Trail Overview
This 8-mile out-and-back trail climbs 1,074 feet in just under 4 miles, transitioning from open meadows to pine forest terrain. The track starts one vehicle wide, lined with brush in the meadows, then widens as you enter a pine forest. Various spur trails branch off to explore the area, with dispersed camping options available on these spur routes. The trail offers good views of Mono Lake and the Eastern Sierra mountains throughout the journey. There's a large turnaround section at the end and a short shelf road section along the route.
Difficulty
This trail earns a low difficulty rating with its sandy surface mixed with some gravel. The very dusty trail features occasional rock obstacles to maneuver around and off-camber sections during the final climb to the top. The beginning half in the open meadow coming from the Mono Lake area has lots of washboards and some whoops due to heavy side-by-side traffic.
History
Reversed Peak's history is geological: a large glacier split at the resistant rock of the peak, with one branch forming the Rush Creek Canyon and the other, blocked by the granitic bedrock of the peak, being forced back upon itself to create the Horseshoe-shaped June Lake Loop valley, Reversed Creek, and the distinctive landscape of the area. The peak itself was named by USGS surveyors for this reversed, glacial drainage.
