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Hiking the PCT South through the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness

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Basic Facts

Ebbetts Pass: 8732 feet

High Point of the Pacific Crest Trail across Tyron Peak: 9320 feet

Miles and Elevations

The high point of the PCT on Tyron Peak is 4.92 miles South of Ebbetts Pass

The high point of the PCT on Tyron Peak is 24.52 miles North of Sonora Pass

Murray Canyon is 5.95 miles South of the high point of the PCT on Tyron Peak

Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak 7.5 minute Topo Map

Between Ebbetts and Tryon Peak you don't have great spots to camp. Noble Lake is nice but has the problems described below. Between Tyron Peak and Murray Canyon you have lots of nice spots to camp in.

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Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

The Lay of the Land

Heading South up to Tyron Peak does not look like much by the numbers.

The net gain in elevation is only 588 feet in 4.92 miles. But this number does not reflect the huge amount of elevation you lose as you head down into the upper reaches of Noble Canyon (-480 feet) to switch sides of Noble Creek's drainage to get under the switchbacks that will bring you up to Noble Lake.

Though the overall elevations change is negligible, you have lots of ups and downs in-between.

I have Noble Lake at 3.96 miles South of Ebbetts Pass.

We drop elevation to approach Silver Creek Southbound high in the upper reaches of Noble Canyon. This brings us out of the forest on the Western side of the creek into barren volcanic terrain.

Crossing Silver Creek marks the low point of this section of trail. From this point all hikers climb. Southbound hikers now begin their climb up to Tyron Peak, while Northbound backpackers will steadily gain elevation hiking towards their local high point, Ebbetts Peak, just South of Ebbetts Pass.

After crossing Silver Creek we move downstream along the opposite flank to put ourselves under a set of switchbacks below Noble Lake. These switchbacks climb up and across a few precipitous trail sections cutting across heavily eroded volcanic terrain.

As we climb higher above Silver Creek on the switchbacks under Noble Lake we can now look back North and see that the forest we hiked South of Ebbetts Pass from covered and obscured a wide range of volcanic terrains.

Crossing Silver Creek brought us across an area of massive consolidated boulders, great stretches of unconsolidated volcanic soils at steep angles which move down mountain every Winter and Spring, and now we can see that the high points of this terrain we are hiking up to is capped by sections of hard volcanic rock structures strangely sculpted by high elevation water, wind, and ice.

Volcanic terrain characterizes the Sierra crest line through here, as it has for most of the trip down to here across the Mokelumne Wilderness.

At the top of the switchbacks we come to the little rolling flat holding Noble Lake. The trail turns around the Southeast side of Noble Lake to climb another 500 feet up to the gap under the East shadow of Tyron Peak through a series of folds descending off of the East side of the 9320 foot Tyron Gap.

This unique terrain is our gateway South out of Noble Canyon, through the gap on the East shoulder of Tyron Peak where the PCT slips Southward.

Let's check this section of the trail out more closely below.

Tyron Peak High Point

4.92 miles South from the Ebbetts Pass. 9320 feet elevation.

MAP

Miles and Elevations

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Duration: 4:24.

Views of Noble Canyon around headwaters of Silver Creek, Noble Lake, Bull Canyon trail junction, and Tyron Peak.

Views of Hiram Peak, Highland Lakes, and lightening mountain from high point on Tyron Peak.

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Trail Parking Junction

Parking, and Southbound out of Ebbetts Pass

.36 of a mile South of Ebbetts Pass along the Pacific Crest Trail you will encounter the junction with the trail coming up from the Ebbetts Pass parking lot.

As you can see in the videos and images of Ebbetts Pass on the previous trail guide page, the location where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses Ebbetts Pass has little room for parking cars. The sign at Ebbetts asks that cars be parked .3 of a mile East down Highway 4.

It says, "Please Don't Park Here"

If you desire, you can drop your packs and people off at Ebbetts Pass, run your car down to the parking area, and walk up to the Pass to begin your trip. Or you can begin your Southbound hike out of the Ebbetts Pass parking lot and intercept the Pacific Crest Trail .36 of a mile South of Ebbetts Pass where the trail from the parking area joins the PCT.

The Stanislaus National Forest has recently (Summer of 2011) redone the signage at a number of their trailheads. The old broken-down bulletin board at Ebbetts Pass is now gone, and some of the Silver Valley trailhead's old classic signs are gone too...

Mileage

First Trail Junction South

.36 mile from Ebbetts Pass South on the Pacific Crest Trail to the parking lot Trail Junction.

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.36 of a mile South of Ebbetts Pass on the PCT.

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Noble Canyon Trail

Out of the Forest

Our trail South from Ebbetts stays fairly flat at first as we wind through the forested NE flank of Tyron Peak. We can make out a great volcanic wall to our West through the trees.

After we round a ridge arm descending off of Tyron Peak we enter the Eastern flank of Noble Canyon and begin a 400+ foot drop down to cross Noble Creek in a deep channel below the creek's headwaters bowl.

7.5 Topo Hiking Map: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

Mileage

3.01 miles South from Ebbetts Pass to the Noble Canyon trail junction. The junction is on the North side of the creek.

1.91 miles South from the Noble Canyon trail junction to the high point on the gap over Tyron Peak.

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Where we cross Noble Creek high up its drainage sits a string of composite boulders.

These boulder are breaking off the rock face the drainage is cutting into the face of the volcanic terrain above our position.

These massive composite boulders are composed of thousands of different individual stones that were swept up and bound together by the cement created by a massive ancient lahar.

Composite boulders decorate segments of our trail from the Lake Tahoe Basin through the Mokelumne Wilderness, and into the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

Check this note about Composite Boulders.

Also see Rock Star the Lahar

Composite boulders eventually disappear, melting into great piles of different types of stones.

Sierra History

Recent names of topographic features represent the character of our interaction with the terrain.

Silver Creek, Noble Creek, Silver Peak, and the Silver Trailhead all hearken back to the great Silver Boom of the late 1850s that followed on the coattails of the Gold Rush.

These mountains were overrun first by gold prospectors during the early 1850s, and then by seekers of silver in the late 1850s through the 1860s.

Prior to the frenzy of the Gold Rush and Silver Boom explorers and early settlers probed the Sierra for a path to the Pacific, and many met hard ends.

As we continue South we will encounter Disaster Peak, Relief Peak, across a series of terrain features that broke many wagons and killed many people while testing the fortitude and demonstrating the apparent lack of common-sense of many of the people who survived the early attempts to cross the Sierra with wagons before the main roads were established. What the hell were they thinking?

The Clamper's Historical monument at Sonora Pass attests to the hard end of many of these early attempts to cross the Sierra with the wrong gear for the conditions they encountered crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

If you have hiked or driven the length of Highway 4 or Highway 108 East to West across the Sierra crest and its approaches, you know what I mean. Those are a couple of mean roads!

I can see crossing the Sierra without road or trail on foot, or with a well-equipped and well-provisioned horse and mule team. But not with a wagon.

I can say one thing about the early attempts to cross the Sierra with a wagon: they did not scout the route, or they would not have tried it with wagons.

History Forum

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At the head of Noble Canyon where the trail crosses the 1st branch of Silver Creek North of Noble Lake.

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These images depict a mild cold snap during October that froze every Eastern Sierra drainage every evening.

The Eastern Sierra looked as if it had frozen fingers of icy bone running up all the drainages.

Cold temps are not limited to Spring and Fall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Summer evenings often drop into the twenties.

The smooth surface encased a chaotic latticework of crystallization.

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These sections of unconsolidated volcanic material move when wet every year, eating up great sections of trail.

After a couple of years the trail across this type of surface will be at the angle of repose, providing harrowing sections of hiking for backpackers until trail crew re-digs out the trail.

We saw such sections up North along the flank of Raymond Peak, right here, and we will find such a section on the Southern Flank of Sonora Peak, what I call "the red rock trail."

When wet this unconsolidated soil flows down-mountain. Note the lack of vegetation and deep runoff gullies.

When saturated this terrain will move as one mass. It's unstable nature deters plant growth and eats the trail.

Like Trees? Check out Tree Forum.

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Noble Lake

Compromised break and camp site

At the top of the steep switchback section of our climb up the East side of Noble Canyon towards Tyron Peak we find Noble Lake nestled into a hilly shelf in the mountainside.

It has a well developed flat on its Eastern side with light tree cover and water.

This means that Noble Lake is always a break spot for me on my way through this section despite its drawback. Noble Lake has a cow problem. Grazing herds like Noble Lake as much as backpackers do.

This results in the flat on the East side of the lake being liberally decorated with cow shit every Summer, if not occupied by cows. The shore of the lake gets badly post-holed, and the cow dung changes the chemical balance of the water, resulting in a choking algae growth and "cow water."

Cow water is water fouled by cows. Cow water is difficult to filter, and clogs many filters.

I'm not against sensible grazing in the Sierra, but the condition of Noble Lake is not sensible. I don't know how cows and Noble Lake can be balanced so each are healthy, but the current situation is unacceptable.

Noble Lake should be fenced.

Also See Duck Lake Notes.

Mileage

3.96 miles South of Ebbetts Pass.

.98 mile North of the gap over Tyron Peak.

7.5 Topo Hiking Map

Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

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...where I always take a break.

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In the background we see Highland Peak's steep mountainside making up the East side of upper Noble Canyon.

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Bull Canyon

Landmark

We encounter Bull Canyon two times. Once here, at this trail junction and another time as we hike North of Murray Canyon, where we can see Bull Canyon emptying into Wolf Creek. Check out this image of Bull Canyon and Highland Peak from just North of Murray Canyon.

Highland Peak is the mountain making up the NE side of Bull Canyon, the East side of Noble Canyon, and the Western side of Wolf Creek. Highland and Silver Peaks are a visible landmark until we exit the headwaters of the East Carson River 25 trail miles to the South of here.

Mileage

4.47 miles South of Ebbetts Pass.

3.68 miles from the Raymond Lake junction South to Pennsylvania Creek.

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Routes off of the PCT can be looped through Bull Canyon and back up to the PCT through Wolf Creek Pass, or down to the East Carson River through Murray Canyon.

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Tyron Peak Junction

Day Climb Route

I have never taken this route up Tyron Peak as the Pacific Crest Trail South is going to bring us up to a point just below the peak.

Mileage

The Tyron Peak trail junction is a short distance South of the Bull Canyon trail junction.

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The PCT route South of here is bringing us up to and over the saddle on the East side of Tyron Peak, where the gentle side of the mountain offers the easiest access to the peak.

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South to the High Point of the trail crossing Tyron Peak

An easy climb to the top

The trail between Noble Lake and the high point on Tyron Peak takes a gradual traverse up the uppermost part of the Southwestern drainage of Silver Creek, sitting far below in Noble Canyon.

Mileage

4.92 miles South of Ebbetts Pass.

24.52 miles South of Sonora Pass.

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View Southwest from the high point of the PCT across Tyron Peak.

We are looking at Arnot Peak on the Left, Lightening Mountain in the background dividing Disaster from Arnot Creeks respectively, and the flank of Hiram Peak rising on the right side of the frame.

Hiram Peak on the Right, Lightening Mountain in distant center-left of frame, and Arnot Peak rising on the far Left side of the image.

These mountains divide the drainages running Southwest down to the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

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Backpacking Trail Guide

PCT North

Ebbetts Pass

Backpacking Trail Guide

PCT South

Tyron Peak to Murray Canyon