Bishop Pass

The Hike: From the trailhead, the trail immediately passes over a spring and reaches a junction (~0.1 miles) with a small side-trail that leads down to the lake to the right. You can find some old mining equipment on this side-trail and some fantastic views over South Lake. When we were here in August, 2013 the water levels were very low after two disappointing winters. Back on the main trail, begin the climb to the southeast. Although this section is exposed and can be hot later in the day, the view is worth it and the trail quickly heads into some shade before crossing 10,000'. At ~0.65 miles the border of the John Muir Wilderness is reached. Just after this the trail reaches a signed split (~0.75 miles). The right trail leads to the Treasure Lakes. Turn left here to continue toward Bishop Pass. The trail climbs slightly here before turning to the east to cross a spring. At this east turn there is a nice view just off of the trail of Hurd Peak to the south.The trail continues climbing after crossing the spring and reaches a junction with the Marie Louise Lakes Trail (left) at ~1.3 miles. Now climbing steeply to the south, the trail passes through several very small switchbacks before there is a brief view of Hurd Lake to the northwest at ~10,560'. At ~1.7 miles the first junction with the Chocolate Lakes Trail loop is met as the trail begins to level out some. Stay straight/right to continue toward Long Lake. The very northern shore of Long Lake is reached at ~1.9 miles where there is also a scenic little pond to the east. From here are great views of Mt Goode and Hurd Peak over Long Lake. Follow the trail to the southeast, where it immediately crosses an inlet from the small pond. Here, were some submerged grasses that made for great pictures looking out over the lake. The trail continues south along the eastern edge of Long Lake, making for great views over the lake, before it briefly leaves the shoreline and turns to the east. Here, again, are great views over the lake of Mt Goode and Hurd Peak. After turning south again, the trail reaches the second Chocolate Lakes Trail loop junction at ~2.5 miles. The sign points left to Ruwau Lake. Stay straight/right to continue south to the southern end of Long Lake where the trail crosses over another small inlet before zig-zagging up and away from the lake.

At the southern end of the lake be sure to pause and admire the view to the north. After leaving Long Lake, the trail climbs above the eastern end of Spearhead Lake (~2.85 miles). Along this section of trail, we found a ton of wildflowers including an unbelievable amount of Wild Mint. After crossing over 11,000', stop at the top of the pair of switchbacks (~3.1 miles) and turn back to enjoy the view of Spearhead Lake and Long Lake to the north-northwest. The trail levels out momentarily at the Timberline Tarns and leads you to a nice view of the larger tarn at ~3.4 miles. There is a nice cascade coming down from Saddlerock Lake to the southwest. The trail comes close to the top of this waterfall just below Saddlerock Lake, which is reached at the outlet at ~3.55 miles. A small side-trail leads to the shore for better views over the lake. Continue to the south to climb away from the lake, pass by a bunch of fireweed, and reach a beautiful little pond surrounded by Monkeyflower south of the lake. Here are more great views to the south and southeast.After passing over a little rise, the trail descends past multiple use-trails leading down to Bishop Lake before reaching a crossing of an inlet to Bishop Lake (~4.1 miles). Here, are more use-trails leading to the shore. We saw a few huge Shooting Star lining the outlet. The view of Mt Agassiz over the trail is particularly nice. Climbing above the eastern end of Bishop Lake offers superb views back to the northwest. At ~4.4 miles the trail splits but you may not notice it. Here a trail (the dashed one shown on the USGS topo map) leads to the left and is only slightly longer than if you stay straight. We didn't noticed the split because just before reaching it we heard rocks crashing from the northwest flank of Mt Agassiz and caught the end of a small rockslide. We got the camera out in time to catch the dust kicked up by it. If you stay straight at the split, you'll cross over an inlet to Bishop Lake before climbing more to cross the inlet again. You'll now be in the lower portion of the huge talus field and reach the second junction with the alternate trail at ~4.7 miles.

Now the climbing really begins as you make the final push to Bishop Pass. It must have taken a lot of work to put this trail where it is and at some places you can look down over at least seven tightly turning switchbacks as you make your way up. At ~4.9 miles be sure to stop and enjoy the view of Bishop Lake and Saddlerock Lake. At the top of switchbacks (~11,800'), the trail flattens some and heads around a small rise. Here, are otherworldly views of the flanks of Aperture Peak and Mt Agassiz to the southeast and Picture Puzzle to the north-northeast of the Inconsolable Range. At the top of a couple more quick switchbacks is a decent view (not as good as from the switchbacks below) of Bishop Lake and Mt Goode. From here, the trail makes the final push to Bishop Pass (11,972') and the border of Kings Canyon National Park (~5.35 miles).There really aren't any decent views from the pass, so we followed a light use-trail to the south and found a nice spot to stop for lunch (~5.5 miles). I also made a quick trip to the tarn below the western flank of Mt Agassiz before heading further south to a great viewpoint just west and below benchmark 12118 (~5.75 miles). From here, I could see peaks everywhere from Isosceles Peak (south) to Mt McDuffie (southwest) and a few of the lakes of the Dusy Basin (south-southwest). I spent a few minutes taking pictures and taking in the view of a new national park for us before heading back to our lunch spot. Once you're ready to leave, retrace your steps from Bishop Pass back to the trailhead. One option to see some varied scenery which will add ~1.5 miles (~2.3 miles instead of the ~0.8 miles between loop junctions on the Bishop Pass Trail) to the hike is to take the Chocolate Lakes Trail loop. Just after the Treasure Lakes Trail junction see if you can spot South Lake Falls coming down the granite above the southwestern end of the lake. If you haven't already, check out the shore of South Lake.