Shannon and I took advantage of our flexible work-from-home policies to spend the week of the Fourth of July at a condo in Mammoth Lakes. The Sunday after we arrived, we were looking for a relatively easy hike to get acclimatized and enjoy the mountains. We initially planned for Red Slate Peak out of McGee Canyon, but after sleeping in we thought it’d be better to tackle a shorter hike, so we settled on Mount Lamarck via Lamarck Col.

The weather was not so great this day, by California standards, a strong wind was blowing over the Sierra, with forecasted wind gusts up to 70 MPH on the crest. We figured we would just play it by ear and turn around if it was really bad.

I didn’t bring my camera for this hike, so I just have a few phone pictures.

Overlooking a meadow along Lamarck Creek with the Sierra Wave (a lenticular cloud caused when high wind is forced upwards by the Sierra crest) over us.

Shannon making her way across a snowfield in the alpine terrain high above Lamarck Lakes, with Mount Humphreys in the background.

The route to Lamarck Col is listed as a cross country route, but it’s not very difficult at all. The most difficult thing we encountered was a steep climb from Upper Lamarck Lake, made worse by the fact that we arrived from sea level the day before.

Shannon climbing towards the summit of Mount Lamarck with the Evolution Range and Palisades behind.

The route description for this route says to cross Lamarck Col and climb to the summit from the south once across. We didn’t want to do that because (1) it was roundabout and we could see the direct route to the summit was class 3 at worst (2) we figured the wind would be worse on the west side of the crest and (3) Lamarck Col (just above the small tarn in this photo) was covered in snow and would require climbing in the footsteps of others. So, we headed directly for the summit from the cirque northeast of the small tarn below Mount Lamarck.

Still climbing, with Mount Darwin in the background this time.

Mount Darwin and the Evolution Range from near the summit.

Another wide shot from near the summit.

I didn’t take many pictures from the true summit because it was very windy at the top. We had to hide behind some boulders for a snack and we didn’t even want to do that for too long. After ten minutes or so on top, we headed back down the boulders towards the Lamarck Col trail and made our way back down.

On our way down, we passed a couple guys with skis and boots strapped to the outside of their big packs. We hadn’t seen a lot of snow, even less that wasn’t horribly suncupped, but I assume they had some sort of plan.

Cool light on the sign at the wilderness boundary.

We made it back to the car uneventfully, thought a bit cold, and headed back down the Lake Sabrina Road and back for Mammoth.