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Trip Report: Split Mountain (14,058ft) - September 2026
September 24, 2026 4 min read
For serious peak baggers, climbing all of the "Fourteeners"--that is, peaks above 14,000 ft--in the state of California is an admirable feat. This past weekend, we decided to tackle one of these fifteen Fourteeners: Split Mountain. Situated south of the Palisades, Split Mountain is known for its striking twin summits and its stunning striped granite when approached from the East. Red, tan and grey hues appear to form stacked layers from Red Lake to its summit.
Trip Report:
Current As Of: 06 September 2026*
Activity During Report: Off-trail hiking, Class 3 scrambling
And while research will state that this is one of the easier California 14ers, keep in mind that this is merely relative to other strenuous summits. For most, hiking Split Mountain will be a very arduous, possibly multi-day affair. While this trip report is for hiking Split Mountain in a day, many folks decide to backpack and camp at Red Lake. We clocked in at about 12 miles round trip with about 7,500 ft of gain. Know your limitations for altitude, vertical gain (and descent), and navigating complex talus and terrain to decide if this hike is for you. Don't forget hiking poles and comfortable shoes!
Driving to the Red Lakes trailhead is the first obstacle. Popular navigation apps may mislead you through gated and locked private property (as we were first fooled by our phones and had to backtrack), so consider this a fair warning. When coming from Bishop, take the McMurray Meadows Rd to approach the trailhead. The road is washed out in a couple sections, you must cross a running creek, and high clearance is necessary. We did use 4WD in our 4Runner to navigate the washout section with confidence. The drive takes about 75 minutes from Bishop when driving off-road obstacles with appropriate caution so you don't need an off-road vehicle recovery.
The lower part of Red Lake Trail
Once safely arrived at the trailhead, a steep, sandy slope kicks off the hike in full morning sun exposure. There is a creek running next to the trailhead, and the next water will be about 2.5 miles up trail. Side-sloping up canyon through sagebrush, cacti and elderberry bushes gives a desert feel for the first 3 miles. Conifers, trees (and some stinging nettle!) were a welcome sight and shade the fourth mile to Red Lake. Here, the trail faded from somewhat maintained to cairned/use trail. Having a map and knowing how to navigate off-trail is essential to continue past Red Lake to Split Mountain summit.
Red Lake and Split Mountain behind it
From Red Lake, ascend the northern slopes up past the inlet (we filled up enough water here for the summit push & return) and over the talus. Our next aim: Red Lake Pass, which gets a class 3 rating in Secor's The High Sierra, and is the technical crux of this hike. From the top of the first false pass, contour west and then south, up the loose class 2/3 terrain to the true Red Lake Pass high point. We elected to bring and wear our helmets in this zone due to the loose nature of the rock. Take note of where you surmount Red Lake Pass; there were large cairns positioned here the day we hiked, and we still did not readily see them when later descending. Taking a wrong turn into a wrong chute would be dangerous, steep terrain here.
Looking into Upper Basin and towards Mather Pass
From the top of Red Lake Pass, we were elated to see the summit a mere 1,000ft vertical feet away, with easier travel over class 1/2 terrain and a more defined use trail. After slow, careful travel up Red Lake Pass, the final summit push felt easier in comparison--although, higher up, we could feel the affects of the altitude more easily.
Summit Views from Split Mountain
The summit graced us with views into Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park to our West, views of the Palisades to our North, views of the Inyo Mountains and Whites to our East, and even Mt. Whitney to our South. If you looked closely, you could find the steady switchbacks ascending Mather Pass from the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail. The Sierra Club has a metal summit register box, which we perused and signed before beginning our descent.
We completed this day hike as an out-and-back, retracing our steps out. As noted before, we initially missed the turn East to descend Red Lake Pass, and had to backtrack up Split Mountain's Northern Slope a bit on tired legs to descend the correct chute. Navigate with caution.
Descending back towards Red Lake
By the time we descended to Red Lake and beyond, our sandy switchback trail was in delicious afternoon shade, fueling our feet all the way down to our vehicle. The off-roading obstacles seemed less daunting on the second pass driving home, and we made it back to Bishop before the ice cream shop closed - a win in our book.
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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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