossing
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Mount Emerson's Waterfall Route
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Crossing the first snow field
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Looking up at Paiute Pass
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Paiute Lake
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The swimming holes will hopefully warm up a bit
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Looking west from Paiute Pass
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Marmots can be a little too curious up here!
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*All conditions reports are subject to change, increasingly so with each passing day since the observation(s) were made. They are provided as a tool to assist your adventuring, not to replace your own risk management and decision-making. No information in any trip or conditions report published by Eastside Sports should be considered definitive in its information or directive in its recommendation.
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