This was my first peak of my week-long Tahoe/Nevada peak binge. After a 200+ mile drive up US-395 from Southern California, I arrived in the town of Big Pine, and somewhat on the spur of the moment decided to go get White Mountain Peak instead of my other main objective, Middle Sister in Lyon NV. (It turned out to be a wise decision as a big fire essentially closed Middle Sister to hiking for awhile.) After gassing up and getting food in Big Pine, I took off northeast on CA-168 as it gained steeply into the White Mountains. After about 12 miles of steady uphill driving, I went north on White Mountain Road, which heads up into the main heart of the range. This road is paved but is also steep and windy; most people take this road to visit the Bristlecone Pine Forests, which has some of the oldest living trees in the world. I did the same. Nine miles up the road is Schulman Grove, where there are picnic areas, trails and a visitor's center. I ate lunch and took a short hike amid the gnarled bristlecones (see photo at bottom). The main road becomes dirt after Schulman Grove and another 12 miles up is the Patriarch area, where the largest of the bristlecones lives. The bristlecones are pretty neat, but I also liked the road! It's a good road but it winds high up on the mountainsides and also in broad hanging valleys- it was like driving on a barren planet. I hiked some trails and acclimated to the elevation. From Patriarch I took the road to its terminus at a locked gate, 5 miles past Patriarch. It was only 3 p.m. so I relaxed and chatted with the hikers and bicyclists coming down from White Mountain. I was at about 11,600 feet in decent, if cloudy, weather. I also hiked the area to get some views.

During the evening, about 9 p.m., after everyone had left and I was the only person at the campsite, a strong little thunderstorm brewed up and dumped on my truck for about an hour. After it stopped, I got into my truck's bed/shell and conked out. I awoke at about 11 p.m. and it was crystal clear and a near full moon lit the area in a beautiful soft moonglow, enough to make out reasonable detail on the terrain. I awoke at 4 a.m. the next morning, still dark, suited up, ate and started in on the hike. From my truck it is 7.5 miles to the summit, all on dirt road. I started past the gate at 4:30 sharp with just enough ambient light to lead the way.

I made great time: in 45 minutes I came upon the Barcroft Laboratories, a University of California high altitude research station, 2 miles up the road and about 1,000 feet of gain. I saw some horses, sheep, work trucks and simple housing structures for the researchers. However, it was still pretty early and I didn't actually see anyone. The trail steepens for the next bit and another mile later, I topped out on a ridge near a rusted building of some sort that looked like an old observatory. The sun was just rising and the weather was surprisingly pleasant- maybe in the 50s at most. The next three miles involved a gentle decline of about 300 feet, and a gentle incline of about 300 feet, until I was topping out on a small flat subpeak at about 13,100 feet elevation. Then the road drops another 300 feet to the main saddle below the summit massif. I covered these 6 miles total in about two and a half hours. I rested and watched the marmots run around everywhere.

The final push to the summit went slower than I planned. The road switchbacks broadly up the face of the summit, so it took forever it seemed to make vertical progress. About 500 feet below the top I decided to cross-country it and head directly up the moderate-sized talus blocks. Sure enough, my shortcut intersected the road very near the top, and shortly, I walked upon the summit and checked out the little hut on the top. It was 8:45 and the weather was fantastic. I laid out on a concrete slab and relaxed, dozed very briefly, signed into the register, took a few photos and found the benchmark behind the hut. I had 360-degree views in clear beautiful weather. The Sierra Nevadas loomed mightily across the Owens Valley. I could make out the road net around Bishop in the valley, 10,000 feet below. After about a half-hour I started down. I met up with a hiker at the saddle, took a long lunch, then made the long hike out back to my truck, meeting a couple more parties along the way. Total round trip was 7 hours and 30 minutes, with 15 miles and 3,000 feet of gross vertical gain. The hike is nontechnical and very enjoyable. Easily one of my new all-time favorites!