Page: Lake Alpine

Page: Lake Alpine to Rock Lake

Page: Rock Lake to Jenkins Canyon

Location: The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness on the East side of Lake Alpine

Main Features: We are entering the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness when we head South from the East Shore of Lake Alpine through the Silver Trailhead on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

This trail head appears on the previous map, though I've put the pictures of the signs at the trail head below. These signs are among the oldest that decorate this trailhead. See the trail guide page for the whole story.

Duck Lake Loop

The Duck Lake Loop junction sits about a half-mile past the trailhead, before you reach Duck Lake on the main trail. I prefer the route on the Western side of Duck Lake, as this route offers more expansive views of the lake than from the Eastern route. But there are nice campsites on the Eastern side of the lake, and if that is your destination you would want to take the route around the East side of the lake.

Heading straight, (veering Right) through the junction a little over a mile past the trail head (1.1 miles) we run into the second Duck Lake loop trail junction. An old ranch house and Duck Lake mark this junction. Take a left.

Personally, I stay on the main trail down to the Duck Lake trail junction on the West side of Duck Lake, and bypass the Duck Lake Loop. Neither the Duck Lake Loop, nor the Rock Lake Trail down to Elephant Rock appear on the USGS Federal maps, though these trail junctions are depicted on the National Forest Map of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, pictured above. The National Forest Topo Map depicts the Duck Lake Loop, and the Rock Lake Trail. But note how I put the red dot for the trail junction on the South side of Rock Lake. That's where the trail is currently located as of 2012.

So, if you are using the USGS maps as I am above, neither of the junctions I marked for the Duck Lake Loop, nor the Rock Lake Junction, will appear on your map. If you are using the National Forest Map, some of the junctions are offset from their current positions, but not by much.

Squared-Away Boy Scouts

In any case, we are following the Silver Trail, the Highland Creek Trail, and the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail South through this section. If you continue straight through the Duck Lake junction, rather than turn towards Rock Lake and Spicer Meadow Reservior, this delightful trail brings you down and South to the road access at Union Reservoir through an intriguing faint trail of mixed granite and forest. Real pretty terrain out here.

During an excursion down this trail in early July of 2009 I checked out the trail ducking laid down on this faint route by a team of expert Boyscout High Sierra Backpackers. The lads pictured below properly ducked this faint trail. Good work, dudes.

These Scouts were the elite dudes from a High Sierra Boy Scout Backpacking Camp who bring elements from various troops visiting their camp out on High Sierra backpacking trips. The team pictured below was checking out the trails where they would lead backpacking trips of less-experienced and younger Scouts into the High Sierras.

I met the boys when I was leaving Lake Alpine Southbound on a Tahoe to Whitney trip, and they had just exited the Silver Valley Trailhead Northbound, and were heading back to their Wolfsborough base camp. There's a big Scout Camp there, apparently.

They had just finished hiking and ducking the trail up between Union Reservior to the Duck Lake junction. This Boy Scout team did not over-duck the faint parts of the trail, a common problem with rookie hikers, but instead laid out a fine series of subtle ducks that marked the route without detracting from the experience. You could find their ducks on this faint trail, but you had to look for them. Good work, Boys!

Alex, Nick, Colton, and Aric were fine examples of the best things Boy Scouts offers kids: using wilderness experiences to build good people. Nick, Colton, and Aric were throughly hardened veteran High Sierra Backpackers. Alex was being worked, I mean worked into this status. All were taking the load well, as the picture below shows, though Alex had a hard time mustering a thumbs-up, let along a full smile, as were his senior scouts. Senior Scouts move fast and work hard. And the temps were astronomical for the altitude. It was hitting the low '90s well before Noon.

My trail notes indicate that their group was called the Wolfsborough Treckers, and I believe they were all Eagle Scouts or working towards that goal. Fine young men.

Excellent Boy Scouts: Alex, Nick, Colton, Aric. Note their gear: Two Old School, two ultralight..., the Boy Scouts do it all!

The Union Reservoir

The Union Reservoir offers excellent access to the lightly-used trails leading to Spicer Reservoir, Highland Creek and Lakes, and the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus via the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route. Many fine routes of various lengths can be crafted to explore this region of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

Decision at the East end of Spicer Meadow Reservoir

On the Tahoe to Yosemite route we are following the Highland Creek and Tahoe to Yosemite Trails all the way around the Eastern tail of Spicer Meadow Reservoir.

Here's a link to a National Forest map of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness including the Spicer Reservoir Meadow. (This map depicts the reservoir, but sucks. Thus my NF map addition above!)

Just East of the Spicer Meadow Reservoir we will either continue on the Highland Creek Trail Northeast up to, and past Highland Lakes to the Pacific Crest Trail at Wolf Creek Pass, or bend to the Southeast at the Tahoe to Yosemite junction at Jenkins Canyon over to Arnot Creek and down to the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus. Myself, I prefer the former route.

If we follow the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, we will track the Clarks Fork of the Stainislaus River up to Saint Marys Pass. If we decide to rejoin the Pacific Crest Trail at Wolf Creek Pass (Southbound backpackers on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail split off from the Pacific Crest Trail at the Carson Gap) we will soon encounter, and follow, the East Fork of the Carson River up to and through its back to back headwater bowls with Wolf Creek Lake, on our way over the Sonora Gap to the Sonora Pass.

The Sonora Pass is a mile East of Saint Marys Pass on Highway 108. Despite the quite divergent routes of the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails South of Carson Pass, they come quite close to each other at the Sonora Pass.

Options like this are why you want to hike the Tahoe to Whitney trails many times. Either way you go, you are going to miss something really beautiful on the other trail.

Maps, Miles, and National Forest Information

Miles and Elevations

Tahoe to Yosemite Trail:  Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass

Pacific Crest Trail: Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass

Trail Guide

Highway 4 to Highway 108 Trail Guide Index

Back to Lake Alpine

Backpacking Permitting Authority

National Forest: Stanislaus National Forest

Stanislaus National Forest Wilderness

Carson-Iceberg Wilderness

Map Information

map one

Upper Map Name: Spicer Meadow Reservoir, Calif, 1979, 7.5 minute USGS Topographic

Compass Offset: Magnetic North is 16 and 1/2 degrees East of True North

scale: 1:24 000

Contours: 40 feet

map two

Lower Map Name: USDA Forest Service, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. Stanislaus and Toiyabe National Forest, California and Nevada. 1987.

Online National Forest topo map purchase from Toiyabe NF site

Duck Lake: 7200 feet

High Point above Spicer Meadow Res.: 7120 feet

Northeast side at Spicer Meadow Res.: 6600 feet

Trail Guide, Section Index: Highway 4 to 108.

Trail Guide, Segment: Rock Lake to Jenkins Canyon.

Map Index: TYT Highway 4 to 108.

Map Credit

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

USGS 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.

USGS Topographic Map Information