Lone Pine Peak, Inyo National Forest (SPS)

Climbed by its classic Class 2 route up the northwest chute from Grass Lake, Lone Pine Peak is an early touchtone for Sierra peakbaggers, and had been on my list since I made the approach up to Grass Lake the year prior to climb Mount Irvine. The chute was predictably interminable (roughly 1,500 vertical feet of steep, loose climbing), requiring pliable ankles and a certain masochistic bent, but the long, high plateau that follows makes the strain well worth it. Views over the eastern valley are pristine, cell service is relatively stable, and on the whole the summit will leave none regretting their decision to achieve it.

In other news, I car-camped the night prior in the Mount Whitney Trailhead Campground parking lot and heard talk of an extremely “social” brown bear frequenting the area, whom I then had the distinct pleasure of meeting up close and personal at 3:30AM, in the dark, completely alone, at the intimate proximity of roughly two-and-a-half feet.

The author, as you may have guessed, survived.