Glass Mountain in Inyo National Forest, CA

Hike Glass Mountain Inyo National Forest, CA

Class 2 11.3 miles 4000 gain 4-6 hrs Loop Sep 1, 2024
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

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From afar, Glass Mountain may appear to be just another large lump in the Great Basin Desert, but as part of the Mono-Inyo Craters volcanic chain, the peak is a geological wonder with a vast amount of obsidian, which is volcanic glass formed from rapidly cooled lava. Of course, it takes some work to reach a point where you can see the shimmering black rocks. Historically, this obsidian was valued by indigenous peoples for crafting tools, but to me it was just a fun and unique feature of the range.

On my drive in I let my GPS navigate me along McGee Canyon Road, which was passable but a bit rockier than if I had taken Sawmill Meadows Road by leaving CA-120 here (37.87564, -118.61818). I parked at the standard trailhead, which began as a sandy road walk through the forest until a steepening singletrack trail ascended west up a wide gully. There were pockets of obsidian on the ground, the large clusters of it much more interesting than I had expected they'd be based on photos. It helped that my legs were pretty shot after the last week in the Sierra, forcing me to take my time up the incline and inspect a couple of the pieces. I thought my original plan of traversing Glass Mountain, Glass Mountain Ridge, Kelty Peak, Wilfred Peak, and Cone Peak was out of the question at this point.

The trail made its way up to the northeastern slope of Glass Mountain. Along the way, it skirted steep slopes and dipped in and out of the forest before emerging into the mostly bald summit area. It was steep the whole way to this point. Some nice walking up the soft slope got me to the summit, where I had a view of the Sierra Mountains. I peered over at the north summit of Glass Mountain, deciding I didn't want to make the effort to reach that unranked peak. Instead, I preferred to put my weary legs to work on a more ambitious traverse. Seeing so many lumps somehow gave me energy. I couldn't possibly skip them.

Next up was Glass Mountain Ridge, beginning with an easy descent with a partial social trail leading down from Glass Mountain to the saddle. A little avoidable lump with a steep south ridge along the crest featured massive hunks of obsidian, so I wasn't too upset to go up and over it, although the social trail around it would have probably saved some of the tread on my sneakers. It was a pretty steep schlep up to the flat summit area of Glass Mountain Ridge, and the views were similar to its taller neighbor. I continued south, avoiding a lump along the way that probably would have been better to just go up and over, as the side-hilling I did was not energy-saving in any way.

A quick, soft descent to the saddle with Kelty Peak was followed by a steep ascent to its summit. The fun, fast downhills and annoyingly steep uphills seemed to be a theme for these peaks. There really hadn't been any scrambling, but the steepness often had me touching the ground for stability, so I suppose one could call the route Class 2. Kelty Peak wasn't particularly noteworthy, which makes sense considering it’s just an unranked bump along the way.

Another fun descent on soft terrain off the east slopes of Kelty Peak lasted much longer than I anticipated, and it was neat to watch Wilfred Peak shift in height on the horizon as I rapidly lost elevation. I managed to find a social trail when I neared the bottom, but it was short-lived. I continued up to the summit of Wilfred Peak, yet another steep hike with similar views, though just as lovely. Tire scars were clear evidence that irresponsible ATVs drive all over the northern slope of Wilfred Peak. I joined the official ATV road and followed it in an arc to get over to my final peak, Cone Peak. This standalone minor summit felt like a silly add-on, but I had enough time and energy to snag it. I enjoyed the meadows dotted with wildflowers along the way, as well as the view down toward Lake Crowley. The road led nearly to the summit, and a tiny bit of brushy Class 2 took me the rest of the way.

Now I just needed to return to my car, but there was no clear ATV road leading directly there. I noted on satellite imagery that somewhere on the eastern slope of the range there appeared to be a road snaking through the forest, so I made this my goal. I backtracked toward Wilfred Peak and descended to the northwest through forest on soft slopes, attempting to contour to stay high and avoid excessive drainages. Although I had to dip in and out a few times, the main difficulty was staying on course. Somehow the slope's angle kept throwing me off, and I had to keep consulting my GPS to ensure I wasn't straying too far. I managed to stay higher than necessary but eventually stumbled upon the road here (37.75593, -118.67706). I took this road all the way back to Sawmill Meadows Campground. An old wooden cabin rested here, and I think I surprised a group of campers who weren't expecting someone to randomly emerge from the forest.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
Glass Mountain
11160 ft
3180 rise
2
Glass Mountain Ridge
10840 ft
348 rise
3
Kelty Peak
10597 ft
230 rise
4
Wilfred Peak
10138 ft
427 rise
5
Cone Peak
10151 ft
440 rise

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Starting on an old forest road.
Starting on an old forest road.
Then singletrack up a gully.
Then singletrack up a gully.
Cool pockets of obsidian.
Cool pockets of obsidian.
Glass Mountain above.
Glass Mountain above.
Sections of forest amongst the steep slopes.
Sections of forest amongst the steep slopes.
More steep hiking up Glass Mountain.
More steep hiking up Glass Mountain.
View back down.
View back down.
Skirting slopes. North Glass Mountain seen over there.
Skirting slopes. North Glass Mountain seen over there.
Sandy section through scraggly trees.
Sandy section through scraggly trees.
Another shot back down.
Another shot back down.
Glass Mountain ahead.
Glass Mountain ahead.
A mostly bald summit area.
A mostly bald summit area.
View back.
View back.
Last bit to the summit.
Last bit to the summit.
Glass Mountain summit, view back down.
Glass Mountain summit, view back down.
View over toward Glass Mountain North.
View over toward Glass Mountain North.
Glass Mountain summit, view toward Glass Mountain Ridge.
Glass Mountain summit, view toward Glass Mountain Ridge.
Dropping toward Glass Mountain Ridge.
Dropping toward Glass Mountain Ridge.
View back up at Glass Mountain.
View back up at Glass Mountain.
Awesome section of obsidian along the crest.
Awesome section of obsidian along the crest.
Glass Mountain Ridge ahead. It would have been better to keep left around this steep crest section.
Glass Mountain Ridge ahead. It would have been better to keep left around this steep crest section.
View back up toward Glass Mountain.
View back up toward Glass Mountain.
Steep stuff up to Glass Mountain Ridge.
Steep stuff up to Glass Mountain Ridge.
Glass Mountain Ridge ahead, a flattish summit.
Glass Mountain Ridge ahead, a flattish summit.
View back toward Glass Mountain.
View back toward Glass Mountain.
Close-up of Glass Mountain.
Close-up of Glass Mountain.
Sierra Mountains to the west.
Sierra Mountains to the west.
Onward toward Kelty Peak, seen left. It makes sense just to stay along the crest on the right. I side-hilled to its left and it wasn't efficient.
Onward toward Kelty Peak, seen left. It makes sense just to stay along the crest on the right. I side-hilled to its left and it wasn't efficient.
Down toward Kelty Peak.
Down toward Kelty Peak.
View back toward Glass Mountain Ridge (left) and Glass Mountain (right).
View back toward Glass Mountain Ridge (left) and Glass Mountain (right).
Descent from Kelty Peak. Wilfred Peak and Cone Peak seen on the right.
Descent from Kelty Peak. Wilfred Peak and Cone Peak seen on the right.
Steep, fun, soft descent.
Steep, fun, soft descent.
View back toward Kelty Peak on my way up Wilfred Peak.
View back toward Kelty Peak on my way up Wilfred Peak.
Wilfred Peak summit, view toward Lake Crowley.
Wilfred Peak summit, view toward Lake Crowley.
I took this ATV road over to Cone Peak.
I took this ATV road over to Cone Peak.
View back toward Glass Mountain.
View back toward Glass Mountain.
Cone peak seen ahead.
Cone peak seen ahead.
The road leads to nearly the summit.
The road leads to nearly the summit.
End of the road ahead, a short Class 2 brushy section leads up to the summit.
End of the road ahead, a short Class 2 brushy section leads up to the summit.
Cone Peak summit, view back toward the traverse.
Cone Peak summit, view back toward the traverse.
Cone Peak summit, view west.
Cone Peak summit, view west.
After backtracking, I left the ATV road and headed nrothwest.
After backtracking, I left the ATV road and headed nrothwest.
Slopes and drainages to navigate.
Slopes and drainages to navigate.
I stumbled on this road. The White Mountains seen top right.
I stumbled on this road. The White Mountains seen top right.
The road meanders through the forest, traverse seen above.
The road meanders through the forest, traverse seen above.
A cabin at Sawmill Meadows Campground.
A cabin at Sawmill Meadows Campground.

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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!