Duck Pass to Iva Bell Backpacking Loop in Mammoth, CA (3D/2N)
Trip Details:
- Total distance: 31.2 miles
- Total elevation gain: 5,735 feet
- Route Type: Point-to-point on maintained trails (requires a car shuttle or hitchhiking)
- Wilderness Area: Mammoth
- Season: Mid to late
- Permits: Mammoth area has strict quotas. You will reserve spots ahead of time.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Coldwater Creek to Duck Pass to Duck Lake or Purple Lake (4.3 or 10.2 miles)
Day 2: Duck or Purple Lake to Iva Bell Hot Springs (12 or 9.6 miles)
Day 3: Iva Bell Hot Springs to Reds Meadow (11.5 miles)
September 1-3, 2018 and July 3-5, 2021
I have backpacked this loop twice now, once in early September in a big snow year and once in early July on a low snow year. This route will take you through some of the best Mammoth wilderness, natural geothermal hot springs, high alpine lakes, and expansive canyon views along the way. You should note that this is a point-to-point and requires a car shuttle (or hitchhiking) and use of the Mammoth Shuttle service, for which you will need to pack some cash to buy a ticket at the end of your trip.
We met up at the Mammoth Mountain parking area (a stop on the Mammoth Shuttle), where we left one car, and then packed ourselves into the rest of the vehicles which we parked at Coldwater Creek Campground, the trailhead start for this trip. The ultimate destination is Red’s Meadow, where you can buy a fudgsicle and eavesdrop on the strange conversations of PCT throughhikers while you wait for the shuttle to whisk you back to the Mammoth Mountain parking area. I highly recommend ending this backcountry adventure with food and beers at the Mammoth Brewing Company.
Day 1: Coldwater Creek CG > Duck Pass > Pika Lake side trip > Duck Lake (and possibly on to Purple Lake) (4.3/10 miles)
From Coldwater Creek Campground & Trailhead, we began our leisurely climb up to Duck Pass, soaking in every alpine lake along the way, and arguing over whether the valley and lakes were glacially eroded or not (hello, U-shaped valleys Mike!!!). From Duck Pass, you can ogle at the views of the chain of lakes behind you, and then stare into the deep blue bowl of Duck Lake.
I had heard from a friend that there was a green metal boat hidden around the perimeter of Duck Lake. During the 2018 trip, Mike and I circumnavigated nearly the entire lake to try to locate it. We did find a paddle, which assured us we were on the right path. I hiked the paddle around half the lake, excited to use in in conjunction with the boat. We stuck to the shore until we got cliffed out, then had to scramble up the piles of scree to get back up to the trail. We even veered left the Duck Lake main trail to make a side trip to Pika Lake, and see if the boat had been moved over there. We never did find the boat, and had to drop the search to continue on to our campsite at Purple Lake. However, during our second trip in 2021, we made first camp at the south end of Duck Lake (a lot of nice developed flat areas for camping), which gave us the entire day to scour the banks for that damn boat! Elizabeth and I made it all the way around the lake to where the trail appears to end. Over some rocks and through some bushes and just a little further, we came upon the resting site of the Green Metal Boat, RIP. The vessel was no longer seaworthy, with a number of cracks and holes throughout the body. We were still stoked to have found her, even if we couldn’t paddle back to camp from her grave.
If you choose to continue on to Purple Lake, we found a nice cliff top campsite with tree protection and views of the lake above its western shore. For views and an easy first day, I think I preferred our Duck Lake home.
Day 2: Duck or Purple Lake > Lost Keys Lake side trip > Iva Bell (12/9.6 miles)
Woke up at the crack of dawn to bask in the alpenglow. The valley was situated such that the low angle light didn’t really make it onto the opposite facing peaks, but we watched the peaks light up anyway.
We descended into Cascade Valley, through a meadow, and across a frigid stream. We took a small rest on the river island for snacks and nature absorption. The river island was composed of God-sized gravel: small enough to lie on without being lumpy, large enough to not be sandy and dirty.
At the end of the descent we had a brief climb up the opposite side of the meadow. Opted for a side trip to the Lost Keys Lake – the last big alpine lake of our trip. It was 2 pm and we were sweaty and hot and the thought of a dip in a fresh alpine lake was too tempting. Even if said lake was up a rather unforgivingly steep trail.
Baths were had by most. After extraction from the chilly water, we lizarded upon logs in the sun, discussing our spirit animals and sorting each other in Hogwarts houses. After a sunny lunch, we mustered our power to continue our descent into hot springs territory. Our arrival at Iva Bell was met with some distress – the hot springs are located up the steep mountain face. A climb and romp through marsh revealed various campsites tucked into higher-non-swamp land. After throwing down our packs to claim our real estate, we grabbed our headlamps and ran up the marshy trail to find the highest hot spring with a view of the canyon to watch the sunset. We were rewarded with clear water, piping hot water, and a grand sweeping view of the canyon we were nestled into.
Day 3: Iva Bell > Rainbow Falls > Red Meadow (11.5 miles)
On the first trip, our extraction leg was met with some tantrums because I failed to really grasp the elevation profile (whoops!). The last ten miles looked flat relative to Day One up Duck Pass. Unfortunately, Duck Pass blew our final day of climbing a bit out of proportion, and what looked flat was actually quite a steady climb up, peppered with some killer switchbacks. At least no one could complain about the views, they were dreamyyy. During the second iteration of this trip, I did a lot of elevation forewarning so there would be no surprises.
