Hike Red Slate Mountain and Red and White Mountain Inyo National Forest, CA

Aug 31, 2024 — I was really looking forward to hiking Red Slate Mountain, a peak rising over 13,000 feet deep in the John Muir Wilderness that has a trail to its summit. I’ve been told multiple times that it’s in an extremely colorful area, and I’m a sucker for crazy-colored peaks. However, if I were to hike all the way out to Red Slate Mountain, I also wanted to visit the equally-stunning Red and White Mountain to its south. I just wasn’t sure how the ridgeline connecting the two would turn out. McGee Pass Peak was another add-on I couldn’t pass up since it was so close to my intended route. I parked at the McGee Creek trailhead later than I wanted to, but I found plenty of parking and set out along the McGee Creek Trail well after sunrise. I was already able to see the stunning colors present along the whole hike from the trailhead, so I knew I was in for a gorgeous day in the Sierra.

The first few miles along the McGee Pass Trail led through a wide valley full of dusty meadows, framed by the rugged and colorful slopes of the surrounding peaks. After a few miles, I entered a more lush section within the valley that paralleled the babbling McGee Creek, introducing more foliage and eventually leading to pleasant forest walking. The trail crossed over McGee Creek a few times, aided by downed trees or constructed bridges. As the trail began to ascend more steeply, with the aid of stairs built into the slope, I started passing little waterfalls and small bodies of water. Mount Crocker came into view, as did Red and White Mountain, both very different in character and looming over the gorgeous landscape I was hiking through. It was a long approach, but I was loving every minute of it.

Eventually, after more gorgeous meadow walking and colorful sights, the McGee Pass Trail skirted around the northern side of the large Big McGee Lake, ascending above a drainage and then passing Little McGee Lake as it made its way up to McGee Pass. Here, the trail etched its way through a talus-filled valley on what would otherwise be a slog without the maintained pathway.

My first summit of the day was McGee Pass Peak, which is really just an extended tail from Red Slate Mountain's east slope, but it rises tall enough to be a ranked summit. It forms a gorgeous basin beneath it, but I had no interest in trying to reach the summit through the basin itself, which looked incredibly steep and loose. Instead, I made my way up toward McGee Pass, but I left the trail shortly before reaching it in order to ascend to McGee Pass Peak via its west ridge. After admiring some wild views to the north once I reached the ridge, I continuing up Class 2/3 terrain along the ridgeline. The going was loose and a bit annoying, the talus shifting mindlessly below my feet, but I eventually reached what I thought was the high point. I was dismayed to find out later that the true high point was just to the south, a block of nearly equal height. I would have had to descend a sketchy Class 4 move, and honestly, I had no interest in doing so. To maintain what sanity I have left, I’m going to go ahead and say I reached this summit using the dubious "head is higher" rule.

I backtracked from McGee Pass Peak and stumbled upon the fairly good trail leading up to Red Slate Mountain. On the way up, the terrain steepened into loose Class 2 talus. Looking back toward the arc of McGee Pass Peak was the highlight for me, but I could also see my ridgeline leading all the way to Red and White Mountain to the south. While the scramblnig wasn't difficult, there were lots of social trails carved into the slope that varied in difficulty, nothing really seeming to exceed Class 2+, but easy Class 2 if choosing well. I enjoyed the summit of Red Slate Mountain, especially because I’m still new to the area and wanted to pick out the many peaks surrounding me.

I descended to McGee Pass and continued south off-trail up the steep Class 2 slope, making my way to Peak 12418. This was the section of hiking I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I knew I could always backtrack to the pass if I wasn’t having a good time. Peak 12418 was a minor summit along the ridge crest that I barely noticed because it resembled many other lumps along the way. The descent from this unnamed peak to the saddle with Red and White Mountain introduced a fair amount of slow-moving Class 2/3 on loose terrain. I made my way down, normally sticking to the crest but occasionally dropping off to the left or right to avoid the sketchiest sections. There was really no way around any of this unless I wanted to turn back, but of course, I didn’t want to at this point. I think taking the ridgeline was more efficient than dropping all the way back down the McGee Pass Trail and reascending Red and White Mountain, but maybe not.

I reached the saddle and ascended a minor lump along the crest, picking up a faint social trail through the talus that continued on Class 2 to the base of Red and White Mountain. There was one small drop that was only memorable because it really wore down my legs on the way back for some reason. Clouds were looming at this point, which was totally unexpected today, and I found myself darting as quickly as I could along the ridgeline. Normally, I would have liked to take my time and not overwhelm my cardio, but I was determined to reach the summit before a potential storm rolled in.

Red and White Mountain looks daunting from below, but the scramble does not exceed Class 3. A significant outcropping along the crest is easily avoided on the left, and cairns helped mark the way up the loose series of gullies and ribs on the northeast slope/face. The color shifted from bright orange to a foreboding black. You could easily get into sketchier scrambling, but I managed to follow little ledges here and there, only moving to higher ground when I was sure I wouldn’t get cliffed out. Even though the climbing was not difficult, it was all very steep, and it felt like the mountain was kind of falling apart. I reached the summit but only stayed long enough to take a few photos as clouds accumulated more heavily. I briefly looked down at another route used to reach Red and White Mountain, a ridiculously loose and steep slope to the east that eventually leads down to Big McGee Lake, but it looked miserable and I had no interest in completely destroying the traction on my shoes with the endless loose nonsense. This was a bit of a bummer because I had originally entertained the idea of taking this alternative route in order to more easily tack on Mount Crocker today, but I nixed all those plans.

I backtracked along the ridgeline and started down the wide northeast slopes of Red and White Mountain, progressively making my way to Little McGee Lake below. The upper section was easy walking on tundra or with some light Class 2, but lower down, there were a couple of small cliffs that required some route-finding to avoid steep drops. I filled up on water at the lake before rejoining the McGee Pass Trail. My wildly fast pace had taken its toll. I could finally slow down because I was much lower in elevation and at a lower risk of getting struck by lightning, but now that my adrenaline had cooled off, I felt burnt out. I spent most of the hike back walking at a more moderate pace until I felt rehydrated and could move more quickly again.