My friend and I decided to make this an overnight backpacking trip because….why not? Our packs were heavy (46lbs) because we packed in 6L of water due to the uncertainty of the water availability at the spigot at Round Valley Campground.

We caught the last tram up the mountain at 6pm and filled out our permits at the Long Valley Ranger Station before starting the 2.5 mile hike to the Round Valley Campground. The hike to the campground was a fairly steady uphill most of the way, but nothing too bad. It was getting fairly dark when we arrived at an open campsite and started setting up our tents. Despite it being a full moon, we were tired (and my friend was cold) so we just made a quick dinner and went to bed. The overnight temps got to the mid 30's. I was comfortable in my 15 degree bag but my friend said she shivered all night in her 30 degree bag. Despite being comfortable temperature wise, I could not get comfortable on my pad (not unusual). I think I got about 3 hours of broken sleep.

We woke up early and packed up what we could. We left our tents up and I left my gear inside because I decided to bring a small day pack for our summit attempt. I grabbed my 3L bag and my 10 essentials and after a quick stop at the pit toilets, we were on our way around 8am. The trail was easy to follow for the most part. There were a few area's among the rocks early on that made it a little harder to see, but we just kept our eyes out for the tree branches or rocks that helped mark it and we never got off track. The first part (before Wellmans Divide) was mostly in tree's which provided some nice shade. Even though the weather was beautiful and in the mid to upper 70's, the shade provided some nice relief from the sun. After we passed Wellmans Divide, we were more exposed. The stunning views made it worth it. It was at this point the trail was becoming my new favorite trail. As we neared the top, I was concerned about the rock scramble I had read so much about. Turns out, it was my favorite part. I loved climbing and jumping from rock to rock. The views at the top beat anything I've ever seen as of yet. Even though it was a little hazy, you could see forever. It was breathtaking. After a 30 minute break to catch our breath and take in the views, we headed back down to camp to back up and catch the tram back down. The walk back down was just as enjoyable with those amazing views.

When we go back to the campground, we saw one of our neighboring campers didn't secure their food. Food and trash were strewn about their campsite and no doubt put a damper on the rest of their trip. I'm not sure if it was just squirrels and birds or something larger, but it made a mess. We put our food and other smelly items into a rat sack and hung it from a tree. It was fine both overnight and while we went to the summit.

The hardest part of this hike was the 2.5 miles from camp back to the tram. Our feet were tired and we did not want to put 40lbs back on. The dang concrete switchbacks at the very end to get the tram station were the WORST! I'd love to find whomever designed that a kick 'em where it hurts. Anyways, back to the trip. We grabbed a cold beverage and sandwich at the cafeteria (which wasn't bad) and took a little rest before catching the tram back to our sweltering cars.

I can't wait to climb this peak again. I think next time we'll make it a day trip and take the Marion Mountain route.

A few little notes; I took 6L of water and had 1L left. The water spigot at Round Valley had a fairly decent flow but it's not reliable which is why we packed so much in. There a quite a few pit toilets in the Round Valley area. They smell horrible, but it's nice not having to pack stuff out.