Barney Lake

Hiked: 6/19/2026
Distance: 8.6 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 8258'
Elevation Gain: 1250'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.0
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Twin Lakes trailhead
Difficulty: Easy

Leisa and I spent a few days in the Bridgeport, CA area. It's a small town on the 395 north of Mammoth. Our first hike was to Barney Lake starting at upper Twin Lake. This was in the Hoover Wilderness of the Toiyabe National Forest. There was a sprawling campground of RVs that we had to navigate before reaching the official trailhead. The trail went through several large meadows and we had half a dozen stream crossings. It looked like prime bear country, but we didn't see one. Gain was gradual and the first half of the trail was shaded with large pines. Open areas were covered in low scrub. The basin was surrounded by large peaks, many still hanging on to snow sheets. We reached Barney Lake in about 4 miles. The scenery was nice and the water was cold. Several Mono County workers were taking a break there before continuing up the trail for maintenance. We also spotted a few fishermen standing knee deep in the water casting about for fish. After a short break, we headed back and had lunch at the Village Cafe where we parked. The menu was great and the food was better. Accoding to the menu, the cafe will cook any fish you catch in the Twin Lakes. Well worth a visit, even if you are not hiking there.

Barney Lake

Telescope Peak, Rogers Peak, and Bennett Peak

Desert Peaks Section Emblem Peak
Hiked: 6/9/2026
Distance: 13.6 miles round trip on dirt road, trail, and cross country
Summit Elevation: 11004' (Telescope), 9989' (Rogers), 9982' (Bennett)
Prominence: 6210' (Telescope)
Elevation Gain: 4175'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.3
Round trip time: 8 hours
Recommended water: 128 oz.
Parking/Fees: National Parks Fee or Pass at Mahogany Flat Campground
Difficulty: Strenuous

I woke up in Mahogany Flat at sunrise and got prepped. It was cool and sunny, a good omen. Early June is probably the sweet spot for weather on Telescope (DPS #16). Telescope is the high point in Death Valley and also an Ultra with 6210' of prominence. I decided to tag the sub-peaks of Rogers and Bennett on the way up. Instead of taking the trail from camp, I took the service road that led to Rogers Peak. It was about 2 miles with the switchbacks. Rogers had what looked like a Doppler radar tower with two massive solar arrays. There were a couple of other towers on top, but my cell service was mostly non-existent. I saw the trail a few hundred feet below as it curved from the east side of Rogers around the west side of Bennett Peak. The road ended at Rogers, so I dropped through open country with only low scrub in my way and intersected the trail. I followed the trail less than a mile before I left it again to head up to Bennett. It was easy open country. I walked through a stand of trees, then to the top of Bennett. I had hiked around 4 miles at this point, but there was nothing of note on Bennett. I had clear views of Mount Langley and Mount Whitney, still snow dappled about 80 miles away. Telescope loomed large and implied more work was ahead than behind.

Telescope from Highway 178

Tower and solar arrays on Rogers Peak

Bennett and Telescope from Rogers

Bennett Peak summit
I descended cross country from Bennett to reconnect with the trail. A few bristle cone pines were growing on the upper slopes. Only tiny patches of snow remained on the north side, none around the trail. The ascent at the end was a series of switchbacks. The slope was steep and I could imagine long slides as a serious risk in winter. Like Wildrose, the true summit wasn't visible until I was on the main plateau with an easy walk to the finish. There were three ammo boxes, one with the official NPS register. After signing, I took a long break to enjoy the sights. It was an easy cruise down and I enjoyed the blooming wild flowers. I met three separate parties on their way up, all of whom had driven up that day. The rest of the descent was uneventful. Back at the truck, I packed up and drove home, missing the worst of the afternoon traffic.

Eastern Sierra on the horizon

Looking south along the Panamint range

Wildrose Peak

Hiked: 6/8/2026
Distance: 8.4 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 9065'
Elevation Gain: 2660'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.1
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: National Parks Fee or Pass at Charcoal Kilns
Difficulty: Moderate

I drove to Death Valley for a two day trip to climb Wildrose Peak (day one) and Telescope Peak (day two). I planned to camp at Mahogany Flat Campground (first-come, first-served) at ~8,100'. The most direct driving approach from the south gave me the ick: driving a lightly traveled road with temps over 100F and no cell service for the last 80 miles. The drive on Wildrose Road to the Charcoal Kilns was uneventful and the dirt road sections were in great shape. I was stopped on the way in by a large herd of wild burros. They were unafraid of the truck, even with the horn blaring. I had to get out and shoo them off them road, a 15 minute delay since they would not stay off the road. I arrived at 2:00 PM and checked out the kilns. A couple were undergoing restoration. The trail to Wildrose started behind the lowest kiln.

Fish rocks on highway 178

Wild burros blocking the road

Charcoal kilns

The trail was pleasant, winding through sparse pinyons and other pines on the way to the ridge. From the ridge, views opened up into Death Valley. A final set of steep switchbacks delivered me to the summit plateau. Wildrose Peak was not visible until the last quarter mile along the plateau. A large cairn was built on the summit. An ammo box held a bound register placed by the NPS. It had a friendly insert asking for photos of any interesting plant or animal encounters. Low clouds had built up in the afternoon casting everything in gray. Telescope Peak was mostly blocked by Rogers Peak. Only the very top was visible many miles behind it. I was alone on the mountain and didn't see anyone on the way back. The road up to Thorndike Camp was in a great shape and any vehicle should be able to make it that far. The final mile to Mahogany Camp had a few deep ruts where high clearance helped. I picked a camp site close to the Telescope trailhead. There was only one other party camped at Mahogany. Without cell/Internet access, I settled in for the night by watching a movie downloaded on Netflix.

Final approach to Wildrose Peak

Telescope Peak

Towers on Rogers Peak above

Mahogany Flat Camp site

Dome Rock and Nobe Young Creek Falls

Hiked: 5/25/2026
Distance: 1 mile round trip on dirt road
Summit Elevation: 6104
Elevation Gain: 180'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.1
Round trip time: 20 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Dome Rock Overlook Road
Difficulty: Easy

On our last day in Kernville, we decided to do a bunch of mini-hikes. We started with Dome Rock, a large granite dome with an easy walk up on the north side. We parked just off the road, but could have driven to the base of the dome. There was a benchmark on top and nice views. We looked around for about 15 minutes, then drove south to a turnout for Nobe Young Creek Falls. It was another short hike, less than a mile round trip. The trail descended toward the falls, then splintered into branches that took you to the top, bottom or under the falls. It's usually not so easy to get under waterfalls this large (~100'). Standing under it was an unexpected pleasure. Lastly, we stopped at the Trail of 100 Giants, a paved trail through a giant sequoia grove. It was very popular and we were lucky to find a parking spot. Parking for this trail requires a $12 cash parking fee that you pay with an envelope. The trees were outstanding, some with burn scars. Parts of the trail were closed for maintnenance, but we got to see many trees up close. Expect crowds on a weekend or holiday.

Nobe Young Creek Falls