I took a trip to the Eastern Sierras this past September with Paul and Mich Rojas. We backpacked to Minaret Lake the day before making it up to Volcanic Ridge. Paul points to the top of Volcanic Ridge and says, “we’re going up there tomorrow”. I was initially a little hesitant, as there wasn’t a clear path to the top. Bushwhacking and scrambling with a dull headlamp isn’t recommended. In hindsight, we should’ve just camped at the base. We approached the ridge from the southeast side at 4 in the morning to get to the vantage point that gives an unobstructed view of the Minarets, Mt. Ritter, Banner peak and the surrounding lakes Cecile, Iceberg and Ediza lake (word by Mich Rojas). We scrambled 1700 ft to the top to reach 11,500 ft elevation. I pushed myself to the brink of collapsing to get up here in time to catch the aplenglow. I missed the burning light but was more than pleased to make it just minutes before the mountain was engulfed in warm light. A huge shout out to Paul and Mich Rojas for being great friends and motivating me to get to the top.
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