High Sierra
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View South down JMT from Forester Pass towards Tyndall Creek, Kern Canyon, and the Great Western Divide. |
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Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney
Lake Tahoe Basin
Emigrant Wilderness
Center
Central Sierra Nevada JMT
South Sierra
Index
We can start anywhere along the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT org map) and hook up with the Southbound Pacific Crest and Tahoe to Yosemite Trails. The North end of our trail guide's coverage begins here in the North end of the Desolation Wilderness (guide map) continuing South to wrap around the Meiss Country Roadless Area (guide map) on our way to the Whitney Portal. Hiking out the South end of the Tahoe Basin ends this first stage of our hike in and around the highly developed and well-trafficked Tahoe Basin Trails. Things quiet down significantly once we cross Highway 88 and hike South of Carson Pass. Map Use
Tahoe to Whitney Trails
The Point of All This Evolving our fitness, gear, and skills will take a series of prep trips for beginners and returning backpackers, to work out fitness and gear issues, and begin developing the skills, experience, and durability necessary. South from Tahoe The Whitney Portal
The Holy Grail This thing is big, and your route through it will be unique. Take a Hike Scope & Scale Backpacking Background The final piece of information in this backpacking puzzle is gaining some understanding of and engagement with the web of life around us. We're looking for all the reflections of High Sierra experience we can find in man and nature.
Introduction to Tahoe to Whitney Route Options The logistical part of this guide begins with figuring out our hiking plan and the resupply strategy necessary to support it.
The Classics We will investigate both of the convergence of the TYT & PCT routes around the Lake Tahoe Basin, their divergence across the Mokelumne, Carson Iceberg, and Emigrant Wilderness Areas, and their reunion for the hike South across the North Yosemite Backcountry to Tuolumne Meadows. Though the TYT and PCT are distinctly different routes, they begin and end their North Sierra adventures together. Well, they share the trail through the Tahoe Basin after the TYT's initial 11.5 miles hiking out from to the PCT from its Meeks Bay Trailhead. South of the TYT-PCT-TRT junction the TYT and PCT share the route across the remaining 29.82 miles of our hike around the Southwest Tahoe Basin through Desolation Wilderness and the Meiss Country Roadless Area. The TYT and PCT cover distinctly different routes with very different characters and conditions between their separation point on the South end of the Tahoe Basin and their reunion point in the North Yosemite Backcountry, as we will see. The PCT and JMT Sole Divergence Nonetheless, we have a nice series of alternative routes and side-trip scrambles to explore along the combined route of the JMT-PCT through the South Sierra. Tuolumne Meadows Unlike the very different characters and divergent routes of the PCT and TYT across the North Sierra, the PCT and JMT share the vast majority of the trail South from Tuolumne Meadows down to Crabtree Meadow. JMT Variety I'd walked the standard route of the JMT once before I began to explore the alternatives.
Hiking Across Yosemite National Park The Golden Triangle is a great addition to our Tahoe to Whitney hike, and a fine hike on its own. This is a great hike for folks who want to get a feel for Yosemite, especially if we start from Sonora Pass and hike to Reds Meadow. Yosemite is a great section along our long trail, and we should explore it as fully as possible as we hike from Tahoe to Whitney. The Long and the Short of It Why Start at Meeks Bay? Meeks Bay is our trailhead because it starts our Tahoe to Whitney Backpacking Trip into one of the most beautiful spots in the world, Desolation Wilderness. Meeks Bay leads us directly into the granite grandure of Desolation Wilderness wrapping around the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, a truly a world-class spot of backpacking beauty. Backpacking life does not start better than this.Deeper Destinations Necessary Evolution The Goal You can start your TW hike anywhere you like. We can begin up in Granite Chief Wilderness, from Highway 80, or out of one of the trailheads described here on the guide, or your favorite trailhead anywhere around the Tahoe Rim Trail in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Find IT After that, we will keep our skills tuned up, operational, and as engaged as possible through the travails of this life. We've got to keep our eye on IT, after we find IT.
"Short Tours" This "section" approach may be wise. Not everyone, well, practically no one is ready to jump onto long distance High Sierra trails without some training, proper gear, and practical experience putting them all together on the trail. Short preparatory trips bringing our fitness, gear selection and use, and our skills up to speed one step at a time is a wise path to safely develop our long distance high altitude backpacking capacities. Backpacking the High Sierra is a difficult and potentially dangerous activity. Let's not bite off more than we can comfortably chew. I am serious about the difficulties and dangers of High Sierra backpacking. Read the disclaimer, and note my warnings about dangers and safety up and down the trail guide. Backpacking the High Sierra can break you like a twig. It can seriously injure or kill you. It can also restore your humanity, balance, and understanding of the human role in life's grand web. It can give it all, it can take it all. How the particular balance of pain and pleasure on our trip works out depends on how well prepaired we are. Our level of prepartation determines if backpacking the whole thing or sections is the wise course of action. Part of a Greater Plan
One Shot or Many We can break the Tahoe to Whitney hike into bite-sized chunks, starting with the Desolation Wilderness and Meiss Country Roadless Area in the Tahoe Basin, and work our way South as possible. The Desolation and Meiss Country backpacking trip can be our first "section" of a Tahoe to Whitney backpacking trip spread out over a number of Summers. OMG To better use these interconnected PCT-TYT routes to craft grand "sectional loops," let's take a look at how the length of the Sierra Crest is divided into sections by the Trans-Sierra Highways.
The Trans-Sierra Highways and their Mountain Passes If that describes some version of your plans, this guide will be perfect for you!
Section Hiking the North Sierra
TYT
I say "trailhead" in the singular because there is only one direction of the TYT, coming out of the North, through the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead onto Highway 108. Trail Guide Index The Saint Marys Trailhead is located very close to the Sierra Crestline. It is located less than a mile west of the PCT trailheads at Sonora Pass on the Sierra Crestline at the top of Highway 108. Hiking South on the TYT through the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead onto Highway 108 presents one big problem for Southbound TYT hikers: there is no Southbound TYT Trailhead on other side of Highway 108 from Saint Marys Pass! This makes it difficult to continue South on the TYT after hiking through Saint Marys Pass Trailhead onto Highway 108. On the Flank The Lake Alpine TYT Trailheads aalong Highway 4 are 15 miles West of Ebbetts Pass down Highway 4, and virtually right across the Highway 4 from each other.
The Sections Trail Treats Let's Get Loopy I call this "Master Loop" section hiking, when our "section" incorporates and completes both the PCT & TYT "sections" of that particular wilderness along our looping route. We can section hike the PCT and TYT simultaneously! I've personally hiked as wide a variety of hybrid routes from Tahoe to Yosemite, and on down to Mount Whitney incorporating and mixing as many options as I possibly could, over the years. Reality Check: This is what I call, "fun," beating myself with the chain of trails!
The South Sierra is Different These are classic South Sierra Backpacking Loops.
North-South Sadly, we cannot put together a series of backpacking loops around each of the wilderness areas for the whole length of the Sierra Crestline between Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney. Section Hiker's Dream We don't even have to leave the Tahoe Basin But you don't have to. Backpackers wishing to remain in the Tahoe Basin can turn a big loop around Desolation Wilderness, or turn an even bigger loop around the whole Lake Tahoe Basin on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Infinity of Detail Wisdom is knowing which approach is best for us at each time and place along the length of our trip, and having the fitness and skills to apply it. Adjusted for You 3 Representative Trailheads Or Pick Your Own!
SOUTH of the TAHOE BASIN Besides these three trailhead options out of Lake Tahoe we also have two major route options to choose from hiking South through the Northern Sierras from Lake Tahoe to Tuolumne Meadows. We explore them both. TYT & PCT Infinite Loops
Read, or add your own hiker's comments about
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Echo Chalet Backpacker Resupply
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Resupply Point #1 No longer offers resupply services Echo Lake Chalet is located at the South end of Lower Echo Lake just past where the Southbound TYT hiker exits the Southernmost Desolation Wilderness Trailhead. If we chose to begin our journey South through the Meeks Bay Trailhead along the Classic Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, we will pass the Echo Lake Chalet. Echo Chalet is not a vital resupply point for Southbound Tahoe to Whitney or Tahoe to Yosemite Backpackers. The reason is that the Chalet is only 28.71 miles South of the Meeks Bay Trail Head on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail. And, the Echo Lake Chalet sits North of our Echo Summit and South Upper Truckee trailheads This makes Echo Summit irrelevant for Southbound packers out of those two trailheads. As my standard food load is five days, and I carry up to 11 days of food, I prefer to carry the food necessary to cover the 68 mile distance between Meeks Bay and the Lake Alpine Lodge, so I don't rely on Echo Chalet for resupply. The 68 miles separating the Meeks Bay Trailhead from the Lake Alpine Lodge on Highway 4 makes the Lake Alpine Lodge my first resupply point South of Meeks Bay. I rely on Echo Lake for a boost of good fresh food and milkshake power. But resupplying at Echo Lake will serve to keep the initial weight of our food supply, and backpack weight lower than if we don't resupply there, so can be useful for saving us some pain. Though not a vital resource for Southbound TYT hikers, it is convenient. The Echo Lake Chalet is a vital resource for Northbound backpackers on the Pacific Crest Trail. Their previous resupply point, typically, was 75 miles South at Sonora Pass. Check out this discussion of our Read more about the differences between our Southbound route options between the Pacific Crest Trail and the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail on the Trail Guide Index, on the Carson Gap Trail Guide page, in the maps section, and in the miles and elevations pages. |
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Lake Tahoe Basin Best Backpacker's Resource in the |
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Meiss Country Roadless Area | ||||
Section 1B Alternative to the Meeks Bay Trailhead Backpackers using the Echo Summit or the South Upper Truckee trailheads will find much quieter backpacking in the Meiss Country Roadless Area than they would have experienced hiking the Desolation Wilderness from Meeks Bay. Desolation Wilderness is always among the the busiest wilderness in America. These trailheads also respectively knock 31 and 34 miles off the 185 miles between Meeks Bay and Tuolumne Meadows on the TYT. This section of the trail guide explores the triangular shape of the Meiss Country Roadless Area wedged into the Southwestern corner of the Tahoe Basin. The long side of this triangle stretches from Echo Summit down to the Carson Gap, with the two shorter sides of this rough triangle narrowing down to the South Upper Truckee Road trail head in Meyers. This nice little wedge of terrain in the South-Southwest corner of the Tahoe Basin is the total extent of the tiny little Meiss Country Roadless area. Echo Summit and the South Upper Truckee Trailheads are both excellent trailheads to begin short and maybe medium distance backpacking trips around this fine little corner of the Lake Tahoe Basin, if not beginning a longer trek to points South, hopefully all the way down to Tuolumne Meadows and on to Mount Whitney.
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Mokelumne Wilderness | |||||||
The The Carson Gap is the point where Southbound backpackers on the TYT and PCT exit the Lake Tahoe Basin. It is also where the Southbound Pacific Crest and Tahoe to Yosemite Trails first part, and from here we will follow our selected route South across the Mokelumne Wilderness to Highway 4. If we're following the Pacific Crest Trail our route brings us Southeast through Carson Pass and subsequently down the Eastern flank and the Sierra Crest to Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4. If we are following the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail our route brings us around the Southwest flank of Round Top and The Sisters, to hike the Western Flank of the Sierras to Lake Alpine on Highway 4. In short, we will be heading to either the Southeast or Southwest of Round Top, the mountain pictured below on the upper Left, on our way to Highway 4. This section contains a route discussion comparing the terrain, mileage, elevations, and the different characteristics of these two trails to help us decide which route is best for us, followed by trail guide accounts of each. Excellent Video describing our PCT-TY trail choice. Trailheads on the North and South Ends of the Mokelumne Wilderness
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Lake Alpine Lodge | ||||
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Carson Iceberg Wilderness | |||||
Section Three
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The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail Trail Guide Page Lake Alpine Backpacker |
The Pacific Crest Trail Trail Guide Page Ebbetts Pass Backpacker |
Carson Iceberg Wilderness Hiking Map
Click the RED DOTS on the maps for Trail Guide Pages, the Black DOTS for DETAILED MAPS.
Carson Iceberg Wilderness Maps
TYT Topo Hiking Map Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass |
PCT Topo Hiking Map Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass |
Click the RED DOTS on the maps for Trail Guide Pages, the Black DOTS for DETAILED MAPS.
Leavitt Peak from the Sonora Gap
Leavitt Peak (it's not visible behind the mountaintop in back) from the Sonora Gap, Pacific Crest Trail, looking South towards the Sonora Pass on Hwy 108. The Sonora Pass is situated beyond the low hill in foreground and the mountains in the background.
Kennedy Meadows Pack Station | |
Resupply Point #3Highway 108I love this place! Don't miss Kennedy Meadows on your trip along the Sierra Crest! Euros and other visitors who wish to experience the Modern West should reserve a cabin and hang out! The E Sierra towns of Walker and Bridgeport (Hwy 395) |
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Kennedy Meadows Pack Station, with the Stueve Family's Milk Wagon. | |
Emigrant Wilderness | |||||
Section Four
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Information | |
Elevations & Mileages |
Read, or add your own hiker's comments about Trail Section #3 and the Trail Segments it contains
Tuolumne Meadows | |
Resupply Point #4Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite A top quality long-time staff is complimented, and challenged by, everything the world can throw at them, including urban idiots and outdoor specialists from all around our country and all over the world. Tuolumne Meadows Grill, Post Office, and Store |
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Tuolumne Meadow Cafe, Post Office, and Store | |
Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley The "Backwards" John Muir Trail into the The Golden Triangle |
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Section Five
The "standard" route for Southbound hikers on the Tahoe to Whitney Trails is to pick up the Southbound John Muir Trail in Tuolumne Meadows where the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail ends, and continue South along the Sierra Crestline towards Mount Whitney on the JMT. An exceptional alternative route and expansive addition to our standard crestline route is to follow the JMT "backwards" down to Yosemite Valley. After a refreshing stay in Yosemite Valley we will return to the JMT along the Sierra Crestline just a few miles South of Tuolumne Meadows in Lyell Canyon. I call this alternative route off the Sierra Crestline via the JMT to the Valley and back up to the JMT via Voglesang Pass "The Golden Triangle." This will be a unique addition to our Tahoe to Whitney hike, if we choose to include it. Highway 120 to Yosemite ValleyQuick FactsMapsMiles & ElevationsResupply Point
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Yosemite Valley Backpacker Resupply | |
Resupply Point #Highway 108
Don't miss! The E Sierra towns of (Hwy 395) |
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Trail Guide Construction Note I have not yet completed any of the trail guide elements for the trails between Tuolumne Meadows and Mount Whitney. I hope to have at least the Maps and Mileages info up before the upcoming Summer backpacking season begins in earnest. |
Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon Alternative Route back to the The John Muir Trail |
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Section Five This is our return route to pick up the JMT just a bit South of Tuolumne Meadows in Lyell Canyon. We hike this route from Yosemite Valley back to the JMT rather than retracing the route of the JMT back up to Tuolumne Meadows. We already did that hiking down to The Valley. We will find a different way back to the JMT. After some R & R in Yosemite Valley we follow the JMT hiking through Happy Isles up to Little Yosemite, but at Little Yos we turn off the JMT by hiking up the Merced River to Merced Lake. This alternative route brings us back to the JMT close to where we turned off the Sierra Crest to follow it down to The Valley. Top-Down Perspective Dropping down to Yosemite Valley from Tuolumne Meadows puts us into fantastic overviews of the beauties that drove the creation of the US Park System itself, of what stirred modern man to preserve this, and other ancient untouched places from total destruction. As we drop down into Yosemite Valley we can see, and even feel the historic competition between the different demands the different aspects of human nature have put on Nature. Bottom-Up Perspective The famous Yosemite Valley and the upper elements of the Merced River Drainage that created it. Hiking across Yosemite along the Sierra Crestline on the combined TYT through the North and the JMT across South Yosemite is nothing short of a world-class backpacking trip. But it can be made better by the Golden Triangle. Adding the Golden Triangle into Yosemite Valley and back to the JMT puts our Tahoe to Whitney hike into a class of its own. The Golden Triangle is an exceptional stand-alone backpacking trip (without having to hike from Tahoe to Whitney) starting and ending in Tuolumne Meadows.
Yosemite Valley to Lyell Canyon
Quick Facts
MapsMiles & ElevationsYosemite Valley Resources/TransportationResupply Points:Side Trips/Short LoopsCar CampingRead, or add your own hiker's comments about Trail Section #4 and the Trail Segments it contains |
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Tuolumne Meadows to Reds Meadow TYT to JMT The Standard Sierra Crestline Route |
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Section Five
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Lyell Canyon, just a bit South of Tuolumne Meadows, on our way to climb out the South end of Yosemite through Donohue Pass. | |
Red's Meadow store, our "on the trail" resupply point. We can take the shuttle into Mammoth Lakes to access extensive resources there. | |
Reds Meadow |
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Reds Meadow John Muir Trail |
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Section Six
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To Rainbow Falls off the Southbound JMT in Ansel Adams Wilderness. | |
Vermilion Valley Resort's Sign, Lake Thomas Edison. Only seen by walk-ins. Most hikers take the ferry in from the John Muir Trail. | |
Reds Meadow |
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Alternative RouteMammoth Lakes to Lake Thomas Edison
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Vermilion Valley Resort | |
Resupply Point #6Vermilion Valley Resort
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Backpacker Disneyland: Vermillion Valley Resort. Great people, Great food, and a heck of a lot of fun. | |
VERMILLION VALLEY to MUIR RANCH |
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Section Seven:
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Vermillion's backpacker pick up point on the East side of Lake Thomas Edison. | |
Hiking down to the very private Muir Trail Ranch | |
Muir Ranch | |
Resupply #7No Road Access Muir Ranch
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Muir Ranch's fancy new food storage system | |
MUIR RANCH to MOUNT WHITNEY |
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Section Eight
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Muir Ranch Backpacker Gate, food storage building | |
Approaching peak of Mount Whitney Shelter visible. | |
Mount Whitney Portal | |
The End of the LineMount Whitney Portal, Lone Pine Portal Road to Hwy 395, Lone PineDoug's Portal Burgers! And New Backpacker's Hostel, I hear... Lone Pine: Grocery, Cafes, Motels |
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A Doug's Burger at the Whitney Portal is the way to end the trip | |
DEDICATIONS
This Whole Trail Guide is Dedicated to my Sister,
Suzanne Wierbinski.
This guide & forums would have been impossible
without her
encouragement and support. I never carried a
camera,
until
she insisted. Helped more ways than I can count.
Thanks, Boo!
None ot this would be possible without the endless help of my pal,
Alex Gomez
&
Family
Alex has provided every kind of support, tech, infrastructure, personal, medical, financial, and moral, for longer than anyone but sis....
The Yosemite Section of this Trail Guide is Dedicated to,
Erin Anders.
Erin's life represented the Good Will and Spirit of generations
of amazing folks
who've
dedicated
their life's work
to
serving
and protecting
Nature while
using it to bring out
the best in people.
The real dedication of this trail guide
is to the
Spirit
of the
High Sierra Mountain Range
and the
People who Love and Reflect its Spirit
YOU?
You All Know Who You Are...
If you can get into the High Sierra or Not...