Hiking Mt Goethe

Notes by piero scaruffi | Travel resources | Other California destinations | California hikes | The Sierra peaks
Pictures of the hikes
Both routes start from the North Lake trailhead west of Bishop.

(Beware that the topomaps of this region are still in the ancient imperial system, which means that they have not been revised in decades)

Southern Route

Hike to the Lamarck Pass (no need to climb Mt Lamarck itself) and then head down the southern side into Darwin Canyon. Follow the many lakes downstream until you reach a point where you can head north (turn right). That's Darwin Bench. Hike up towards the lakes of this valley and you'll find two lakes at about the same elevation. Walk in between them and start ascending the class-2 slope on your left to the summit. This route is not my favorite because on the way back you have to climb again Lamarck Pass, which is a mountain in itself.

Northern Route

Take the Piute Pass (or better Paiute Pass) trail from the North Lake trailhead and (right at the beginning, past the tent sites) make sure you don't take the left fork that goes to the Lamarck Lakes. Turn right towards Paiute Pass. A few minutes in the hike you have to cross the creek twice over logs. When you reach the pass, check carefully the trail. A use trail on the left continues to Muriel lake, but it's not easy to see. It starts right at the top of Paiute Pass.

The faint trail to Muriel Lake at Piute Pass:

The use trail continues along the western shore of the lake but it disappears in multiple places. It then bends south and heads up the slope to the south of Muriel Lake (again, it mostly disappears), or just ascend the southern shore of the lake without entering any major canyon.

Ascend the southwest shore of Muriel Lake:
This takes you the plateau of Goethe Lake. This is actually two lakes in one, separated by a wide isthmus. The use trail reappears until the first of these two lakes. Then it's all bouldering whichever way you choose to go. Option 1 is to cross the isthmus and start ascending diagonally towards Goethe Pass (aka Alpine Col, which is not a couloir at all), reaching the pass to the very left. Option 2 is to continue on the western side of the lake (up and down through beaches and cliffs) and then ascend to the right side of the pass. Pros and cons but both involved a lot of bouldering.

Alpine Col and Mt Goethe to the left from Goethe Lake:

Alpine Col and Mt Goethe:
At the top of the pass you see the lakes on the Evolution side and see a bit of the lowest Darwin Canyon lakes. Now you just have to scramble to your right towards the top of Mt Goethe, and it is more efficient to avoid the ridge: the southern side of the pass offers nicer routes to the top. I did not find a summit register nor a USGS marker.

  • North Lake's trailhead
  • North Lake trailhead (2,800m): 5'
  • First lake: 1h
  • Second lake: 1h40'
  • Piute Pass (3482m): 7.5 km 2h30'
  • Muriel Lake 3455m 9.5km 3h
  • Goethe Lake 3460 4h
  • Isthmus 4h15'
  • Alpine Col 3780m 14.5 km 6h30'
  • Mt Goethe 4043m 16.5 km 8h
Southern route:

Northern route:

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