Telescope Peak, Rogers Peak, and Bennett Peak

Hiked: 6/9/2026
Distance: 13.6 miles round trip on dirt road, trail, and cross country
Summit Elevation: 11004'
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. 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 plenty of wild flowers in bloom. I met three separate parties on their way up, all of whom had driven up that day. At the truck, I packed up and drove home, missing the worst of the afternoon traffic.

Eastern Sierra on the horizon