Crabtree Pass Route

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Features Lake · River/Creek · Swimming · Wildflowers

This is a trail and cross-country route through the upper Rock Creek drainage that connects the trailhead at Horseshoe Meadow (via Siberian Outpost) with Upper Crabtree Lake below Discovery Pass and Trail Crest. It is a shorter route between Horseshoe Meadow and Crabtree Meadow than following the Pacific Crest Trail.

Wilderness permits are required for trails leaving the Horseshoe Meadows Trailhead. They are issued by Inyo National Forest, which can be reached at (760) 873-2483.

From Horseshoe Meadow, follow the Cottonwood Pass Trail #3505 to connect with the PCT: Crabtree Meadow to Tuolumne Meadow (Yosemite) on the pass. Go west on the PCT to a junction with the Siberian Pass Trail and turn on to the trail going north from this junction. This route goes north to the east side of Soldier Lake. It then continues into the Rock Creek drainage and follows along Rock Creek and around the east side of Sky-Blue Lake.

Past this lake, it swings west and then back east to pass along the west side of Lake 12129 (it's also possible to continue directly north to this lake). Above Lake 12129, the route crosses Crabtree Pass and descends to Upper Crabtree Lake and a junction with the Crabtree Lakes Trail. From Upper Crabtree Lake, the climb to Trail Crest is on a moderately steep, sandy, slope. Once on the Crest, the summit of Mt. Whitney is only 2 miles away.