Sweetwater Mountains - Mount Patterson and Wheeler Peak

Mount Patterson is the highest peak in the Sweetwater Mountains, a small range that crosses the California-Nevada state line northeast of Yosemite National Park. The range is fairly quiet, having been nearly forgotten about by hikers, and though it does have a following in the 4x4 community (4x4 roads criss-cross the area), we still only saw a handful of folks out over one of the busiest outdoor weekends in the West.

We left from Lake Lobdell in the early morning and headed up a 4x4 road towards Mount Patterson, and let me tell you, the colors out there are just fantastic! Parts of the range look very similar to what you see in Death Valley (they're both deserts), and, much like Death Valley, the area has been mined in the past.


From the summit of Mount Patterson, it's a ridgeline walk over and a short cross-country hike up to Wheeler Peak.