Tamarack Lakes Trailhead via Tamarack Lakes Trail and Tamarack Bench Trail
2.2 mi
Distance
1 hrs 12 min
Time
terrain
489 ft
Elev Gain
Overview
This is a moderate one way trail in John Muir Wilderness.
This trail goes by Tamarack Lakes Trailhead.
Rate this Hike
★★★★★
Solo day hiked Thurs 11/2/2023 – Camped at the Mosquito Flat Backpacker’s Campground, getting up early and parking just off Rock Creek Rd at the now closed Rock Creek Lake Campground Rd. This added a nice road stroll from the north to east shores of Rock Creek Lake to the Tamarack Lakes Trailhead (and bear lockers). After reaching Francis Lake, I left the trail and climbed cross-country up on the north ridge talus as soon as possible, scrambling across it, eventually curving SSE to the summit base. I did meet up with one eastern bighorn at the ridge top which was a nice encounter. From here it was a fun climb up the Mt. Morgan summit over a “stack of dishes” type slab layout. The views were spectacular with a high cloud ceiling and little wind. From here, it was a down and back up northeast ridge climb to what I thought was the 12 Flags summit. After realizing that it was a false summit much like that encountered when going up Mt. Morgan, I ditched my pack for the last steeper summit ascent, reaching the real 12 Flags Summit. After “unsticking” the cap on the register pipe and signing in, I took a break and then headed NW and directly down the north chute. I was able to pick a careful route through good rock with only occasional rock movement. Poling off the bigger, ground set rocks/boulders allowed a more or less straight line descent down the center of the chute. Once back on the trail near Francis Lake, it was a cruise to the trailhead. No ice or bugs to deal with on this trip, just some firm snow and a lot of rock scrambling for one day, although quite fun! Logged 13.1 miles/4313 vertical ft. with Gaia
★
★
★
★
★
Public Tracks
There are no published trips for this hike. There are 4 private trips.
Record a track in Gaia GPS on iOS or Android and publish it to have it show up here.