Backpacking: Up the North Flank of Mount Reba

The top of Mount Reba

Backpacking: Up the North Flank of Mount Reba

The top of Mount Reba

The Big Climb up Mount Reba

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The Big Climb up Mount Reba

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Backpacking Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney

Your guide to the High Sierra Crest, including the Tahoe to Yosemite, Pacific Crest, and John Muir Trails

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A Grand View North

Stop to Smell the Flowers every now and then...

Backpacking Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney

Your guide to the High Sierra Crest, including the Tahoe to Yosemite, Pacific Crest, and John Muir Trails

Testing yourself and your gear

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© Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Crown Jewel of the Pacific Crest Trail

Round Top Lake Sunset

lost Cabin Mine

Side Picture: Blood Red Sunset from Round Top

Mokelumne Peak from the North flank of Mount Reba

Hiking the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail in the Mokelumne Wilderness

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Trail Guide Carson Gap to Lake Alpine

Trail Guide North Camp Irene

Trail Guide South Lake Alpine

7.5 Topo Map Summit City Ford to Mount Reba

Big Topo Map Summit City Creek to Reba

Section Topo Map Echo Summit to Lake Alpine

Map Index Carson Gap to Lake Alpine

Carson Gap to Lake Alpine MILES AND ELEVATIONS

EL Dorado National Forest

Stanislaus National Forest

Tahoe to Whitney on YouTube

Camp Irene to the top of Mount Reba

Mileage: 5.24 miles from Camp Irene South, to the top of Mount Reba. All up.

Elevation: Camp Irene, 5280 feet.

Elevation: Mount Reba, 8729 feet.

Elevation Gain: 3440 feet (From Camp Irene)

The top of Mount Reba to Bee Gulch on East Side of Lake Alpine

Mileage: 2.78 miles from the Top of Mount Reba South, to Bee Gulch trail head on Highway 4. All down.

Elevation Loss: Mount Reba to Lake Alpine. -1409 feet

8.02 miles total from Camp Irene to Highway 4 at the Bee Gulch trail head.

Mileage and Elevations

comments-questions-insights?

The Mileage Post at Camp Irene posts the mileage to Lake Alpine at 8.8 miles. As you can see, I have the distance at 8.02 miles.

The best time to make the long, hot, exposed hike up to the top of Mount Reba from Camp Irene is in the chill of early morning.

Massive rock formation on the Northwest side of the Camp Irene Ford

We are climbing up, South out of Camp Irene. This picture is looking to the North. The great rock dome pictured here is the main feature that sits between Camp Irene and the Enchanted Forest that we came through on the North side of this huge rock.

This is the flat below the dome, pictured at Left. Check out the map, and notice how the N Mokelumne River bends around the base of this feature, passing though a very steep and narrow gorge at its base, before spreading out at Camp Irene.

Our trail from the Enchanted Forest passed around the West side, the Left side of this rock. The East side, where the N Mokelumne River passes through, is impassable for hikers.

Note the flat at the bottom Right of the dome. The next picture shows the flat.

When you are climbing South out of Camp Irene, make sure you check the view North, to understand the features that determine your trail's route.

Higher up on the Northwest flank of Peak 8353 hiking South high above Camp Irene. This is the view looking North. The canyon running from bottom Left to top Right is Summit City Creek. Horse Canyon is cutting deeply into the Northwest flank of Summit City Creek's canyon.

Summit City and N Mokelumne drainages meet

Summit City Creek is about 800 feet below where the hanging base of Horse Canyon cuts through Summit City Creek's canyon wall. The highest point on the ridgeline North of Horse Canyon, along Summit City Creek, is peak 9607. Identify it on the Carson Pass Region Map.

Covered Wagon and Melissa Cory Peaks sit on the crestline in the far distance behind and Left of peak 9607.

comments or questions?

Terrain

	The varied terrain of trees, brush, and rock. Note the faint trail before us.				This is Lizard Territory.

	The trees are not dense enough to give cover from the Sun. The brush had overgrown big sections of trail as of July '09, but the trail was still visible and followable to the next open section.				A large population of lizards lives on the Northwest flank of Mount Reba. I believe the hot, exposed nature of this area is good for them.

Recent rock work. This trail previously had chipped-out sections along the granite marking the trail route, before this massive amount of work. You can't miss the trail now!

This section precedes a right turn in the trail, where your climb will parallel the fall of the creek draining Underwood Valley.

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Great Rock Wall to the NE of Underwood Valley

	Heading up to the Rock Wall guarding the North Entrance to Underwood Valley.

	There is a nice flat at the base of this rock wall with expansive views up and down the North Mokelumne River, and up Summit City Creek. This would make a wonderful place to camp, but there is no water nearby. We will pass from Left to Right under this impressive wall. We will bend Southeast, to our Southbound right, around the Right side of this wall to pass beneath the mouth of Underwood Valley.

	Yes, this is the trail.				This thicket is also part of the trail.

	Though the trail through here is maintained and easily passable, there are some sections of manzanita that are almost totally grown in.				Sections like this one are the reason why your pack should be properly secured, and of a strong fabric.

Hot Pines

	Jeffery Pine Cone.				Jeffery Pine.

					Jeffery Pines like warmer locations.

The Rock Flat preceding Underwood Valley

	The nice flat under the rock wall guarding the Southbound entrance to Underwood Valley..				A granite boulder split into almost symmetrical shards.

	This would be a fine place to camp if there was any water nearby.				This looks like trail crew rock art.

	Heading South around the edge of the rock wall will bring us climbing up, to pass below the mouth of Underwood Valley. Passing by Underwood valley bring us under and around the nose on the ridge under the peak of Mount Reba to Lake Valley.		As we head South, views of the North Mokelumne's grand drainage canyon, which is making a big turn West here, opens up.


			We can now see down the massive North Mokelumne River canyon. Soon, we will be at the top of Mount Reba, and our views will again encompass most of the horizon.
	As we turn the corner we will lose our majestic view of the granite vault holding Summit City Creek.

The Canyon of the North Fork of the Mokelumne River turning West

	Long view Southwest down the North Fork of the Mokelumne's river basin.

	Rough Country. There's stories of lost cabins down that valley...

View Down the Canyon of the North Fork of the Mokelumne River

Detail of canyon wall, looking down the North Fork of the Mokelumne's river basin.

North Mokelumne River's flows turns West from Mount Reba

The lower elevations of the N Mokelumne River gorge is blanketed by thick forest. This is much different than the thin forests that decorated the great granite basin that we just followed South down Summit City Creek.

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North: Camp Irene South: Lake Alpine

Below: The view up Summit City Creek from the Northern Flank of Mount Reba. Summit City Creek intersects with the North Mokelumne River flowing into the frame from the Right, between the near descending ridge, and the massif beyond blocking our view of Round Top.

	Almost the full length of Summit City Creek viewed from the flank of Mount Reba before turning the corner southbound past Underwood Valley. The Sisters and Round Top, where we entered the Summit City Creek drainage, are the tallest peaks visible in far distance. You can just see the top of Round Top peeking over the flank of the big mountain sitting Right of center in the distant foreground.

	The gap in the far crestline, just Right of the center of the image, is where the Tahoe to Yosemite trail passes by Fourth of July Lake to enter the Summit City Creek Drainage. Note the thick manzanita in the foreground below. I can make identification of this section of Sierra Crestline simpler:

	A Big View of Summit City Creek's Canon, showing where we entered the canyon by rounding the Sisters' Left Shoulder, passing by Fourth of July Lake as we dropped down into the canyon.

	This image is valuable for Northbound hikers planning a Lake Alpine to Carson Pass trip, as well as Southbound Tahoe to Yosemite hikers heading through this difficult section.

This view of Summit City Creek has good detail. I took this with an old SLR in the '90s

Summit City Creek

comments or questions?

Entering Lake Valley's East Flank

These ripples in the mountain looked small from Summit City Creek!

Entering Lake Valley coming up the North side of Mount Reba, Stanislaus National Forest

The trail does well following the logic of the terrain through here.

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Campsite at the forested entry to Lake Valley

	Entering Lake Valley below the peaks of Mount Reba.		Campsite at the mouth of Lake Valley.


			This is a nice place to take a break from the sustained climb up the Northwest Flank of Mount Reba.
	We enter a small bit of forest cover as we pass up Lake Valley.

North: Camp Irene top of page South: Lake Alpine

I find Wild Flowers very Relaxing

Daises greet us in Lake Valley.

Daisy on North Flank of Mount Reba on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Wildflower: Sierra daisy, stalked fleabane, Erigeron algidus

flower comments?

	Subtle colors and patterns

	Simple beauty is composed of complexity.		Top of Page

High Sierra Nevada Wildflowers

	Pretty Face, Golden Brodiaea, North Flank of Mount Reba, July 19, 2009				Unknown Purple

	Comments/Flowers				Comments-identify/Flowers

Spruce Grove in Lake Valley

	Spruce		Unique branch and needle pattern of Spruce.


			Comments/Trees
	Spruce and wildflowers in Lake Valley.

Nice backpacking couple at the campsite entering Lake Valley

Unlike the human hikers, Dog was not real happy I was there.

Nice couple I met in Underwood Valley, The Dog

This nice couple, and their neurotic dog, were taking a break at the campsite in Underwood Valley on the North side of Mount Reba when I arrived.

They were nice enough to share their break spot with me.

They had hiked down to Camp Irene and back from Lake Alpine.

Note our different approach to clothing. I'm wearing a tank top and shorts, while they prefer long sleeves and long pants.

We took different approaches to balancing comfort between the heat of long clothing vs the exposure to mosquitoes of shorts and a tank top.

I just rubbed this guy the wrong way! This is not a "I'm happy to see you" look on Dog's face.

Mosquitoes!

South through Lake Valley

					As we approach the top of Mount Reba, we can see that the ridge top separating Lake and Underwood Valleys is decorated with exotic volcanic features.
	Lake Valley features a beautiful, but short, almost-flat area before you resume climbing to the peak of Mount Reba.


	Though still moving through granite terrain in Lake Valley, as we climb above it towards the top of Mount Reba, we will see elements of a vast interface zone between granitic and volcanic terrain, and cross it, into predominantly volcanic terrain.
	We will constantly cross fingers of lava around islands of granite.				Beautiful pedestal.

The Head of Lake Valley

	Looking SW at crest line across the Western side of Lake Valley just North of Mount Reba.

	The head of the valley looks very promising for camping.

The Final steps South up to the top of Mount Reba

	As we climb up the Eastern side of Lake Valley to reach the top of Mount Reba, we can see the remnants of a snow berm along the Western side of Lake Valley climbing up to Mount Reba.				Switchbacks just below the Top of Mount Reba.

	This snow berm was not a problem in Mid-July during 2009, but it can be a problem crossing it during Spring and early Summer.				We are now entering volcanic terrain, after leaving the last bits of granite behind us in Lake Valley.

Hard Volcanic Rock Formations along the ridge line dividing Lake Valley from Underwood Valley run up the ridge line to the crest line Reba sits upon.

	As the trail pushes over to the Southeast side of Lake Valley for the final climb up to the top of Mount Reba the garden of volcanic rock formations decorating the top of the ridgeline comes into view.				As we have just hiked around massive granite to get up here, it is a breathless transition.

	There are some huge chunks of volcanic rock up here.				Note the protruding element.

As we climb high enough to see the ridgecrest and get long views North we are positioning ourselves for the final climb up to the top.

Volcanic Formations on Mount Reba along the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

The trail swings East before beginning the switchbacks up to the top of Mount Reba.

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The Snow Berm just below the Northwest approach to the top of Mount Reba

	The snow berm just below the top of Mount Reba. Though shrunken in this image, I have seen this snow berm covering the final couple of hundred yards of the steepest part of the trail below the Northern flank of Mount Reba, in June and early July.

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North: Camp Irene top of page South: Lake Alpine

Snow Berm Story

A long time ago I was doing an early Spring trip between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite.

Snow remnants all along the trail, and packing the route across mountain gaps and passes made the trip difficult and exciting. At the time I did not own an ice axe or crampons.

I reached the steep wall of hard Spring snow covering the last couple of hundred yards up to the top of Mount Reba, exactly the same one pictured above, except for its size. This early Spring berm bearded the whole ridgeline along the Northern side of the ridge crest, and extended about 200 yards down the Northern flank of Mount Reba, to where it terminated in mushy, wet soil.

My only option was to kick footsteps into the hard surface of the berm, to create my own steps up the snow berm to the top of Mount Reba. I was doing fine, until I was about 20 yards below the top of the snow berm. I figured out later that I was pretty tired, and likely I became lazy while kicking steps, not making the last few deep enough into the snow berm.

Just below the top of the berm my last footstep broke out, and I whacked the flank of the berm, and bounced onto my side, as I started a rapid slide down the steep snow berm.

I was picking up speed sufficient to possibly injure myself significantly as I slid down the steep berm, and again at the bottom. Being on my side, I flipped onto my ass into the seated position, and reached up and back to grab the top uprights of my external pack frame.

Self Arrest with an external framed pack

Grabbing and pulling the pack frame uprights at the top of my pack towards my shoulders causes the bottoms of the uprights to pull away from the top of my ass, and dig deeply into the snows of the flank of this steep snow berm.

I came to a very rapid stop. I was pretty happy with my crafty self-arrest, until the receding numbness of my frozen ass brought me to the realization that my ass REALLY hurt. Closer inspection showed that the butt of my pants was gone, worn away my rapid trip down the hard ice of the berm. Darn.

My brief slide down the hard, steep, icy surface had removed the butt of my pants, and threw in a free sandpapering of my ass. I was stepping gingerly for a few days after that slide... and the kids at the Lake Alpine store were laughing like heck when I came in to buy a set of shorts to replace my trashed nylon pants.

Darn!

comments or questions?

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	At the Wilderness Boundary at the top of Mount Reba. Over my shoulder you can see the trail dropping off the North side of Mount Reba.		Mileage sign at the Top of Mount Reba.

			This sign indicates that the distance between Highway four and Camp Irene is Nine Miles. The Sign at Camp Irene posted this distance at 8.8 miles. My experiences and measurements indicates that the distance between Camp Irene and the Bee Gulch trail head on Highway 4 is 8.02 miles.
	We entered the Stanislaus National Forest Southbound passing through Camp Irene and are now exiting the Mokelumne Wilderness at the top of Mount Reba.

The North High Sierra from the Top of Mount Reba

Turning around to view the path of our last Steps up to the top of Mount Reba. Note Wilderness Boundary in lower Right Corner, almost slashed off by the white edge...

I had this bright idea in the '90s, to take multiple panoramic shots of the Sierra Crestline from high points along the trails between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney. Here you are.

Crossing over to the South flank of Mount Reba.

The Jeep trail heading Southeast down towards our junction with the trail to Bee Gulch. The rock formation in the distance is the Dardanelles.

Jeep road on the South side of Mount Reba

This dirt road reaches the Top of Mount Reba from the paved road to the Mount Reba Ski Area.

This road runs along the ridgeline visible in the middle distance through the base of the line of trees.

The Bee Gulch junction is out of sight along the Left side of that ridgeline. That's where we are hiking towards.

North: Camp Irene top of page South: Lake Alpine

The Echo Summit trail

THIS PAGE IS Still UNDER CONSTRUCTION: STAY TUNED FOR A BIT MORE!

COME ON BACK NOW, 'YA HEAR?

7.5 Topo Hiking Map: Summit City Creek to Mount Reba

Big 7.5 Topo Hiking Map: Summit City Creek to Mount Reba

30 min Regional Topo Hiking Map: Echo Summit to Lake Alpine

Miles and Elevations

South: Bee Gulch to Lake Alpine

Backpacking Trail Guide

North

Camp Irene

Backpacking Trail Guide

South

Lake Alpine

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Sunday, July 19, 2009.

The joy of backpacking.

Like me, this nice couple was taking a break at this shaded campsite from the difficult climb up Mount Reba from Camp Irene.

After a brief conversation and break, they saddled up to finish their climb to the top of Mount Reba.

Heading back to society after a weekend trip into the deeply secluded Camp Irene, I could see they were really refreshed, despite the hard work of hiking in and out of the steep N Mokelumne River Valley over Mount Reba.