Diamond Peak from Rockpile TH via PCT

Dogs Unknown

Lovely trail that passes first through a recent burn scar, then through forest with some breathtaking breakout views, down to an open patch with some optional, well-marked turn-offs to visit Marie or Rockpile Lake. Join up with the Pacific Crest Trail for a gentle hike until the climbers turnoff then gear up for a rocky, uphill climb crossing rock/boulder field and steep scree to the false summit and then some ridge scrambling to the true summit with striking views of the surrounding lakes.

A free self-issue wilderness permit is required but available at the trailhead.

Heads up - the first stretch of this hike from Rockpile Trailhead is through a recent burn scar. Work has been done to make the trail more visible, but you are hiking through ash and no cover. I recommend starting early to get through the worst of this exposure before the sun gets too high because there are plenty more uncovered stretches of this hike to contend with. Don't forget to fill out a self-issue wilderness permit before you get too far, and then make your way through the scar until a stark transition back into the forest.

You'll stroll through that for a while, catching a few awesome views of the surrounding lakes and mountains, before descending a bit into an open marshy area. Mosquitos can be bad in this area during peak season. Here, there will be two well-marked turn-offs for the first Marie Lake Trail #3632.2, then Rockpile Lake Trail. Both are lovely and warrant a visit if you have time (though I recommend hitting them on the way back to cool off). A little further, you'll reach a clearly marked intersection with the PCT. Turn left/head north and follow that through a gentle, shady forest.

The hardest part just may be not passing the climbers' trail. It is marked with two cairns on either side, but is easily missed, so make sure you're keeping an eye on a map/GPS track and look for some suspicious-looking rock piles on your left. The climbers' trail jumps into it pretty quickly, transitioning from dirt trail to boulder hopping up a large section of it before trudging up some scree. The path here can become easy to lose (you don't want to see my GPS track), so again, keep your route-finding skills sharp and a GPS handy as you make your way to the false summit.

False summit to true summit is done by crossing a ridge where the user trails are plentiful and none of them really make clear sense. You'll be making your way around some large gendarmes and scrambling over/around some chunks of rock with a scree-covered drop-off on your side. When heading from the false summit up, stay to the right of the gendarmes (generally) - the trail is at least slightly more followable that way. Once you're past the roughest part of the ridge, it's a little more scree trudging up to the summit!

Make your way back down the way you came, preferably, or do some unintentional scree skiing immediately to the east of the boulder field (listen, the user trails are not the easiest things to stay on). It's a true out-and-back, so you're just retracing your steps. This is when I chose to peel off to Rockpile Lake to relax for a bit and stretch my toes from the descent. Back through the burn scar, through the unfortunately unavoidable sun this time, and you've done it! Hopefully, it was everything you could want and more.

Watch out for mosquitos during peak season/summer and try to catch a glimpse of the water snakes in Rockpile Lake!