4 Days Backpacking in the Ansel Adams Wilderness: Minarets, Cecile Lake, Off-Trail Passes, and Thousand Island Lake

McLeod Lake was an easy first stop. I saw a few people fishing there, although it didn’t look particularly productive while I was passing through.

From there, I continued toward Red Cones. The cones themselves are worth the quick side trip, but the stretch between Red Cones and Devils Postpile was probably one of the less memorable sections of the route.

I stopped at both Upper and Lower Rainbow Falls.

Upper Rainbow Falls has a great overlook, but I didn’t spend much time there since swimming was discouraged.

Lower Rainbow Falls was more interesting for me. I snorkeled below the falls and saw some larger rainbow trout. There weren’t a huge number of fish, but the ones I saw were noticeably larger than most of the trout I encountered elsewhere on this trip, or in most areas of the Sierra backcountry.

After passing Johnston Lake, there are a lot of good places to camp along Minaret Creek. Somewhere between there and Devils Postpile, I also came across a Sierra marten. It was the first time I had ever seen one in the wild.

I spent my first night along the creek before continuing toward Minaret Lake the next morning. This also ended up being the best fishing of the entire trip. I found a section of creek packed with small brook trout. They weren’t big, but there were tons of them. In some sections, I could see groups of 20 to 30 at a time. They were pretty skittish, though, so moving quietly and keeping a low profile made a difference.

This section was one of the highlights of the trip.

Minaret Lake sits directly beneath the Minarets and is spectacular on its own. Of Minaret, Cecile, and Iceberg lakes, Minaret was also the only one where I saw any evidence of fish. Even there, though, the population didn’t seem particularly large. Don’t hike here expecting a honey hole, but I can at least confirm that fish do exist in the lake.

From Minaret Lake, I continued up toward Cecile.

The route between Minaret and Cecile is steep and loose, with some scrambling and plenty of terrain where you really need to pay attention to your footing and route choice. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who isn’t already comfortable with scrambling, exposure, and moving across steep talus.

Cecile Lake itself is incredible. It’s a stark alpine basin tucked directly below the Minarets, and I camped there for my second night. There aren’t many campsites around the lake, but if you have a relatively small tent, you should be able to find two or three workable options.

Continuing down toward Iceberg Lake involves another steep descent. Iceberg is another standout spot along the route. If you want to camp there, the most reliable-looking area is on the north side of the lake.

While camped at Cecile Lake, I added an off-trail climb of Volcanic Ridge, and it was absolutely worth it.

The climb is very steep and there isn’t a trail, but the reward is one of the best views I’ve found anywhere in the Sierra. From the ridge, you’re basically looking straight across at the jagged Minaret ridgeline. This may honestly be my all-time favorite view.

For me, it was one of the best side trips of the entire route.

If you have an AllTrails Peak membership, the heatmap can give you some useful clues about the best way up Volcanic Ridge. More importantly, though, you need to be comfortable reading topography and navigating uncertain terrain. This section climbed more than 1,110 feet in a single mile, with almost nonstop steep scrambling.

I would not recommend it to most people. If you do attempt it and the terrain starts feeling outside your comfort zone, there is no shame in turning around.

After passing Ediza Lake and the Nydiver Lakes, I made my way toward Whitebark Pass.

Whitebark Pass was considerably more intimidating on the north side, which I descended. I was comfortable going down it as part of my route, but after seeing the terrain, I personally wouldn’t want to climb it from the north.

The terrain is steep and loose, and choosing the right line matters a lot more here than it does on some of the easier off-trail passes in the area.

Garnet Pass was the opposite experience.

It’s a very straightforward off-trail pass and didn’t feel technical at all. For someone who already has solid hiking experience and wants to start getting more comfortable with cross-country travel in the Sierra, this is a much more approachable place to begin.

The approach toward North Glacier Pass starts out relatively easy. Most of the route is straightforward, but the terrain changes quite a bit near the top.

The final mile or so involved navigating through enormous boulders. Progress became slow, and finding a reasonable line through the terrain took considerably more effort than I expected.

Because of that section, I wouldn’t recommend North Glacier Pass to most hikers.

On the other side is Lake Catherine, tucked directly behind Mount Banner and Mount Ritter. It’s one of the most dramatic alpine lakes I’ve visited in the Sierra.

I had originally planned to camp there and climb Banner Peak the following morning, but the wind was extremely strong when I arrived. I briefly talked with someone doing the Sierra High Route, although “talked” mostly meant yelling at each other so we could hear over the wind.

I spent some time looking around for a campsite, but I couldn’t find anything that looked workable or protected. There may be better options on the west side of Lake Catherine, but I couldn’t see anything obvious from where I was.

After checking the weather forecast and thinking it over, I decided not to camp there or attempt Banner the next morning. The wind was simply too strong, and continuing with the original plan didn’t seem worth the risk. No hike is worth your life.

Instead, I continued down toward Thousand Island Lake for the night.

I spent my final night at Thousand Island Lake.

Despite being one of the most famous and popular destinations in the Sierra, it’s still one of my favorites. Banner Peak rising directly behind the lake is hard to beat.

I’ve heard it jokingly called “Thousand Person Lake” because of how many people stop here, especially with both the JMT and PCT passing right by it. The northeast side can definitely be busy, especially near the main trail corridor, but the experience changes quite a bit once you continue around the lake.

I camped on the western side on a Saturday night in August and barely saw anyone. I could see a few people in the distance, but otherwise it felt surprisingly quiet.

The wind was still strong, although not nearly as bad as it had been at Lake Catherine. That may have also helped with the mosquitoes, because they were basically nonexistent that night.

It ended up being a perfect final campsite after several days of much rougher off-trail travel. If you spend some time looking around, there are also a few campsites that are fairly well protected from the wind.

For the final day, I followed Rush Creek Trail down toward the June Lake area.

The trail was perfectly fine for hiking out, but after descending it, I wouldn’t choose it as my preferred approach to Thousand Island Lake in the future. It would be a substantial climb going the opposite direction, and there are other routes into the Thousand Island Lake area that I find more appealing.

Purely because of the scenery, this may be one of my favorite routes I’ve ever done in the Sierra.

A lot of people experience this area from the JMT/PCT or by coming in through Rush Creek or Shadow Creek. Those routes are great on their own, but if you’re comfortable getting off the beaten path and traveling cross country, there is a lot more to explore.

For me, places like Cecile Lake, Volcanic Ridge, Whitebark Pass, North Glacier Pass, and Lake Catherine are what made this trip stand out.

At the same time, some of those sections are significantly more difficult than normal trail hiking. The terrain around Cecile Lake, Whitebark Pass, and North Glacier Pass in particular makes this a route I’d only recommend to hikers who already have experience navigating steep, loose, and off-trail terrain.

For those who are comfortable leaving the trail, this part of the Ansel Adams Wilderness is hard to beat. It’s a true bucket-list area to explore.