The Hermit is a mountain summit located west of the crest of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountain range, in

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

of central

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. It is situated in northern

Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings ...

, east of

Emerald Peak Emerald Peak is a high mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, west-northwest ( bearing ...

, and west of Mount Darwin.

Topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

is significant as the north aspect rises above Evolution Valley in less than one mile. The

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) (Northern Paiute language, Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, ...

passes to the east and north of this landmark, providing an approach. This geographical feature was named by

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

explorer

Theodore Solomons Theodore Seixas Solomons (1870–1947) was an explorer and early member of the Sierra Club. From 1892 to 1897 he explored and named the Mount Goddard, Evolution Valley and Evolution Basin region in what is now northern Kings Canyon National Par ...

in 1895 as he wrote: "The traveler will be greatly attracted by a very sharp peak or butte that rises on the south wall. From its isolated position as viewed from the valley we called it the Hermit."

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, The Hermit is located in an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

zone. Most

weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For in ...

s originate in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

). Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from this mountain drains to Evolution Creek which is a

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...

tributary.

Climbing

The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of the mountain is credited to Leonard Keeler, Ralph Brandt, Marion Avery, and Margaret Avery on July 2, 1924. George R. Bunn climbed it July 28, 1924, declaring the final 20-foot summit slab as unclimbable, and Sierra Club mountaineers James Rennie and

Norman Clyde Norman Clyde (April 8, 1885 – December 23, 1972) was a mountaineer, mountain guide, freelance writer, nature photographer, and self-trained naturalist. He is well known for achieving over 130 first ascents, many in California's Sierra Nevada an ...

climbed it on August 2, 1925. Due to exposure, rope is recommended for the final summit block, although one source claims that the south side of the summit block can be climbed by employing a "shaky shoulder stand." Established routes on The Hermit:Alan M. Hedden and David R. Brower, ''A Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra'', (1954)
/ref> * East side from Evolution Lake – * Southwest slope via McGee Canyon – class 2 * North Ridge – class 3 – FA 1936, by Richard G. Johnson, Peter Grubb * Northwest Face – class 3 – FA 1939, by Harriet Parsons, Madi Bacon, Maxine Cushing

Gallery

File:The Hermit, Sierra Nevada.jpg, North aspect, from Evolution Valley File:The Hermit - Kings Canyon National Park.jpg, North aspect, from Darwin Bench File:The Hermit, Kings Canyon National Park.jpg, North aspect, from Darwin Bench File:Evolution Valley and The Hermit.jpg, The Hermit from northwest in Evolution Valley File:Hermit, McGee, Peter, Emerald.jpg, The Hermit, far left (Emerald Peak to far right) File:The Hermit from Evolution Lake.jpg, The Hermit from Evolution Lake

References

External links

* Weather forecast
The Hermit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermit, The Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park North American 3000 m summits Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States)

Climate

Climbing

Gallery

See also

References

External links