This is a fairly strenuous out-and-back hike across wide-open, windswept Alpine terrain. Big vistas stretch in every direction: to the Minarets and Ritter Range, to the Inyo and Mono craters, to the Glass and White Mountains, to a unique perspective of Mammoth Mountain back to the south. From the Minaret Vista parking area follow the hiking trail and 4-wheel-drive track north along the crest of San Joaquin Ridge, on the divide between the Owens and San Joaquin watersheds, to a gnarled stand of whitebark pines at road's end. Early summer brings a variety of tiny wildflowers and the occasional mountain bluebird.