Kearsarge Pass from Mt Gould

📍 Inyo National Forest, California

The Story

When I reached Kearsarge Pass, I was immensely impressed with the views out into Kings Canyon National Park and of Big Pothole Lake just down below. I knew this was just the "start" of the real adventure I had planned for the day, but the view was so good that I had to take a moment to enjoy the scenery. I had hiked about 5 miles just to reach this point after all! Afterwards, I looked up at the real objective of the day and began questioning myself. Staring at the big steep rocky slope to the right of the pass, I questioned how would I even approach this. I could see no obvious route from this vantage point, so I decided to just slowly work my way up the big boulders to scout for a good way up. As I made my way further up, a social trail had formed and to me was quite an apparent one. Sometimes the trail would fork in a few directions, and I would just pick the best line up. At times the trail would disappear, yielding to light scrambling around boulders, but would always quickly return. It was like this all the way up to the summit, which I must admit I did not truly hit. I reached a peak altitude of just over 12,900 feet, but the Acute Mountain Sickness was kicking in hard and my motivation to hit the true summit (estimating about 10 minutes away, only 100 vertical feet further up) was lost. This photo was taken partway up the approach to Mount Gould, and I really like how the connecting ridgeline in the bottom right of the frame leads your eye right into the scene.

Location Details

Trail: Kearsarge Pass Trail
Feature: Kearsarge Pass

Conditions

Features: Alpine Lake,Snow Fields,Granite Peaks,Glacial Cirque
Terrain: Scree,Talus,Rocky Outcroppings
Atmosphere: High Visibility,Partly Cloudy
Time Of Day: Midday

Technical Specs

Body: Nikon Z 9
Lens: Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
Settings: ƒ/8 | 1/320s | ISO 64 | 24mm
Resolution: 12554 x 6833 px (85.8 MP)
Date Taken: Jun 2026 (Summer)

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