Summit Pass

The Summit Pass Trail starts from directly behind the trailhead sign. It climbs up through desert vegetation and then contours over to Blue Lake. Alternatively, from the west side of the parking lot, you could drop down to Big Valley Lake, go around its northeast shore and take a path up to Blue Lake. Either way, after about 0.6 miles, you pass an old log miner's hut. Above Cooney Lake, at 1.4 miles, there is an unsigned fork next to Virginia Creek. The correct path is to cross the creek here and continue to the largest of the Frog Lakes. This choice is not obvious, especially if there is a snow patch on the other side of the creek. On this side, a more prominent trail heads up to the northern two Frog Lakes and possibly on the Moot Lake. After about 1.8 miles, the Summit Pass Trail becomes steeper and climbs 700 feet in elevation in a little over a mile to Summit Pass at about 11,100 feet. From the pass, it is well worth hiking about 100 yards northeast to a point that overlooks the canyons and surrounding mountains to the north and west. From the pass, the trail makes a fairly steep 1000 foot drop over 1.6 miles trail to the junction with the Summit Lake and Green Creek Trails. On the upper part, the trail switchbacks down a very steep slope, which could be treacherous when covered with snow unless you are properly equipped. From the junction, Summit Lake is only about 0.35 miles away and requires only another 150 feet of climbing. In the other direction, the barren Hoover Lakes are about 1/2 miles away and East Lake is a little over 2 miles away.