Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
main trail and actual
summit
(9646ft) are to the left of the cairn junction, past fine views
of
Electric Peak
(10,992ft) and Cache Lake below.
The trail then descends to open meadows and an equally awesome panorama over
Gardner's Hole, stretching from Bunsen Peak to Fawn Pass, with views stretching across
half the park as far as the Tetons. Descend the hillside on wide ribbonlike switchbacks be-
fore re-entering a patch of forest and the junction with the Cache Lake/Glen Creek/Sports-
man Lake trail; take a left here.
After 15 minutes along Glen Creek you enter an open valley and branch left (east) to
cross tiny Snow Pass (follow the electricity poles). Descend past a trail junction, ignoring
the left branch signed for the Sepulcher Mountain Trail. As you descend here look for
white chunks of travertine beside the forested trail, proof that you are skirting the
Mammoth-like destroyed former hot springs of
Pinyon Terrace
.
At the trail junction by the signboard, take the left branch on the Howard Eaton trail.
The final 1.3 miles take you around the back of the upper
Mammoth terraces
; take care
if you decide to explore the side trails that lead to extinct cones, sinkholes and caves
(emitting deadly carbon dioxide). Past Orange Mound Spring are views of some beautiful
hidden white terraces (not visible from Mammoth's Upper Terraces) and Narrow Gauge
Terrace, before descending past views over Mammoth to where you started, six or seven
long but highly enjoyable hours ago.
Other Mammoth Country Hikes
One enjoyable loop hike is the three-hour
Terrace Mountain Loop
. Starting at Snow
Pass trailhead, just south of Mammoth's Upper Terraces, the trail meanders through the
interesting Hoodos, climbing high above the road to views of Rustic Falls, Mt Holmes and
Swan Lake Flat, before swinging right through the open sagebrush of Glen Creek and then
taking a right turn, following the electricity lines over Snow Pass and downhill past
Pinyon Terrace (see the last section of the Sepulcher Mountain hike). An alternative is to
start at Glen Creek trailhead.
If you can arrange a vehicle shuttle, one excellent, easy and little-seen route (all down-
hill!) is to follow the
Howard Eaton Trail
from Glen Creek Trailhead down past views of
Rustic Falls and the Hoodos, past the junction to Snow Pass and down along the back side
of Mammoth terraces to Beaver Ponds Trailhead (3.8 miles). For a description of the last
section see the Sepulcher Mountain hike.
Cache Lake
is a satisfying 11.2-mile, three-quarter-day hike that is long enough to give
you a workout but not hard enough to wipe you out. From Bunsen Peak/
Glenn Creek
Trailhead
(1K3), 4.5 miles south of Mammoth, the trail crosses open sagebrush country,
