Mount Hoffmann

Mount Hoffmann sits almost exactly at the geographic center of Yosemite National Park, rising above May Lake just off Tioga Road, and that central position means the summit view takes in practically the whole park at once. The trail starts at the May Lake trailhead already above 8,700 feet, an easy mile in past the lake and its High Sierra Camp before the real climbing starts.

Past May Lake the maintained trail gives out, and the rest of the way up is a steep use trail and boulder field, picking a line up loose granite slabs to the summit block. The mosquitoes were absolutely horrible the entire way up, swarming even out in the open above treeline, but it was still worth every bit of it to get out there.

The summit views are hard to beat — Half Dome and Clouds Rest visible to the south, May Lake a small blue mirror directly below, and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne and the High Sierra stretching out to the north and east. An old USC&GS survey benchmark disk is still cemented into the summit rock, a nice detail after the scramble up to find it.

Heading back down past May Lake with the lake and the peak's granite face reflected in the still water made for a great close to the day, mosquitoes and all — one of the more rewarding short summits in the high country.