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Eastern Slope
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Eastern Slope 

Page Type: Route

Location: California, United States, North America

Lat/Lon: 38.14900°N / 119.627°W

Route Type: Hike / Scramble

Time Required: One to two days

Difficulty: Class II

Route Quality: 
 - 1 Votes
 

 

Page By: Alpinist

Created/Edited: Jan 2, 2004 / Jan 3, 2004

Object ID: 159724

Hits: 753 

Page Score: 86.03% - 1 Votes 

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Approach


Bigelow Peak is located on the boundary of NW Yosemite and SE Emigrant Wilderness Area. Directions from the closest trailheads to ascend the eastern slope are listed below.

1) From Leavitt Meadows Pack Station, follow the West Walker River trail south until you reach the Cascade Creek trail. Follow the Cascade Creek trail until it joins the PCT. Follow the PCT south over Dorothy Lake Pass and past the signed junction of the Bond Pass Trail. Continue south on the PCT into Grace Meadow until due east of Bigelow Peak. The ascent starts here. The GPS coordinates are 38,09,93N by 119,36,69W. (21 miles total)

2) From the Leavitt Lake trailhead, follow the Leavitt Pass trail south, up and over Big Sam, for 10 miles until you reach Emigrant Pass. Take the trail split to the south. Near Grizzly Meadow, you can take 1 of 2 routes that lead to Bond Pass. The Bond Pass High trial is a bit more scenic. Or you can take the trail that borders Summit Meadow. Continue east past Bond Pass. Turn south on the PCT until you get to Grace Meadow. The ascent starts here. The GPS coordinates are 38,09,93N by 119,36,69W. (18 .5 miles total)

Route Description


From the GPS coordinates listed above, leave the PCT at Grace Meadow and head due west cross country towards Bigelow Peak. See Topo Map. This is a moderate ascent through trees with mixed dirt, gravel and rocky terrain. You will emerge from the trees at around 9800 feet. The final ascent begins just NE of the summit. The route follows the line of bushes up to the summit from NE to SW as depicted in this photo.

Disclaimer: I've not climbed this route yet. However I've been on all sides of this mountain. From the photos I've taken and topo map, it looks like an easy class II ascent.


Start elevation: 8,800'
Summit: 10,539'
Elevation gain: 1,739'
Distance: 1 mile from the PCT

Essential Gear


There is no special equipment required for this climb during the summer months except for the usual overnight backcountry camping gear.

Miscellaneous Info


If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.

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