Mount Young is a 13,176-foot summit in Sequoia National Park near Mount Whitney and the John Muir Trail, where its steep rise makes it a prominent feature of the surrounding alpine terrain. Though it is the 117th highest summit in California, it stands out for its strong local relief above Whitney Creek. Its recorded history begins with Rev. Frederick H. Wales’s 1881 explorations, when he climbed the peak and, with William B. Wallace and Captain James Wright, made its first ascent on September 7. In 1909, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially named it for astronomer Charles Augustus Young.