The John Muir Trail traverses the east slope of the mountain, providing an approach option.

The mountain was named by R. B. Marshall of the United States Geological Survey probably during the 1907–09 USGS survey, and officially adopted in 1911 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor Major William Burchell Hooper (October 8, 1836 – July 16, 1903), proprietor of the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco.

[7] Selden Pass, which the John Muir Trail crosses, is one mile east of the peak and was also named by Marshall.

[9] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains.

As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.