Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt. Morgan summit

Hi everyone...n00bie here.

I was wondering if anyone knew of an established way to summit Mt. Morgan (37.40529N 118.73304W), the one next to Little Lakes Valley in Inyo Co. just off the 395 West of Bishop? None of my TOPO maps show a trail up.

After looking over my maps and Google Earth, I figured the best (safest) way would be to scramble onto the crest from the Northeast slope near Francis Lake, and then just walk the crest to the summit.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jan

you got the route right - no trail beyond Francis - some ups and downs - use trail through most and cairns throughout - expect all snow to be gone so late in this dry year. excellent view along ridgeline of LLV and BC Spire - go for it

Kathy Wing did a hike up there and along with her usual great pics is a map of her route:

http://kathywing.smugmug.com/gallery/1848750#92887307

When were thinking of trying it? I'm going to be in that area next week and not sure what hikes to do, but Mt. Morgan is on my long list to attempt "someday".

This mountain has some of the best views around.

Some years back (10 to 15) 3 friends and I camped at Long Lake and did Morgan from there. Took us most of the day, as we were having such a good time, we were not in any hurry. Only problem encountered was a car sized boulder tried following us down the chute we were in on the way down, and scared about 15 years off my life. Thought for a second or two that it was the big one. Great view from the summit.

Hey thanks everyone!

Sounds like this might turn out to be a pretty good trek. Main reason for heading up there is the view. Looks awesome on Google Earth!

I'm heading up there on Labor Day weekend (yeah, I know...me and everyone else) with some friends. We have permits to camp @ Chickenfoot Lake the entire time but Friday night will be @ Mosquito Flats. I was hoping to get a very early start on Sat. Morning to try and catch the sunrise somewhere along the Mt. Morgan crest. Then again, not so sure about rock-hopping up the mountain in the dark.

Hillbasher, while I'm sure I can decide the proper path when I get there, I noticed some of the chutes on Google Earth. The terrain looks VERY loose on those so I think I'll stick to the boulders.

Ha, I was just looking at it in Google Earth too and read your message. Well, I'd love to be up there too but for this trip, I may just admire it from below from the "Mosquito Flats to Gem Lakes" hike. I was reading about it and it sounds beautiful but fairly easy, which may be good for a day after a tougher hike.

Yeah, well, it's Labor Day. So are you saying the Gem Lakes hike is a rough one? I was actually thinking of doing a loop the following day: Chickenfoot Lake - Gem - Dade - Treasure - Chicken. Looks like it would be pretty fun. That or Mono Pass.

I was saying that the Gem Lakes hike is a relativley easy one...from the book I am referring to (Hiking the Sierra Nevada), it says 7 miles round trip with 700 feet of elevation gain.

I'd rather do something more challenging like Mono Pass, but I doubt I'll have the legs for it after Kearsarge Pass and Yosemite Clouds Rest in the few days beforehand. I could have handled it fine a few months ago, but I'm not in that kind of shape now. The Gem Lakes hike sounds lovely though and I think I'll enjoy it if that's where I end up.

TonyC,

As I mentioned recently in another thread, the nice thing about going up that trail to, among other things, Gem Lake, is that it is a great trail if you go far or don't go very far. Hiking to Gem is basically the same as hiking to Morgan Pass, the pass is barely further than Gem, but if you are too worn out from previous days hiking, it is still worthwhile to hike up the trail until you feel like you have gone as far as you should (considering that you need to get back to the car).

On the other hand, if you get to Gem and think that you are still pretty energetic, go over the pass and on down to Upper Morgan (a starkly beautiful lake above the trees), and go further to Lower Morgan. Lower Morgan is only about a mile below the pass, about a 9 mile RT if you go straight from the trailhead and back and don't take side trips along the way. Also, if you are still feeling good on the way down past Gem, take the relatively short spur to Treasure Lakes.

The last good mountain hike I ever took with my father was up that trail. We didn't know how far he would make it up the trail, but there were so many nice lakes along the way, it didn't really matter, we figured he'd go as long as he felt like. He made it to Gem, and stopped there Gem while my wife and I continued on to Lower Morgan. He felt like he had done enough uphill (and as a diabetic was trying to manage blood sugar levels), and he didn't want to go over the pass and down to either of the Morgan Lakes since it would mean going back uphill. He stayed at Gem for awhile and enjoyed the view, and then went down and took the spur over to Treasure and hung out there until my wife and I arrived back (which was the plan when we left him at Gem).

There's lots of great hiking around Rock Creek, but if I'm in that neck of the woods and I don't know how much I have in me for a hike, I love that trail, because I can be satisfied with however far I get.

Yes, Mount Morgan (S) is pretty easily done from Francis Lake as long as you don't end up in the rocks/boulders after Lake Francis. There's a use trail pretty much all the way up. In the Meadow at the end of Lake Francis - go up the slope to the right with the small trees on it. You will find a use trail and some ducks. In this picture is the meadow and you will stay to the right side at the end of the meadow to find the use trail: