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Location Information

Main Features

I expanded the scope of this Pacific Crest Trail map East to include the Leavitt Lake and Leavitt Meadow trailheads which show access to the PCT South of Sonora Pass from lower down the Eastern flank of the Sierra. Leavitt Lake is accessible up the Tungsten Road. The Tungsten Road is a rough four wheel drive road heading South and upward from Highway 108 on the East flank of the Sierra below Sonora Pass, while Leavitt Meadow's trailhead sits along Highway 108 way down the mountain's Eastern flank.

Check out the full route of the trail up the West Walker on the Sonora Pass to Bensen Lake 30 minute map.

Though the four-wheel drivable section of the Tungsten Road ends at Leavitt Lake, its route continues past the Lake into the Emigrant Wilderness to meet up with the Pacific Crest Trail on the Southeast end of the Leavitt Peak Massif. The Tungsten Road and the Pacific Crest Trail share route for the short hike down to the Kennedy Canyon trail junction. At the Kennedy Canyon trail junction the PCT turns East down Kennedy Canyon while the Tungsten Road continues South over Big Sam into the Emigrant Basin, where it intersects with the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail under the shadow of Grizzly Peak in Grizzly Meadow.

The trail up from Leavitt Meadow Pack Station intersects with the PCT further East and further down the Eastern Sierra Flank. The trail up to the Pacific Crest Trail from Leavitt Meadow has a few possible alternative routes to reach two trail junctions along the Pacific Crest Trail in the West Walker River watershed. No matter how we hike it we will either hook up with the Pacific Crest Trail on the East side of the bridge over the West West Walker or through Cascade Creek.

The Pacific Crest Trail turns West down Kennedy Canyon on the South side of Leavitt Peak, where the actual trail route on the ground differs significantly from that on the map caused me pause. Last time through Kennedy Canyon I counted two fords of the creek while the map shows none.

Closer inspection of the trail showed my upper ford is a seasonal wash.

Continuing South on the Pacific Crest Trail at the bottom of Kennedy Canyon the trail routes between the Pickle Meadow and Tower Peak 7.5 USGS topo maps do not match up.

I scouted around and found isolated remnants of of the old trail. I noted and marked the current trail route around the Southeast corner of Kennedy Canyon on the topo hiking map above as of July 2012.

There is no problem hiking North or South along the Pacific Crest Trail through Kennedy Canyon. The trail is well maintained and the trail junctions are clearly marked even if misrepresented on the map.

MAP NOTE
Those squares breaking the USGS maps up into grids are the Universal Transverse Mercator / Military Grid Reference System, otherwise commonly known as UTM.

What's important for our general reference purpose is that each side of a square is 1000 meters, or a Kilometer.

From my point of view that is 1093.6 yards or .62 of a mile.

Diagonal: 1414.22 meters, if my trig is correct.

That converts into 4,639.8 feet or .88 of a mile.

Road Map

High Sierra Trailheads

Highway 108
Sonora Pass Road

History of Sonora Pass Road

Sonora Pass
High Sierra Historical Monuments

High Sierra
History and Historical Monuments

Miles South
on the
Pacific Crest Trail

Sonora Pass to Tuolumne Meadows
PCT
Miles and Elevations

Sonora Pass Trailhead
to

Shortcut junction via PCT
1.81 miles

Gap above North side of Latopie Lake
2.38 miles

Gap above Kennedy Lake
4.49 miles

Tungsten Road Junction
6.54 miles

Kennedy Canyon trail junction
7.97 miles

Physical location
Backpacking South of Sonora Pass into the Emigrant Wilderness on the PCT.

Four USGS
1: 24 000
7.5 minute maps

Northwest Map
Sonora Pass, Calif, 1979 7.5 minute Topographic Map

Contours: 80 feet

Southwest Map
Emigrant Lake, 1990, Provisional Map

Contours: 40 feet

Northeast Map
Pickle Meadow, Calif, 1954 revised 1978

Contours: 40 feet

Southeast Map
Tower Peak, Calif, Provisional Map, 1990

Contours: 40 feet

Compass Offset
Magnetic North is
18 degrees East of True North

100% Size Map

West Side and Sonora Pass

Stanislaus
National Forest
Wilderness

TahoetoWhitney Contacts Page
Stanislaus National Forest

National Forest Wilderness Area information
Emigrant Wilderness

Ranger District
Summit Ranger District

East Side Leavitt Lake and West Walker through Leavitt Meadow and Sonora Pass

Toiyabe
National Forest
Wilderness

TahoetoWhitney Contacts
Toiyabe National Forest

National Forest Wilderness Area information

The Toiyabe does not publish info about Emigrant Wilderness though they do about the Carson Iceberg and Mokelumne Wilderness...

Ranger District
Bridgeport Ranger District

When driving West up Highway 108 from Hwy 395 I have obtained permits from the Bridgeport office for hiking areas that are within the Stanislaus National Forest. Likewise I have obtained permits from the Stanislaus for hikes in the Toiyabe when I'm driving East over Highway 108.

It appears that the National Forests have permitting reciprocity for hikers far from the proper Ranger Office for the permit they need. I figure that they issue you the permit and then transmit that permit information on to the proper office.

This courtesy can save significant travel time and travel when we are on the road.

Sonora Pass: 9643 feet

Trail high point on Leavitt Peak: 10, 800 feet

Kennedy Canyon trail junction: 9680 feet

Trail Guide, Section: Sonora Pass to Tuolumne

Trail Guide, Segment: Emigrant Wilderness & Toiyabe National Forest

Google Road Map: Above

Map Credit

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior: The USGS

Download USGS Topo Hiking Maps

USGS HIKING MAP LOCATOR

Move the Map to the Sierras. Select size of Maps you wish to locate. Click "Mark Point" on map to see the USGS map grid of the selected map scale.

Backpacking Map Information

Hiking Map Symbols