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Aug 13, 2024 — Excelsior Mountain was among the easier summits on this Sierra summer trip due to its tame approach and lack of any serious scrambling, plus the Virginia Lakes Trailhead begins at a very high elevation relative to most other trailheads in the eastern Seirra. The peak is positioned in an excellent spot to see an array of gorgeous summits, including Twin Peaks to the north and Mount Conness to the south. At the start of our trip, Chris and I promised each other we'd give ourselves time to hang at camp, but our many high-energy peakbagging and driving days kept us out after dark, so we determined we'd have a lighter day to make time for board games. We set out from the Virginia Lakes Trailhead along the popular and well-maintained Green Creek Trail, which slowly gained elevation past Blue Lake, Cooney lake, and Frog Lakes, then continued up to the saddle. We enjoyed the low-angle grade after many days of hiking.
From the saddle we headed south and dropped into a little basin with a couple of tiny lakes. Some light boulder-hopping brought us out of this little basin, followed by rocky tundra walking led to the northeast ridge of Excelsior Mountain. We caught a glimpse of the turquoise water of Burro Lake below, probably the most absurd-looking alpine lake color I've ever seen. We encountered a steep social trail through the scree along the ridge and followed it up to a lump, where the trail disappeared for a bit until we were much of the way up the northern false summit of the peak. We continued south to the summit, some light Class 2 at the top.
Back at the saddle we decided to tack on Peak 11568, a short Class 2 excursion to the north. There are a couple of small lumps along the way that can be avoided on the left, and the summit has some nice views. Bob Burd found a descent route on the east side of the peak, which we used to get down more quickly and return to the Green Creek Trail. This involved dropping just south of the summit on a wide ledge and then continuing through a funnel-like drainage to a weakness that overcomes a cliff. It's all a bit loose, but nothing dangerous or crazy and it definitely saved lots of time rather than backtracking.
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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!
