Tinker Knob & Anderson Peak

This is one of the best ridge walks in the Tahoe area, and it starts easy — a well-graded stretch of the PCT out of Donner Pass, through meadows thick with mule's ears, with Anderson Peak's snow-streaked north face and Tinker Knob's distinctive horn-shaped summit visible ahead almost the whole way.

About four miles in, the trail passes right by the Benson Hut, a rustic Sierra Club backcountry cabin at 8,350 feet, still surrounded by snowbanks in the middle of June. It's a great excuse to stop, even if you're not staying the night.

From there the PCT climbs onto the open ridge proper, and the views just keep escalating — Lake Tahoe appears to the south, the high snow-capped crest of the Sierra unfolds to the north, and the trail threads along exposed, rocky terrain the whole way. Anderson Peak's broad summit has an old steel Sierra Club register box, placed in 1949, tucked into the rocks — a nice bit of history for a peak that doesn't get too crowded.

Continuing along the ridge to Tinker Knob, the trail skirts a corniced, snow-covered cliff edge before the short scramble up to the true summit — a striking volcanic plug that stands out from every angle for miles around. The 360-degree view from the top takes in Granite Chief and the Crystal Range to the south, Sierra Buttes and Mount Lola to the north, and Tahoe glimmering to the east.

Sixteen miles out and back, just under 3,000 feet of gain, two solid Ogul peaks, one historic hut, and a whole lot of wildflowers — one of the more purely scenic days on the whole list.