Mammoth to Lake Italy Lollipop

This route, at just over 109 miles, travels from Mammoth to make a small loop around the Piute Canyon/Lake Italy region. It primarily utilizes the Pacific Crest Trail, but jumps off to make that small lollipop loop, and follows the trail along the Mammoth Crest on the return journey. Depending on the hiker, this trip can take anywhere from 5-10 days to complete, with endless opportunities for side trips and mountain climbing.

This route begins by taking the Mammoth Pass Trail from Horseshoe Lake. During the summer, there is a free shuttle from town to Horseshoe Lake on the Lake Basin Route (http://www.estransit.com/summer-routes). The Pacific Crest Trail is not far from the Mammoth Pass Trail, which we will follow south for the next 48 miles. We soon pass Purple Lake, where camping is not widely available, and Lake Virginia, where there are superb camping opportunities. We then descend into Cascade Valley, and climb again to Silver Pass, passing Silver Pass Lake soon after, and descending to Mono Creek. Here is a junction toward Vermilion Valley Resort if needed. We later join Bear Creek and ascend gently toward the very attractive Lake Marie toward Selden Pass. It is a long descent to join the South Fork of the San Joaquin River, which we follow until meeting Piute Creek. Here is the junction onto the Piute Canyon Trail. We follow this into French Canyon, heading up to Pine Creek Pass, and then taking the junction onto Italy Pass Trail into Granite Park. The top of Italy Pass is the highest of our route, just on the south side of Mt. Julius Caesar. The aptly named Lake Italy lies below the pass (a steep descent), a lake that Sierra-writer Steve Roper finds unremarkable, but that others may find quite attractive. We follow the lake’s outlet, the Hilgard Branch, to rejoin the Pacific Crest Trail. The only difference on the return journey toward Mammoth is that our route will branch off to skirt the edges of Duck Lake and take the Mammoth Crest Trail back toward Mammoth Pass.

Hikers will pass through the John Muir Wilderness in Sierra National Forest. Wilderness permits are required for backcountry camping, which can be found at www.recreation.gov. For more information regarding advisories, weather, road conditions, campgrounds and more, check out the Sierra National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sierra. Practice the principles of leave no trace, and take action to defend threatened wilderness areas (wildernesswatch.org).