Overview
This 39-mile point-to-point hike starts in Tuolumne Meadows (elevation 8.6k) in Yosemite National Park, crosses Donohue Pass into the Ansel Adams Wilderness, and ends at Devil’s Postpile National Monument (elevation 7.6k) near Mammoth Lakes, California. It can be done in the reverse direction, but it will be slightly more elevation gain because Tuolumne Meadows is higher than Devil’s Postpile. Although the transportation logistics can be a bit tricky, the benefit is what would normally take multiple trips to see: Lyell Canyon, Thousand Island Lake, Iceberg Lake, and Minaret Lake, I was able to see in just 4 days of hiking.
The first 26 miles overlaps with the John Muir Trail (JMT). The trail out of Tuolumne Meadows is easy and flat for many miles as it follows the Lyell Fork through the wide Lyell Canyon. At the end of the canyon, you will climb up to Donohue Pass, where you leave Yosemite National Park behind and enter into the Ansel Adams Wilderness.
The next section of the JMT passes Thousand Island Lake and Garnet Lake. The views of the Ritter Range on this section are some of the most recognizable on the JMT.
Once you reach the Shadow Creek junction after Garnet Lake, instead of staying on the JMT which continues downhill to Shadow Lake, take the trail towards Ediza and Iceberg Lake. You will need to gain a steep, class II cross-country pass between Iceberg Lake and Cecile Lake to get to Minaret Lake. This section requires some route-finding experience, but the views of the jagged Minarets make it a rewarding detour. The rest of the hike from Minaret Lake to Devil’s Postpile are fast miles on well-maintained trail.
Basics
Permit
You will need one permit for this trip: the Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) permit issued by Yosemite National Park. Yosemite National Park issues permits on Recreation.gov by weekly lottery 6 months in advance of entry date, and first-come first-serve “walkups” online 7 days in advance of entry date.
The Lyell (No Donohue Pass) permit would not be valid for this trip since it does not allow for exit over Donohue Pass. (Side note: The park uses 2 different entry permits for Lyell Canyon to separate the quota for JMT vs non JMT hikers. Since this route exits over Donohue Pass, it shares the same permit as JMT southbound hikers. You can read more about this on Yosemite’s NPS page.
Transportation
The drive time from the Bay Area to Tuolumne Meadows is 4 hours, and between Tuolumne Meadows and Mammoth Lakes is an additional hour. The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System bus (YARTS) connects Mammoth Lakes to Tuolumne Meadows. The YARTS is comfortable and convenient, but it only runs a few times a day, so planning ahead is essential. The Reds Meadow Shuttle connects Mammoth Lakes to Devil’s Postpile and runs several shuttles an hour when Reds Meadow Road is open, so there’s no need to time this one.
Mammoth Main Lodge (also called the Mammoth Mountain Adventure Center) is where you can transfer between the YARTS and Reds Meadow bus. There is overnight parking and bear-proof food storage lockers for backpackers here.
Since this trail can be done southbound (SOBO) or northbound (NOBO), this leaves the following options:
SOBO: Shuttles leave at 6:30 AM (year-round) and 8:30 AM (peak season only).
- Drive to Mammoth Lakes. Shuttle to Tuolumne Mdws. Hike SOBO to Mammoth Lakes. (What I did.)
- Drive to Tuolumne Meadows. Hike SOBO to Mammoth Lakes. Shuttle to Tuolumne Mdws.
NOBO: Shuttles leave at 11:15 AM (year-round) and 3:15 PM (peak season only).
- Drive to Tuolumne Mdws. Shuttle to Mammoth Lakes. Hike NOBO to Tuolumne Mdws.
- Drive to Mammoth Lakes. Hike NOBO to Tuolumne Mdws. Shuttle to Mammoth Lakes.
I chose the first SOBO option because I prefer to do my shuttling at the start of my trip so that I don’t need to time my hike out. The YARTS time was early enough that I could do a full day of hiking after I shuttled on day 1, and the hike out from Devil’s Postpile on day 4 was short enough that I had enough time to drive back to the Bay Area the same day. This option did mean I had to drive an extra hour between Tuolumne Meadows and Mammoth Lakes from the Bay Area twice, but it saved me from having to stay more than 1 night before/after my hike.
Day 1
Despite all the buffer I gave myself in the morning, I was still scrambling to make it to my YARTS bus stop. Overnight parking is located on Minaret Road a bit before the lodge. I did some chaotic last-minute re-packing as usual, and stashed extra food in the bear lockers. As I started walking up the hill to the lodge, the YARTS bus drove past me. I was not sure where the stop was, so I tried to keep it within sight as I ran after it.
It was at least a 10-minute walk/run uphill with my backpack unbuckled, my shoelaces yet untied, and my hands full with my Ziploc bag of breakfast and lunch. For future reference, the bus stops right here in front of the Mammoth Mountain Inn. Mammoth Mountain Inn is the first stop on the route, so it’s likely going to leave on time. I made it, but you really should save yourself the stress and plan to be at the stop at least 5 minutes in advance.
The drive from Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite is an hour, but the bus takes around 1:45 hrs. The bus ride includes a 15 minute stop at Whoa Nellie Deli which also has a general store. It has grab-and-go food, restrooms, water, and even various gear in case you realize you forgot something during your bus ride.
A few days before my trip, a new wildfire, the Garnet Fire, had taken off rapidly in the Fresno foothills. The AQI in the Mammoth and Tuolumne areas was fluctuating by the hour, sometimes to as high as 200. When I checked the AQI in Oakdale 2 hours into my drive and saw the AQI, I almost bailed on my trip. AQI is wildly unpredictable. I don’t think hiking in smoky conditions is worth the views or the health risks. But armed with an N95 and exit plans for each day, I decided to carry on as planned.
This morning, the AQI was 70 at Mammoth Lakes, but it was 150 around Lee Vining. Shortly after the bus turned off of 395 on to 120, the Yosemite peaks started coming into view in the distance. The air quality improved as we drove out of the valley and was decent when I got off the bus at the Tuolumne Meadows store.
It was a 1.5 mile walk from the bus stop to the Lyell Canyon trailhead at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. On the way, I picked up my wilderness permit from Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center. The lodge was my last trash can and flushing toilet and then I said bye to civilization for the next 4 days.
The first notable view of Lyell Canyon is located when the JMT merges with the PCT about 0.6 miles out from the lodge. There were many day hikers by the river and several people fishing. After this point, the trail became much quieter.
The views do not change much for the first 8 miles of Lyell Canyon. It was easy to settle into a rhythm of speed-walking thanks to the extremely well-traveled and flat trail. The trail loosely follows the Lyell Fork up the canyon. The miles blurred together and there aren’t any notable landmarks. That’s not a complaint though, because the scenery was beautiful. The slightly hazy skies created a painterly effect that made everything look even more like a landscape painting than it already did. Though the trail occasionally dipped into the trees, I never went that long before I was enjoying the view of the meadows and river and mountains again.
It was past 4 PM and I was nearing the end of the canyon. Most people I saw on trail were winding down and setting up camp before the climb started. The sun did not set until past 7 PM though, so I wanted to camp closer to Donohue pass.
These switchbacks were the most strenuous thing I had to do all day. Before long, I was high above the valley and could see the bald humps of the Kuna Crest above it.
When I was picking up my permit, the ranger said that there were campsites near a footbridge at around 9.6k feet. There is also an unnamed lake at 10.2k where the Lyell Fork widens, and one more lake at 10.5k, so I had several options to choose from.
The footbridge was still below tree line. The first lake sits at about the elevation where the forest thins and the views open up. After rock-hopping across the outlet of the lake, there is a large, flat area that can fit many tents. You’re just steps from this gorgeous view of the basin.
I would have totally set up camp here, but there were a few too many tents already set up here for my taste. I decided to make the final push to the second lake basin. It was just another 300 ft of vertical, and I had great views of the basin I was leaving behind.
You’ll round a small hill and then see this lake from above before descending to it. It was specifically this view that inspired me to include the Lyell Canyon to Donohue Pass section in my trip.
I couldn’t find any campsites after crossing the lake outlet as the trail starts climbing pretty immediately to the pass. The area around the lake is also fragile meadow and not suitable for camping.
I back-tracked across the outlet and headed past the lake into the basin, where I was met with tons of granite slab. I actually love camping on rock. No bugs, no dirt, and it feels so clean.
I didn’t have a ton of practice setting up my trekking-pole tent (the Durston X-Mid 1) yet. Fortunately, it was a windless night, and there were rocks everywhere for me to use the big rock little rock technique and get a sturdy pitch.
The sun was setting quickly, so I pitched my tent and then ran around the area taking photos. I also scouted out a composition for a night sky shot, focused my camera, and left my camera there on the rock. (I’m always nervous to do this, although what could possibly happen to it.)
Day 2
Day 2 was a shorter mileage day, so I slept until the light woke me naturally at 7 AM. I’m always shocked at how long I can sleep when backpacking, especially as the nights get longer and there is nothing to do after dark besides sleep.
It was a super clear day. Notably, the smoke had not worsened. My tent was in the shadow of the tall mountains around me while I made breakfast in my tent and until I left. I decided to continue up into the basin towards Mt. Lyell. The granite extended in every direction, and it was the most pleasant off-trail that I could ask for. I loosely followed the Lyell Fork marked on my AllTrails map. Sometimes the creek disappeared through a crack and continued beneath the surface. It was kind of trippy since I could still hear the water right under my feet.
It only took 10 minutes or so to get up into the higher basin where the first lake was. It was long and skinny and surprisingly deep. The color was mesmerizing.
I continued leisurely to the second lake closer to the base of Mt. Lyell, and the third lake I just appreciated from a distance. The sun had risen over the peaks by this point. It was warm and blinding as it reflected off the rock around me.
I got back to my tent around 10 AM, packed up, and started the climb to Donohue Pass. I was glad I got most of the climbing out of the way yesterday. I only had around 500 feet left to the top of the pass.
From the top of the pass, I could see deep into the Ansel Adams wilderness. Well, kind of. The farther mountains made it obvious how smoky the air was. I could make out the layers of peaks but not details, just silhouettes.
Descending the other side from Donohue Pass, the rocky landscape began to come alive with life again. Meadows carpeted the banks of bubbling streams. The meadows had lost their peak summer green and were ushering in early signs of fall.
The Sierra is known for well-graded switchbacks and immaculately-constructed trails. Especially on trail highways like the JMT and PCT, I really noticed and appreciated it. It’s also not uncommon to find long stretches of trail with little elevation change.
This is pretty different from the European Alps and Washington’s Cascades. Those mountains are lower in elevation but feel much steeper thanks to the deep, V-shaped valleys. I’ve been reading The High Sierra by Kim Stanley Robinson, and he has a passage on this: “That the Sierras are less steep than the Alps is not that obvious when you’re hiking in the Sierra. There it’s up and down, up and down. But compare it to the Swiss Alps, and you can see that the Sierras are actually a kind of high plateau, lightly etched by ice.” (From one mountain lover to the next, I really recommend reading this book if you hike in the Sierra!)
Once I got to the bottom of the descent, there was one more uphill to Island Pass before Thousand Island Lake. This pass is pretty flat, and the tarns and meadows were rather dry in late August. The famed Banner and Ritter Peaks start to come into view.
I got to Thousand Island around 2 PM. I would consider this early, but it was Saturday on Labor Day weekend and everyone wants to camp at Thousand Island Lake. Inyo permits are limited by trail entry, not by where you camp, and this lake can be reached in 1 day of hiking by no less than 4 trails, AND is often incorporated into longer, multi-day trips. The number of campers already there should not have surprised me.
The camping for Thousand Island Lake is located along the northern shore of the lake. There main use trail along the lake has fainter paths branching out to probable campsites. In my opinion, the best sites are elevated away from the shore, tucked between trees or on exposed rock shelves. The elevated sites have great views of Thousand Island Lake and have better privacy. I kept following these paths only to find a tent after a few minutes, and have to turn back and continued further along the lake.
Around half a mile in, I found myself a great spot that was still empty. I left my gear there to claim it, and then headed down to the lake. I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling by the lake and walking around to scope out photo spots for later. There was one sand beach that would have been wonderful for swimming, but the sun was being shy. Without the warmth of the sun, the water was a little too cold and dark for me to want to stay in the water.
Most of the spots I passed on earlier actually had space for multiple tents. Normally, it’s considerate to not set up in someone else’s space. “Normally” does not apply to Labor Day weekend. Over the course of the afternoon, every single possible site had filled up. A family with 2 kids took the empty tent site next to mine. People were even setting up anywhere they could find a flat spot. It was truly tent city, and mildly infuriating to see the lack of regard for Leave No Trace (don’t set up on vegetation, next to water, or next to the trail).
I retreated back to my tent a bit before sunset when it became clear that there wasn’t going to be much of one. The sun sets behind the peak, so alpine glow would be a sunrise event.
Day 3
It was another clear morning. There was no breeze and the lake was a perfect mirror. Alpine glow actually starts before sunrise, and I woke up right as it was starting.
There’s nothing like a good sunrise that will immediately get me out of my sleeping bag. I kept walking around to look for new compositions, quite frantically, as the color of the light changed by the minute. Photos from higher up had a better view of the islands but cut off the reflection of Banner Peak. Photos from the shore had a perfect reflection, but it was harder to find an interesting foreground for them.
I was hoping to get an earlier start on day 3 because I had a lot of ground to cover including an off-trail portion. Although once my photo-taking session had ended and I finished packing, it was already past 8 am. It was noticeably smokier this morning than the day before.
In the short 2 miles to your first view of Garnet Lake, I passed by 2 more lakes: Emerald Lake and Ruby Lake. They were small and overshadowed by their neighboring icons, but they’re quite pretty still.
Garnet Lake has a very similar view to Thousand Island Lake with its many islands and backdrop of Mt. Ritter and Banner. It’d be hard to tell the lakes apart in photos, except that you can see more of Mt. Ritter from Garnet Lake. Ritter is actually the taller peak by 200 feet, but because it’s behind Banner Peak from lake level, it looks shorter.
Garnet Lake is much less popular than Thousand Island Lake for camping, so it’s definitely the better choice if you’re trying to avoid crowds. It may be because the trees obscure the view of the camping area from the main trail, and it’s harder to casually check it out because of the steep descent to get there. Or maybe it’s just because of Instagram.
From the trail, the best views of Garnet Lake are on the north side before you descend to shore, and after you cross the bridge over its outlet. Then you have a brief climb out of the basin before a long descent into the Shadow Creek valley.
I started to develop a slight headache as I turned off the JMT to head towards Ediza Lake. I was pretty sure it was because of the smoky air since I’d felt acclimatized to the altitude since day 1. And the views looked visibly smoky, so that only validated that my headache was smoke-induced.
Right before Ediza Lake, the trail split and there was a sign that only made it more confusing which way to go. As I stood there evaluating this sign, I overheard a group of 3 backpackers saying they were headed to the Minarets. I went up to them and told them “me too!” but didn’t chat much more. They stopped for a break at Ediza Lake and I kept going to Iceberg Lake.
The climb from Ediza to Iceberg was quite steep, but at least it was over quickly. As I sat by the lake boiling water for lunch, there were a surprising number of hikers that passed by me. Most of them were heading down from the pass from a day hike. I was nervous about this pass, but everyone I talked to said it looked worse than it was.
Around the time I was wrapping up lunch, the group of 3 arrived. We took photos for each other, and since I was about to start hiking too, we started off together. We were around the same pace, so I happily let them lead the way up. I was happy to not be solo for the sketchiest part of my trip. Iceberg Lake and Minaret Lake are separated by a very short distance, but there is no official trail. Even though it is a well-traveled off-trail route (it is even marked on AllTrails), I was still nervous. There have been fatalities on this section, and you just never really know how hard it will be based on the assessments of other people who have different skill levels and comfort levels with exposure.
The first section of this route ascends a trail on the southern slope of Iceberg Lake to get to Cecile Lake at the base of Clyde Minaret, the tallest peak in the Minarets. The steep and rocky talus field looks precarious from far away, but it felt mostly solid under our feet. It definitely required careful foot placement, like avoiding spots with loose gravel on top of sloping boulders. Technically it was class II terrain. This north-facing slope is often covered by snow into June or July, so crossing it then would be a different story. The runout would be an unforgiving slide straight into the lake, if you didn’t smash into a rock along the way.
There are definitely multiple ways up. We’d usually take a look at the cairns and pick whichever path felt easiest. It helped to check AllTrails and make sure we weren’t too far from the marked trail. On the final approach to the lake, stay to the left of (aka do not cross) the Cecile Lake outlet. I’ve read that you’ll get into class III terrain otherwise.
Once you top out at Cecile Lake, getting around the lake is a slow boulder-hop. It’s flat though and not at all sketchy. Cecile Lake sits in a narrow bowl and it’s hard to get to a vantage point where you can see all of the lake. From the shore, the lake filled my entire field of view. Side note: if you’re running short on daylight, it is absolutely possible to camp at Cecile Lake. I’ve heard the campsites are on the raised plateau on the south side of the lake. If you’re not short on time, Minaret Lake has both better camping and in my opinion, a better view of the Minarets as you’re not right under them.
After the lake, you’ll descend through a meadow area until you get to a small tarn. The marked AllTrails route keeps right here and disappears around the tiniest bit of uphill to get around a bouldered hill. We descended all the way to the tarn and were feeling a bit complacent at this point to turn around and go uphill, so we just headed straight past the tarn and descended from there. Earlier we had linked up with a woman at the end of Cecile Lake, but she split with us and went the “right” way. She was faster than us, so I think she had the right idea. The way we went was very steep. I had to sit down a few times, although we all made it down in one piece.
I felt very accomplished after making it to Minaret Lake. The north side of the lake is flat and meadowed, but the best views of the Minarets are from the south of the lake. We crossed the lake outlet (Minaret Creek) and explored the rock shore for a place to set up camp. Minaret Lake was very quiet in comparison to Thousand Island Lake. Any day hikers there were had left. There are only 10 permits per day for this trailhead unless you wanted to come around the long way from Iceberg and Cecile Lake.
The lake shore is long, and it felt like we had the lake to ourselves. I was tired and moving like a sloth as I struggled to set up my trekking pole tent. The ground is all rock, so I had to do the little rock big rock technique again. It took me ages to find enough rocks that didn’t have edges sharp enough to cut through my tent guy lines. The wind was also putting up quite the battle and knocked over my pitch more than once. I moved my tent site 3 times from most exposed on the top of the rock bank to right behind a tree before I finally got it to stand. After the sun set, the wind also calmed down (something about the temperature differential.)
Once it became dark enough to need headlamps, we noticed 2 moving spots of light on Clyde Minaret. We stared up in bewilderment. Climbers. I couldn’t imagine being up there at night. The climbers probably were not intending to be there at night either.
Day 4
I woke up just in time to see the alpine glow light up the Minarets. Behind us, a thick blanket of smoke had settled in the valley. Fortunately it did not affect us at all up in the Minarets. The sunrise was breathtaking.
The hike out felt like a breeze compared to yesterday’s off-trail adventure. It was all downhill to Devil’s Postpile. The smoke started to get quite unbearable, but I had carried my N95 for the past 3 days and it very much came in handy on these final few miles downhill.
Right before the Devils Postpile ranger station, there is a very tiny detour (<5 min) to see the Devils Postpile rock formation. I’d never been before, so I joined the crowds of casually dressed day-hikers and went to take a look.
While the YARTS shuttle was quite organized and on time, the Reds Meadow shuttle was a bit more chaotic. No one seemed to know when the next shuttle was coming. I was told 20 minutes so I went to the bathroom to wash up (my first running water in 4 days!). When I came out in 10 minutes, the last of the people in line were filing on to the shuttle and I sprinted to make it. It seemed like the shuttles were all off-schedule, but you shouldn’t have to wait more than 20 minutes for one during peak hours.
Around 30 minutes later, I was back at the Mammoth Mountain Adventure Center and walking to my car. I checked the AQI and it was a lungs-burning 200.
I was mentally prepared to cut my trip short early because of the smoke, so I felt very grateful that everything ended up going smoothly. This route is truly the best way to see a super classic section of the JMT and Eastern Sierra.
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