Day 4 of July 2024 Trip to Sierra Nevada, Mount Starr

Fourth day of my July 2024 trip to the Sierra Nevada. Given the weather forecast, my friend and I hiked Mount Starr today. Accompanying our hike were the enchanting views of alpine lakes that dotted Little Lakes Valley and the magnificent granite peaks that surrounded them.

After reaching Bishop, California the previous night, we had four whole days to explore the mountains nearby. Unfortunately, while I was under the impression that it never seldomly rained in the summer in Sierra Nevada, the weather forecast for the coming few days didn't share the same view. Rain was in the forecast in the afternoon for both today and the next day, at about 25% probability. Having been hit hard by alpine storms during my trip to Colorado back in 2022, this time we decided to play it safe and plan our outdoor activities around the rain.
As a result, we decided to check out Mount Starr today. This was a YDS class 2 mountain, whose trail was on the relatively shorter end (about 13km out-and-back, 800m elevation gain, or 8 miles and 2600ft). This meant if we started early, we should be able to get off the mountain before the afternoon storms rolled in. Its summit at about 3900m was one step further in acclimatization to the higher peaks in our plan in the coming days. To top things off, the views were spectacular along the trail and from the summit, a myriad of lakes and peaks that blended to make the best views we had in Eastern Sierra Nevada.

On the morning of July 23, we left Bishop at 5:30am in the morning, just as the first rays of twilight were lighting up the horizon. We reached Mosquito Flat Trailhead just past 6am. The trailhead was in a valley and felt very cold as we stepped out of the car, with many plants covered in frost. After some warmup, we started our hike at 6:18am.
Here’s GPS tracking:

Not long after leaving the trailhead, we emerged into sunshine as the sun rose up and the trail headed up the hill, leaving behind the frosty chill from the trailhead.

The first half of the trail largely followed Little Lakes Valley. A few spots along the way offered great views of the valley below and the mountains beyond, but with strong contrast between the shade and sunlight, they didn't make great photos.

As we went deeper into the hike, the trail turned west away from Little Lakes Valley towards Ruby Lake. Shortly before reaching Ruby Lake, the trail to Mount Starr forked off the trail to Ruby Lake and entered a series of switchbacks. Vegetation became sparse along the switchbacks, allowing unobstructed views overlooking Ruby Lake below and the various surrounding mountains, such as the rocky spire in the background (Petit Griffon between Mount Abbot and Mount Mills) that's shaped like a monument to behold.

Not long after the top of switchbacks, the trail turned north, entering a valley between Mount Starr to the east and Ruby Peak to the west, that’s where patches of snow replaced what little vegetation that used to line the trail.

We reached Mono Pass at around 8:20am, about 2 hours after leaving the trailhead. There weren’t any markings at Mono Pass, but it’s an obvious saddle point that’s impossible to miss.
From there, we would climb Mount Starr’s western slope, which wasn’t an easy journey. The slope was steep, made of a mixture of fine gravel and talus. This mixture presented minor traction issues. In addition, while there were faint traces of trail leaving Mono Pass (see p1 below), they were very hard to follow. It didn’t take long before we gave up finding the trail, instead looked for the least resistant path onto the summit. Nonetheless, in my opinion the entire trail never exceeded YDS class 2.

An hour later after leaving Mono Pass, we were at the top of Mount Starr, joining the cohort of impressively looking Sierra Nevada mountains that surrounded us.

The summit ridge of Mount Starr largely followed north-south direction. The two valleys to its east and west had drastically different landscapes. Little Lakes Valley to the east, where we came from, abounded in water and was lush in vegetation. The (unnamed) valley to the west was barren and (mostly) dry. I guessed that's how snowmelt from the mountains surrounding Little Lakes Valley breed all its varieties of life.

And here's a video taken from the summit:

24 seconds, 2160p30fps, 10Mbps/32MB for H265, 11Mbps/33MB for H264.

We spent an hour on the summit of Mount Starr enjoying the views and some snacks, during which time we watched a few patches of clouds forming above the mountains deep in Sierra Nevada, as expected by the weather forecast. However, with the clouds few and sparse, we weren't in that much of a hurry to get off the mountain.
Once started our descent from Mount Starr, it took us 50 minutes to reach Mono Pass, after which it took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to get back to the trailhead.

Along the way, the clouds got denser, but luckily it never rained. The distant mountains beyond Little Lakes Valley made stunning photos under soft light through overhanging clouds.

Finally, we were back at the trailhead at 1pm, after which we drove back to Bishop to conclude the day.
Along the way, US395 passed a scenic overlook (Sherwin Grade Vista Point), where we stopped and took a look. By that time, clouds looked rather tumultuous overhanging Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west. Having already finished our hike without having to worry about being caught in them, it's just a magnificent sight to behold.

We only got to our hotel in Bishop at 10:30pm last night, and having to leave early this morning, we didn't get much sleep. So once we were back at the hotel, we went straight back to bed and called it a day.
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