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Lake Alpine to Rock Lake

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Goal: Rock Lake

First, we must navigate the trail junctions that compose the Duck Lake Loop South of the Silver Valley Trailhead.

Mileage

The far trail junction on the Southeast side of the Duck Lake Loop is 1.96 miles South of the Silver Valley Trailhead.

Rock Lake is 4.74 miles South of The Silver Valley Trailhead at Lake Alpine.

Rock Lake is 6.64 miles North of the Jenkins Canyon trail junction.

Rock Lake is 29.9 miles North of Saint Marys Pass, where the TYT hits Highway 108.

Rock Lake is 13.1 miles Southwest of Highland Lakes Trailhead.

Good campsites are available at Duck Lake, the North Fork of the Stanislaus, and Rock Lake.

The Situation

If you are hiking the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail you have just resupplied and fed up at the Lake Alpine Lodge on Highway 4, had an ice cold beer, and are now ready to continue South on the TYT through the Silver Valley Trailhead on the East Side of Lake Alpine.

Or you are beginning a backpacking loop, a local in-and-out trip, or are hiking a point to point trip from one trailhead to another. No matter. The Silver Valley Trailhead is good for long and short distance backpackers.

Our next section of Tahoe to Yosemite Trail hiking South brings us 34.64 miles across the length of the Western section of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness from Lake Alpine on Highway 4 down to Saint Marys Pass on Highway 108. Our other option hiking through the Carson Iceberg Wilderness Southbound is from Ebbetts Pass down to Sonora Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Personally, I prefer to hike South out of Lake Alpine on the TYT, then cut up to the PCT via Highland Creek. I finish hiking the Southern end of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness on the PCT.

This large Topo Map lays out the relationships between the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trail through the Carson Iceberg Wilderness and the routes connecting them.

Resupply

However you get there, your next resupply spot for long distance backpackers headed South is located on Highway 108 at Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

Northbound backpacker's next resupply opportunity on the trail is at the Echo Lake Chalet, 37.92 miles North of our position at Lake Alpine.

Even better resupply options await the Northbound hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail in beautiful South Lake Tahoe, a few miles East of Echo Summit on Highway 50.

Long and Short Backpacking Trip Options

Long

If you want to mix it up a bit you can hike South through the Silver Valley Traihead on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail up to Highland Creek. Rather than continuing South on the TYT through Jenkins Canyon, hiking up Highland Canyon past Highland Lakes will bring you to the Pacific Crest Trail at Wolf Creek Pass, where you can continue South on the PCT down to Sonora Pass.

This TYT-PCT hybrid pushes the length of this section of trail between Highways 4 and 108 up to 43.42 miles and adds thousands of feet of climbing. I prefer the terrain along the TYT on the Northern side of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness, and the terrain along the PCT on the Southern side of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness. In any case, there's lots of beautiful long distance hiking options that remain within the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

This article will give you some insight into the long and medium distance loops you can hike in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness by mixing together sections of the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trail routes via the four trails that connect them.

Short

There are many fine short and medium distance backpacking trips that you can craft out of the Silver Valley Trailhead, or any of the other three trailheads that mark the Northern and Southern ends of the PCT and TYT crossing the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

These are the Lake Alpine and Ebbetts Pass trailheads on the North side of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness along Highway 4, and the Saint Marys and Sonora Pass Trailheads on the South side of the Wilderness along Highway 108. The Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River also offers a range of great trailheads accessing the interior of the Carson Iceberg from the Clarks Ford Road off of Highway 108.

if you are not intent on hiking the whole TYT section down to Saint Marys Pass on Highway 108 you can devote years of short-trip explorations of the spider web of trails that crisscross the depths of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

From the Silver Valley Trailhead you can hike up to the trailhead at Highland lakes and on to Ebbetts Pass, or down to the trailhead at Union Reservoir via Rock and Summit Lakes. You can start and end trips at the series of trailheads along the Clarks Fork, or even link up with the Pacific Crest Trail from the East via Rodriguez Flat and the East Carson River.

You can plan backpacking trips in the Carson Iceberg that can run from a few short miles, to the mid-teens and mid-twenty mile distances, up to 80 miles for a full loop of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness using both the PCT and TYT.

Check the Highway 4 to 108 Trail Guide Index for more information. Here you can find access to maps, mileage and elevation information, and trail guide pages that can help you plan your own custom adventures through the Carson Iceberg Wilderness from the North. Here's the Index that shows trail access into the Carson Iceberg Wilderness from the Southern side, though the underlying information is not yet all completed.

Though I suggest hiking the whole distance from Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney, there are a heck of a lot of excellent short and medium distance backpacking trips within the Carson Iceberg Wilderness accessible from the Silver Valley Trailhead at Lake Alpine.

Silver Valley Trail Head, Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, East side of Lake Alpine.

Lake Alpine Topo Hiking Map

Highland Creek Trail

As the old sign below indicates, this section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail is also known as the Highland Creek Trail. This trail leads directly up to Highland Lakes, near the Pacific Crest Trail at Wolf Creek Pass. The Highland Trail also takes us South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, though TYT hikers turn South up Jenkins Canyon just after entering Highland Creek's fine upper canyon.

Gabbott Meadow, listed on the sign below, no longer exists, having been drowned by the extension of the Spicer Meadow Reservoir during the late 1980s.

USGS Topo Map with and without Spicer Meadow Reservoir.

National Forest Service Map with Spicer Meadow Reservoir.

The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail skirts around the flooded section of Highland Creek's canyon that once hosted Gabbott Meadow. Both the creek and the meadow are now deep under Spicer Meadow Reservoir's waters.

The TYT now bends Southwest around the upper limit of Spicer Meadow Reservoir, then turns Southeast a short distance above the reservoir to enter the narrows of Highland Creek Canyon. There are a bunch of nice campsites on the Northeast side of Spicer where Highland Creek feeds the reservoir and the trails from the Pacific Grade Summit on Highway 4 connect with the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

Shortly to the South of where you enter the Highland Creek Canyon the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail turns South at a well-marked trail junction up Jenkins Canyon, while the Highland Creek Trail continues Southeast up towards the Highland Lakes and the Pacific Crest Trail.

You can carve many fine short and medium distance hiking trips out of the network of trails that intersect with the Tahoe to Yosemite route South of the Silver Valley Trailhead.

Forum

This is the standardized format that you will now see at all National Forest trailheads.

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Shortly beyond the trailhead we enter the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

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The Duck Lake Loop is a 3.92 mile loop around Duck Lake South out of the Silver Valley Trailhead.

The loop is composed of three trail junctions around Duck Lake, the first of which is just South of the Silver Valley Trailhead. From this first junction you can head down the North or West sides of Duck Lake.

If you take the West trail (Right) down to Duck Lake from the first trail junction you will turn Left at the next Duck Lake trail junction just past the wrecked ranch house on the Southwest side of the lake to hike South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail and to complete the Duck Lake Loop. This post directs us South towards Rock Lake, and towards the Duck Lake Loop junction on the Southeast side of Duck Lake.

If you take the North trail (Left) down to Duck Lake from the first trail junction you will turn Left at the next Duck Lake trail junction on the Southeast side of the lake to hike South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail. To continue around the Duck Lake Loop you will turn Right.

Check the pictures and videos below for more details.

The Duck Lake Loop

Miles

.57 of a mile South of the Silver Valley Trailhead in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness we encounter the first of the Duck Lake Loop trail junctions.

Distance to the junction on the Southwest side of Duck Lake from the Silver Valley Trailhead: 1.38 miles.

Distance to the junction on the Southeast side of Duck Lake from the Silver Valley Trailhead: 1.28 miles.

Distance between the Southwestern and Southeastern Duck Lake Loop trail junctions on the South side of Duck Lake: .58 mile.

Total distance around the Duck Lake Loop: 3.24 miles total.

Through Hiker Options

Tahoe to Yosemite Trail hikers can take either route from the first Duck Lake Loop junction pictured below, as both routes will bring us around Duck Lake to the same location on the Southeast side of Duck Lake.

The difference between the two is which side of Duck Lake we hike around on our way South.

Though both trails join up at the Southeastern side of Duck Lake I far prefer staying to my right at the first trail junction to hike around the West, then the South sides of Duck Lake.

Faint Shortcut Trail Visible

This junction is a bit confusing because a faint trail cuts off from the trail prior to reaching the first Duck Lake Loop junction, breaking off to the Southbound backpacker's Right.

This unmarked trail heads directly towards the West side of Duck Lake, bypassing the first Duck Lake Loop trail junction altogether, rather than looping over to the first Duck Lake trail junction. This shortcut route meets up with the Western (Right) Loop trail coming down from the first Duck Lake junction on its way to the West side of Duck Lake.

Note how this shortcut route "straightens up" the trail down to the West side of Duck Lake by cutting off the trail loop to the East.

Your Choice

I prefer the Western leg (Southbound-Right) of the Duck Lake loop because I get a great view of the lake passing by its Western Shore, and can also take a break in the granite formations near the trail along the Southern Shore. The Duck Lake Loop around the Northeastern side (Southbound-Left from the first trail junction) of the lake bypasses the Western and Southern sides of Duck Lake and therefore lacks the beautiful lake views the Southwestern leg of the loop offers.

If your trip is the Duck Lake Loop which way you turn at the first junction matters little, as you will return by the other side of the loop.

But, the best campsites at Duck Lake are on the Eastern side of the Lake. If you are hiking to the East Shore campsites then taking a left at the first Duck Lake junction, bringing you around the North side of the Lake, is the shortest route to your East shore campsites. But this leg of the loop is not as scenic as the Western route around the lake.

I consider the East shore campsites superior to the South shore sites because the East shore sites are more distant from nearby meadows, and their terrain is set in rockier, harder, and therefore drier soil which does not support as many mosquitoes. The South shore sites are surrounded by verdant meadows which harbor huge mosquito populations until they dry out.

Which route and which campsites you select as you hike South may be best decided by which of your available options is the drier choice, especially during the height of the Mosquito Population Bomb that explodes during the wetness of early Spring. It very well may be the direction of the wind selects your campsite. Never camp downwind of a wet meadow during mosquito season...

Always camp upwind of a mosquito source.

Nonetheless, the most scenic route around Duck Lake is around the Western and Southern shores of Duck Lake.

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Duck Lake Loop Video: 8:07.

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After a downhill hike a little longer than a mile we exit the forest into the wide flat meadow apron extending around the Western shore of Duck Lake.

At the far South side of the meadow we can see an old wrecked ranch house and barn.

Duck Lake comes into view. Passing to the West of the lake looking Eastward. Note the extensive meadow-flats around the lake. This place is a swamp during early Spring, and surging with mosquitoes... This image was taken during a very hot July. Temps were running in the high 80s before 11am.

I have encountered very hot hiking conditions along the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, especially along the lower elevation sections of the trail. Temps in the high 80s and low 90s, which demand that you carefully monitor your water intake, sweating, how you "feel," and the color of your pee, all to maintain optimal hydration.

Weather Page

Heat Safety Information

Hiking past the wrecked ranch house brings us to the next Duck Lake trail junction, located on the Southwest side of the lake.

This junction by the wrecked ranch house is 1.38 miles South of the Silver Valley Trailhead.

This is the Southwest Corner of the Duck Lake Loop. Here the Southbound Tahoe to Yosemite Trail hiker turns Left, to their East, to continue South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route.

Here the Southbound Hiker on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail takes a Left, turning East to follow the TYT South.

Short Trip Options

Continuing straight through this junction brings you through beautiful granite terrain down to Elephant Rock and road access at Summit Lake.

Or, from Elephant Rock you can hike Northeast up to Rock Lake on the TYT and loop back to Silver Valley Trailhead by coming North on the TYT. The Summit Lake trail brings you up and around to the TYT 1.19 miles South of Rock Lake.

Map

A hot July day at the wrecked ranch trail junction on the Southwest side of Duck Lake.

View looking North towards me before the trail junction. The trail behind me beyond the junction heads North up to the Silver Valley Trailhead.

Southbound on the Tahoe to Yosemite towards Rock Lake is to the right side of the image.

Heat Safety Information

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Duck Lake, West Side

From the trail junction near the Wrecked Ranch House we turn left to continue hiking South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail towards Rock Lake.

Though we turned East by the Compass at the ranch house junction, we are heading South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

As we walk past the South side of Duck Lake looking Left, or North across Duck Lake, we will see various granite formations and mounds decorating the scenic South shore of the lake.

Nestled within their folds are a few nice places to camp or take a break, though the low water quality at Duck Lake is an issue.

See the Duck Lake Notes below, about the camping and water quality issues at Duck Lake.

Duck Lake Terrain

Hiking around the South side of Duck Lake brings us through a variety of terrains. Granite rock outcroppings shaded by a thin forest cover part of the South shore of Duck Lake.

Not much shade on a blazing day.

You will see faint trails leading to these South shore sites along Duck Lake off of the main Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route.

Vibrant green meadow aprons reach out from the lake between the rounded granite mounds.

These flat meadows around Duck Lake mark the overflow zone of the lake during the Spring Thaw.

This whole scene of this tiny lake and its fine rock formations are surrounded an apron of meadow which is fenced in by deep forest.

Meadow around the South shore of Duck Lake. This area fills with water overflowing out of Duck Lake during the Spring Thaw overflow.

Grazing cows are likely what is keeping Lodgepole Pines from invading the meadows around Duck Lake.

Duck Lake Notes

You can see Duck Lake is belted by flat meadow aprons on its Western and Southern shores which are frequented by grazing stock.

These terrain factors mean three things to backpackers.

First, the green apron of lush meadows around Duck Lake are big-time breeding grounds for mosquitoes from the Spring Thaw until whenever it finally dries out. That time changes from year to year.

Considering the moisture and the related mosquito levels to suite both the particulars of that year's weather, and the time of year you are hiking through an area is vital to properly gear yourself up and to select the best campsite locations for the conditions.

It is important to stay as high and as dry as possible during the height of the High Sierra Mosquito Season. High Sierra Mosquito Information.

Second, the grazing cows screw up the water quality in Duck Lake, big time.

Third, we can see no invading Lodgepole Pines in the meadows around Duck Lake, unlike High Sierra Meadows that are not under grazing leases.

Grazing cows appear to keep High Sierra meadows intact by eating all the Lodgepole saplings trying to invade the meadow. Otherwise we would be noting the rate of infiltration and absorption of the meadow by Lodgepole Pines. Instead, we have meadows surrounded by walls of mature California White Pine. Interesting...

Gear Note: Water Filtration

The water conditions in Duck Lake are real crappy due to the grazing cattle standing in it while pissing and crapping. You will find lakes like this up and down the areas that allow grazing.

If you are running an MSR or Sweetwater style filter that is already hard to pump, "cow-lakes" such as Duck Lake will really challenge your patience by significantly increasing your filtering time.

MSR and MSR Sweetwater utilize ceramic or latticework style filters, which I call "hard" filters. The other style are the paper filters, which I define as "soft" filters.

The "hard" filters clog instantly trying to filter "cow-lake" water, and clog rapidly filtering the hard waters of the Sierra Nevada. The "soft" filters, such as the Pur Hiker, have little problem with the cow and hard waters you will encounter in the Sierra.

I've used the MSR and Sweetwater filters in clear and crappy water, resulting in the Pur Hiker being my device of choice for High Sierra use. I have not noticed any real difference in water quality or taste between the various filters, nor have I had any stomach issues with any of these filters.

Final Water and Grazing Thought

I like cowboys, horses, and cows. I don't like cow-lakes. There's got to be a way to maintain grazing leases while preserving water quality.

I don't want cows or clean water, I want cows and clean water.

At the Southeast corner of Duck Lake we come to the final Duck Lake trail junction, no matter which leg of the loop we hiked to get here.

This furthest Duck Lake trail junction on the Duck Lake Loop is 1.96 miles from the backpacker's camp just outside of, and a bit South of, the Silver Valley Trailhead.

1.68 miles separate the Silver Valley Trailhead and the Eastern Duck Lake Loop trail junction.

This is the junction where the trails coming around from the North and South sides of Duck Lake connect up to complete the Duck Lake Loop.

In our case we will break out of the loop to continue hiking South on the Tahoe to Yosemite.

Final and furthest of the Duck Lake Loop trail junctions from the Silver Valley Trailhead.

This junction marks the point that hikers on the Duck Lake Loop circle back towards the Silver Valley Trailhead. Southbound hikers on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail continue South towards our next landmark, the North Fork of the Stanislaus River.

You head straight through this junction if you are coming South from the Wrecked Cabin trail junction. If you are coming South around the North side of Duck Lake you turn Left at this junction to continue South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

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Hiking Left from the 1st Duck Lake Trail out the the Silver Valley Trailhead.

This route brings you around the Northeast side of Duck Lake.

This video shows the forest and rough trail down to the East side of Duck Lake.

Duration: 2:10.

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South past the last Duck Lake Loop trail junction on the Southeast side of the lake you are now hiking on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, independent of how you came around Duck Lake.

Rock Lake is 2.78 miles South of the Far Duck Lake Loop trail junction.

South of the last Duck Lake trail junction parts of the trail suffer from a lack of maintenance as of October 2011.

No big deal. The National Park Service is starving the National Forests for bucks, and trail conditions suffer.

Get used to it.

Note that only one of the three trees across the trail has been sliced and rolled. This image was taken in late October of 2011. These trees have been down for a while.

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A rare break in the Forest Cover reveals the surrounding terrain. We are dropping down towards the North Stanislaus River hidden is the forest below us, and will hike South (right) after fording it to pass around the nose of the ridge in the far distant right background on our way to Spicer Meadow Reservoir. Spicer sits on the other side of the far ridge.

Rock Lake sits nestled between the near and far ridges on the right (South) side of this image..

Black Ponds

Black Ponds are depressions in the terrain that collect up substantial amounts of groundwater during the Spring Thaw, but have no other source of water feeding them.

Black Ponds shrink during Summer, until they are dried out. Many Black Ponds are characterized by the tannin that dyes their waters and the rocks around them.

I figure their color is a product of the standing water leaching the coloring out of the dead tree bark they contain.

Terrain Notes

Note how the last section of our hike over Mount Reba was through rich red volcanic terrains. North of Reba we were in Summit City's granite gorge.

Hiking into the Carson Iceberg South past Lake Alpine we have again entered granite terrain. Hell, Lake Alpine itself is a filled-up granite basin. But this granite terrain will not last for long, as we can plainly see, for every now and then we can see The Dardanelles sticking up through thin sections of forest cover and highpoints along our trail route South.

The great volcanic feature of The Dardanelles makes up the whole South shore of Spicer Meadow Reservoir, while the granite terrain we are passing through extends South from Lake Alpine, down to where granite terrain composes the North shore of Spicer Meadow Reservoir.

From Lake Alpine past Duck and Rock Lakes, to Spicer Meadow Reservoir, and up Highland Creek we will be traveling through granite terrain.

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Meadow and forest looking South from N Stanislaus campsite hiking South.

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Burned Forest

Crossing the North Fork of the Stanislaus River we notice fingers of burned area penetrating the green forest cover around us.

As we head South towards Rock Lake the fingers of burned forest broaden out into great stretches of forest burned long ago.

The burned section stretches from South of the North Fork of the Stanislaus River to where the Tahoe to Yosemite trail comes to overlook Spicer Meadow Reservoir.

I don't know why this forest is growing so slowly. Maybe it's the soil, or the diminishing Winter rains. Possibly both. Sections of the burned forest are bursting with young firs, other sections sport manzanita and other after-burn shrubbery.

The burned forest imparts a strange feeling when you hike through, and physically you are going to get more heated up crossing the now-exposed nose of the massive Sierra ridges dropping down from Bull Run Peak.

As we approach Rock Lake the green fingers of forest thicken up a bit and fill out into a reasonably shaded forest around Rock Lake.

Note how green veins of live forest intermix with the old burned snags.

Our Southbound TYT route continues South past Rock Lake towards the far Left end of The Dardanelles at the far Left side of the image. Climbing over the last ridge separating us from The Dardanelles reveals Spicer Meadow Reservoir sitting beneath the Northwest flank of the Dardanelles.

We will hike Northeast around the North shore of Spicer Meadow Reservoir, which brings us all the way from the far Right of this image to the far Left as we continue South past Rock Lake. After making our way around the top of Spicer Meadow Reservoir we will enter Highland Canyon for a short distance.

From Highland Canyon we turn Right off of the Highland Creek Trail to hike Southeast up Jenkins Canyon to pass around the Northeast side of The Dardanelles, which sits out of view on the far Left side of the image above.

The trail to the Right heads down to Elephant Rock, Elephant Rock Lake, and road access. Or, from Elephant Rock Lake you can loop back up to join the Duck Lake Loop at the wrecked ranch house trail junction on your way back to The Silver Valley Trailhead.

The trail to the Left continues Southbound on Tahoe to Yosemite Trail towards Spicer Meadow Reservoir.

Backpacking Trail Guide

North

Mount Reba to Lake Alpine

Backpacking Trail Guide

South

Rock Lake to Jenkins Canyon