cloudripper summit overlooking chocolate lakes and bishop

Hike Big Pine Lakes to all Seven Lakes and Climb Cloudripper

HIKE TO: Seven Big Pine Lakes & Cloudripper
TRAIL: Big Pine Creek North Fork 
MILES: 19.92 miles out and back (8.4 miles one-way to Seventh Lake)
TIME: 2 nights
DATE I WENT: 6/25/21 - 6/27/21 
DIFFICULTY: moderate 
ELEVATION: 13,517 ft
ELEVATION GAIN/ LOSS: 5,823 ft
HIKE PERMIT: yes for overnight, no for day hike
PARKING PERMIT: no
CAMPFIRES: NOT ALLOWED - please practice leave no trace
LOCATION: Eastern Sierra, Inyo National Forest
big pine lakes

Things to know before I dive into my Cloudripper from Big Pine Lakes trail experience:

  • This trip can be done as one long strenuous day hike instead of an overnight trip. Wilderness camping permits are hard to come by for this specific trail.
  • I have written about Big Pine Lakes to the popular Third Lake before so there may be some overlap here – this report is for all seven lakes and Cloudripper. There is a hiking trail up to 6th lake and it’s cross-country hiking after that.
  • This trail for Big Pine North Fork to the famous Big Pine Lakes is different than the Big Pine South Fork trail to Finger Lake. A South Fork permit does not allow you to camp here.
  • Cloudripper is the first 13er I ever attempted and failed at due to lack of research/ preparation on my end (I simply jumped onto a group trip attempting a route I wasn’t familiar with and didn’t think to ask twice about anything). Live and learn. Make sure you do your due diligence before heading out for a climb! Cloudripper is the highest peak of the Inconsolable Range in the Sierra Nevada.
Which of the Big Pine Lakes are turquoise?

First lake, second lake, third lake, and fifth lake are all turquoise colored, but second lake tends to be the most vibrant.

How many lakes are there in Big Pine?

There are seven Big Pine Lakes, but nearby on the same trail is Black Lake and Summit Lake. Finger Lake also starts at the same trailhead but heads down a different trail and requires a Big Pine South Fork permit for overnight camping.

When is the best time to hike Big Pine Lakes?

The best time to see the colors when they’re most vibrant tends to consistently be mid-June through August. In September and early October, the turquoise color is still there but it’s a deeper turquoise color that could still brighten up when the sun hits it mid-day, but nothing compares to seeing it in the summer time!

big pine lakes

3 days/ 2 nights Cloudripper from Big Pine Lakes Backpacking Trip Report

My backpacking trips lately have all included a climbing objective, so I’ve enjoyed hiking in to our camp later in the evening to arrive around sunset before setting out for a climb the following morning. We started hiking at 4:15 pm on Friday evening and arrived to camp at Second Lake in 2.5 hours. I’m going to skip through this section of the hike but you can read about it on my previous blog post here.

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Hiking to Big Pines Seventh Lake and Climbing Cloudripper 13,517 ft

Hiking to Seventh Lake

Cloudripper is the 58th-highest peak in California and the tallest in the Inconsolable Range near the Palisades. This hike passes all seven Big Pine Lakes, but Fifth Lake is a small detour.

We had a leisurely start in the morning around 7:50 am from Second Lake (10,113 ft), 5 miles from the trailhead. At 6.5 miles from the TH, you reach the junction for Glacial Trail (to Sam Mack Meadow and Palisade Glacier) but continue on the trail to 4th-7th Lakes. The trail follows a dirt path all the way until Sixth Lake with plenty of tree coverage and shade, at which point you will need to cross-country hike (navigate yourself off-trail) in mostly exposed terrain – be sure to follow the path that looks worn so you don’t damage the wilderness anymore. At 8.4 miles from the TH, you reach Seventh Lake (11,188 ft).

Hiking to Cloudripper

It’s all uphill from here. Cloudripper is a class 2 scramble, meaning the trail is nonexistent (not marked nor maintained), you need to have some map-reading skills, a good sense of direction, and you will be walking/ scrambling up boulders/ talus/ scree and may be using your hands for balance.

When you’re looking at Cloudripper during the approach, the route up will be the obvious low point on the right side of it, the saddle between Cloudripper and Sky Haven. Remember, the climb tends to look worse than it actually is from afar. Once you get up closer, it’s less intimidating.

Always pick the path of least resistance.

To get to the beginning of the scramble section, hike up from Seventh Lake in the direction of the saddle and stay between the trees and the lower boulders hill. Once you get as close to the talus as you can, the scramble up is about 0.9 miles and 996 ft of elevation gain. Stick to the larger boulders on the right side as opposed to the loose scree on the left.

From the top of this saddle, you’ll see Thunder and Lightning Lake which drops down on the North-side of the saddle, and Vagabond Peak rising up to the Northwest, but you will not see Cloudripper yet. Head left to traverse to Cloudripper.

There is a slightly worn sandy-dirt trail you can follow to navigate the left side of the ridge, but eventually, you’ll choose your own path up the talus. The mountain you see in front of you at first is not the summit, but once you get on top of that, you will see the traverse to the left that leads to Cloudripper. This section of the scramble is 0.82 miles and 1,202 ft of elevation gain.

After a long and slow day, we finally arrived at Cloudripper (13,517 ft) at 1:30 pm. The 360 views of Big Pine Lakes, the Palisades, and Bishop were absolutely breathtaking. Soak it all in!

We enjoyed the summit for an hour before making the long trek back to camp for another night and took a refreshing, icy dip in the lakes before hiking out the following morning.

The water at Big Pine Lakes is never as cold as I think it would be… or maybe I’ve just been in worse lately. When I swam in the lake last July, someone told me they measured the water temperature of Second Lake, along the edge in the middle of the day, and it was 50 something degrees.

Gear List for Summer Backpacking in Eastern Sierra

Booking travel soon?
Please consider using my affiliate links below. It costs nothing additional for you but helps me maintain the ever-increasing costs of running a travel blog:

General travel through Tripadvisor here.

Book your flights here.
Book your accommodations here on Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, and VRBO.
Book your car rentals here.
Book your tours here.

Book your travel insurance here.

Thanks for reading!

I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, comments in the box below!
& please don’t forget to practice Leave No Trace šŸ™‚

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    9 thoughts on “Hike Big Pine Lakes to all Seven Lakes and Climb Cloudripper”

    1. Looks like it was an incredible trip! So awesome to see you getting out there on some scrambles. Thanks for taking us along on your journey!

    2. Hi Tiff!
      Love reading your blogs, looking at your excellent pictures. Inspiring me to plan a trip in August!
      What platform do you use to create your blog with? Are you willing to share that information?
      I have thought for many years about doing one myself, but since you are much more experienced, I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask ; )

    3. Our group was there a few years ago…..most of us got as far as the 2nd lake, a couple went as far as the third. It seemed like an endless hike just getting to the first one, especially for the younger ones in the group. We liked the Kearsarge Pass trail better and are now looking forward to the Bishop Pass and Treasure Lakes group trip in September.

      1. Hi Ray, the hike definitely gets easier every time I go back. Second Lake is usually the crown jewel of the Big Pine Lakes but Third Lake was looking particularly stunning this time around. The trip to Cloudripper is a full-day commitment for sure! Bishop Pass Trail is so incredibly beautiful with countless lakes – enjoy!

      1. Hi Rahul, have you read this blog post and the other Big Pine Lakes blog I linked to? All the details are in the write-up šŸ™‚

    4. Brianna Valeska

      Hi Tiff,
      My husband, boys (8 and 10) and myself are heading up to Big Pine lakes for our 3rd trip next week. We are planning to climb cloudripper this trip. How dangerous is it for young kiddos like my boys? Iā€™m a little hesitant after doing research. We plan to camp at 5th lake then climb it the following day. Thanks!

      1. Hi Brianna, Cloudripper can definitely be dangerous if they’re unfamiliar with scrambling on boulders, but if they’re used to climbing around and aware of loose rocks and how to traverse around them, it could be manageable. I’d say it really comes down to their experience level but it’s definitely not a hiking trail after seventh lake. Fifth lake is beautiful!!

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