University peak and Kearsarge pinnacles at sunset

University Peak is a thirteener in the Sierra Nevada. It is named for the University of California. It is on the Sierra crest between Mount Gould to the north, and Mount Bradley to the south. It lies on the boundary between Tulare County and Inyo County. Its west side is in Kings Canyon National Park while the east face is in the John Muir Wilderness. Kearsarge Pinnacles is a linear series of 12 pillars and crags on a northwest–southeast trending ridge located one mile west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in the southeast corner of Fresno County, in northern California.[3] It is situated in Kings Canyon National Park, 11 miles (18 km) west-southwest of the community of Independence, immediately southwest of the Kearsarge Lakes and Kearsarge Pass, and northwest of parent University Peak. The highest, number 4, rises to 12,008 feet in elevation (3,660 meters), whereas number 8 is the most prominent. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 2,500 feet (760 meters) above Vidette Meadow in one-half mile. The John Muir Trail traverses below the west aspect of this remote geographical feature. The Kearsarge pinnacles, lakes, peak, and pass were named after the Kearsarge mine to the east, which was named by its owners after the USS Kearsarge. In turn, the ship was named after Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire.

I spent a week in the Kearsarge Lakes basin this summer, and this evening was the only one with calm enough water for reflections. The granite peaks caught the last light of sunset.

Kearsarge Lakes, Sierra Nevada, California · 2024