These flat meadows provide a good place to camp for your first night or take a well-deserved break from the climb. Hands done most amazing hike I’ve ever done. Sam Mack Meadows is awesome too, one of the most beautiful meadows I've ever seen and a welcome reprieve from the relentless switchbacks. I mean this without exaggeration, this is debatably a top-5 hike in the entire state. The trail leads to the Big Pine Lakes Basin in the John Muir Wilderness with a number of lakes surrounded by spectacular mountains and a view of the Palisade Glacier. The glacier is located in the John Muir Wilderness, and is accessible only by foot and horseback.However, it is visible from the Glacier Lodge trail-head, which also features a … That’s where I turned around, but not too far from their is the summit! The Palisade Glacier descends from the flanks of four mountain peaks over 14,000 ft and is situated in a bowl geologists call a cirque. Mosquitos were so insane up there! Stay on snow to avoid troublesome boulder field just before reaching the glacier. Hands done most amazing hike I’ve ever done. While each of California’s remaining glaciers offer their own individual logistical challenges, the Palisade Glacier is one of the easiest to visit from May to mid-October. Palisade Glacier Trail is a 14.3 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Big Pine, California that features a lake and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. I was masked up, and remembered to recreate responsibly. Hiked 7/18/2020. It helped to have some GPS route finding on my phone because the trail isn't always clear. and if you head up to the glacier you can get a picture with all three in a row. The scenery and massive view points made the distance traveled feel irrelevant, so much to see. Started around 5 am and took one of the last spots at the big pine creek trailhead. Amazing, memorable hike! Trail starts near Big Pine Creek campground, which on a side note is a great place to stay, and snakes up past some awesome waterfalls, then the trail splits between a high trail and a low trail, the high trail has less switchbacks, the lower trail is slightly more scenic, either way follow the map from this site and there are signs. It is 6-stars stunning scenery from the moment you hit first lake to the moment you hit the glacier, and it is 6-stars difficult as well. Fun and beautiful hike with nice scramble at the end. The glacier descends from the flanks of four mountain peaks over 14,000 ft (4,300 m) in elevation of which North Palisade (14,242 ft (4,341 m)) is third highest peak in the Sierra Nevada Range. This trail can be done as a day hike, but you are going to want to relish this one, so I recommend you plan for an overnight … Stay on snow to avoid troublesome boulder field just before reaching the glacier. Sticking to the left side of the trail seemed safer compared to the downloadable map on all trail. * Covid note - not many people, but I did pass a 8+ family group. We took the easterly route to the ridge that overlooks the glacier, which involves crossing a few hundred feet of boulder field and then class 2 scrambling up solid rock to the ridge following rock cairns the whole way. Gorgeous trail from start to end; however, there’s a lot of scrambling at the end on rockfall. The smoke wasn’t too bad on this particular day. From here it gets rocky too, soon you are in a full on rock scramble the rest of the way, try to loosely follow the All Trails map and then try to follow the cairns but honestly this is tough as well. Be careful not to lose the trail. The Palisades are the most rugged and “alpine” ridge on the Sierra crest. In this case, easy is a relative term, as visitors to the Palisade Glacier will have to traverse ten miles of trail to the end of the glacier, and gain 4,000 feet of elevation, before returning back to the trailhead. 4 liters will not be enough. From here it gets rocky too, soon you are in a full on rock scramble the rest of the way, try to loosely follow the All Trails map and then try to follow the cairns but honestly this is tough as well. Not convinced about that alltrails direction -> follow the cairns! The overlook provided beyond that is spectacular, too. Such a great hike some of the best views anywhere. Seriously, visually stunning and picturesque the whole way. Anybody know how crowded it would be on a week day in september? Glacier trail is a beast. We were surprised how many people were on the north fork trail because it is an elevation gain butt kicker, but once at "Second Lake" we understood why! The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from March until September. Second Lake is gorgeous, with Temple Crag towering menacingly behind it. Beautiful scenic views of the big pine lakes 1,2 and 3 before that. Really easy to get turned around here. The trail was easy to follow until it disappeared into a boulder field about halfway up, so we picked a low point in the ridge and carefully rock hopped our way toward it. High Camp on North Palisade - is best set up on the Palisade Glacier for maximum success, in that you get a nice high start on climbing day, and are able to get to the "U notch couloir" with the least amount of effort. Incredible. Fun and beautiful hike with nice scramble at the end. Made it all the way up to the glacier on 6/10 and did not need spikes. and if you head up to the glacier you can get a picture with all three in a row. The Middle Palisade “Glacier” would be just a small permanent snowfield if in Washington. It is 6-stars stunning scenery from the moment you hit first lake to the moment you hit the glacier, and it is 6-stars difficult as well. Completed on 6/16/20. Most of the trail is full exposure. Definitely adventurous! * Covid note - not many people, but I did pass a 8+ family group. Going up the glacier is steep, and ascending the notch right now requires some sketchy scrambling, Going up the colieur is very steep, and then up to the ridge before the scramble you can boulder. You go through a neat valley and when you look up you can see a waterfall in the distance, you'll soon climb to that waterfall through some switchbacks. Wanderwege in Big Pine Beautiful hike and didn’t see anyone else at the glacier. Serious incline. Incredible. This trail is a beautiful example of what the eastern Sierras have to offer. 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