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Highland Lakes from Tyron Peak on the Pacific Crest Trail Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Your Backpacking Guide to the High Sierras Ebbetts Pass in the afternoon
Ebbetts Pass, October 2011 with two backpacks.
Highland Lakes
Ebbetts Pass late afternoon in late October with two backpacks.
Ebbetts Pass

 

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Backpacking Ebbetts Pass

Hiking The Pacific Crest Trail between Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass

 

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Trail Guide: Highway 4 to Highway 108 North PCT: Ebbetts Pass to Raymond Peak South PCT: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak 7.5 Topo Map: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak This 30 min Map: Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass Ebbetts to Sonora Pass: MILES AND ELEVATIONS ALL TOPO MAPS EBBETTS TO SONORA Resupply North: Lake Alpine. South: Kennedy Meadows National Forest: Toiyabe & Stanislaus Weather all maps index

Hiking the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness on the Pacific Crest Trail

Southbound into the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness from Ebbetts Pass

The Southbound direction of our Tahoe to Whitney hike and our decision to proceed South on the Pacific Crest Trail route rather than the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route makes Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4 our Southbound entrance into the backpacking beauties of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

We will exit the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness through Sonora Pass on Highway 108 to finish the Carson Iceberg Wilderness section of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Ebbetts Pass is also an excellent trailhead to begin short short and long distance loops around the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

Ebbetts Pass is 29.44 hard miles North of Sonora Pass on the PCT.

A potential resupply point at the Lake Alpine Lodge sits 15 miles West down Highway 4.

The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail crosses Highway 4 Southbound at Lake Alpine.

A potential resupply point at Kennedy Meadows Pack Station sits 9 miles West down Highway 108 at the Southern end of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness at Sonora Pass.

Duration: At a moderate pace two nights with a "late" 10 am start the first day. Exit at Sonora Pass by 10 am on third day.

 

Southbound Topo Maps

7.5 Map South: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

30 min Map South: Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass

Northbound Topo Maps

7.5 Map North: Lower Sunset Lake to Ebbetts Pass

30 min Map North: Carson Pass to Ebbetts Pass

 

Northbound into the Mokelumne Wilderness from Ebbetts Pass

The Pacific Crest Trail hiker and others heading North out of Ebbetts Pass will be entering the Mokelumne Wilderness on your way North towards Carson Pass.

Ebbetts Pass is 27.88 moderate miles South of Carson Pass on the PCT.

There are no resupply resources at Carson Pass on Highway 88. More about your North and Southbound resupply options below.

resupply comments

resupply forum

 

Index

Ebbetts Pass backpacker resources and information: THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL

Ebbetts Pass Administratively

Ebbetts Pass Resupply Options

Ebbetts Pass Resupply Strategy

Ebbetts Pass hiking maps

Ebbetts Pass Video Tour

 

Ebbetts Pass History

Southbound Hikers

Northbound Hikers

Roadmap

East and West from the Sierra Crest

Forums

 

Basic Facts

Mileage South

Mileage North

 

Map South

Map North

click the red dots on the maps for that trail location.

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Hiking into Ebbetts Pass from the South

  Hiking North to Ebbetts Pass  
     
Video: Ebbetts Pass. 1:17.

Administration

Ebbetts Pass in the Sierra Nevada National Forests and on the Pacific Crest Trail

Elevation: 8732

Ebbetts Pass sits on Highway 4 near the Sierra Nevada Crest.

Ranger Districts, National Forests, and Wilderness

Ebbetts Pass marks a point along the North-South boundary line dividing the Calavaras Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest on the Western Flank of the Sierra from the Carson Ranger District of the Toiyabe National Forest on the Eastern flank.

Highway 4 also very roughly marks the East-West line dividing the Pacific Crest Trail's route through the Mokelumne Wilderness to the North from the PCT's route through the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness to the South of Ebbetts Pass. But not exactly.

These National Forest Maps of the Mokelumne and Carson-Iceberg Wilderness show the wilderness precisely in relation to Highway 4 and the Pacific Crest Trail North and South of Ebbetts Pass, respectively.

Ebbetts Pass comments

Resupply

Resupply

Ebbetts Pass in relation to our nearest resupply points North and South on the Pacific Crest Trail

Ebbetts Pass is 40.78 miles South of Echo Chalet on the PCT.

Ebbetts Pass is 29.44 miles North of Sonora Pass on the PCT.

A potential resupply point at the Lake Alpine Lodge sits 15 miles West down Highway 4.

resupply comments

resupply forum

More Resupply

Ebbetts Pass

Where We Are in relation to Services and Resupply

For the Pacific Crest Trailer

I've met very few Pacific Crest Trail hikers who resupply at Lake Alpine over the years. A few.

The typical resupply pattern for the PCTer across the North Sierra is Tuolumne Meadows, Kennedy Meadows (75 miles North of Tuolumne Meadows), and then the Echo Chalet (70 miles North of KM).

PCT section hikers are much more likely to take advantage of Lake Alpine's hospitality and services.

Most PCTers bypass Ebbetts Pass as a resupply point. They are biting off 70+ miles of the trail between resupply points at a time, and for good reason. They are racing against the calendar to beat the late-season snows up North in the Cascades. And they have already crossed big distances hiking up to Muir Ranch as well as the Five Canyons North of Tuolumne.

PCT hikers really begin to pick up speed as the elevation and trail difficulty decreases North of Sonora Pass. But hitching down to Lake Alpine has its advantages.

Lake Alpine and Bear Valley Resources

Lake Alpine Lodge will accept your resupply package sent through UPS and hold it for you at no charge.

There are also showers, laundry, a poor backpacker's store, restaurant, bar, and bar menu at Lake Alpine. The restaurant is expensive, but a Pacific Crest Trail hiker could hitch the three extra miles down to Bear Valley instead of Lake Alpine and still do laundry, shower, eat a bunch of food at the deli, and then hitch back up to Ebbetts Pass to continue hiking the next day.

You have basically the same services at Lake Alpine as at the Bear Valley, but Bear Valley lacks the centrality of all the services as provided by the Lake Alpine Lodge, and has no shower or free resupply service. But the Bear Valley Deli is a heck of a lot cheaper than the Lake Alpine Lodge's fancy restaurant.

For the Tahoe to Whitney or Section Backpacker

I've both bypassed and resupplied at Lake Alpine when backpacking the long trails between Lake Tahoe to Tuolumne Meadows. Most times I stop at Lake Alpine for a day off. You can plan your trip to suit your tastes. But there's more to life on the trail than high mileage days.

I have made a point of exploring the mountain outposts and communities that support backpackers, if I resupply or not. I've done this both to build this trail guide, and because I really enjoy spending a day sitting on the deck at the Lake Alpine Lodge having a beer while talking to their cool staff, the fishermen and campers from all around California who pass through there, and the tourists from all around the country and world who go there to see Highway 4's narrow track through the close-up beauties of the High Sierra.

It's just relaxing fun with cool folks in a beautiful spot at the Lake Alpine Lodge. You're going to need a crowbar to pry my ass off of the Lodge's deck, because I almost always take a day off the trail at Lake Alpine.

My thought is that I will spend the money on one of the Lake Alpine Lodge's expensive dinners because they go out of their way to take care of backpackers. It's the least I can do. If I have the money. If I'm running broke I head down to Bear Valley...

Details-Details

The Lake Alpine Lodge sits 15 miles West of Ebbetts Pass, and is where we could have sent ourselves a free resupply package via UPS, if that was in our plans. Bear Valley, which has a couple of outdoors-sports shops (socks, shoes, water bottles; they are ski shops in Winter, and mountain bike shops during Summer...) and an excellent store-deli, sits 3 miles to the West of Lake Alpine.

The town of Arnold, where there are full grocery, medical, gear and repair services sits 42.4 miles West of Ebbetts Pass down Highway 4. It's an easy hitch-hike West to any of these destinations.

I've met lots of good local folk hitching down to Lake Alpine, Bear Valley, and Arnold to explore local backpacker support during my hikes up and down the Sierra trails. You find some pretty cool people and things just off the trail. I can almost smell the massive bacon cheese burger swimming in a huge plate of fries at Suzie's Diner in Arnold from Ebbetts Pass...

Tell Suzie and her uber-cool staff "Hey" from Alex if you stop in for a bite...

East of Ebbetts Pass

To our East sits no significant services for 39 miles, until you reach the Carson Valley Medical Center in the fine little town of Gardnerville in Nevada. Though I may be insulting the fine little biker bar in the tiny town of Markleeville. That biker bar is a significant service...

The Biker Bar was the turn-around point for the Markleeville Death Ride last I heard, and is always a destination for packs of Harley riders. Last I was there the ceiling of the bar was decorated with hundreds of bras contributed by biker babes over the years, but I heard that they took them down.

Markleeville sits a mere 17 miles to our East from Ebbetts Pass. I've never resupplied in Markleeville, though I suppose you could. They have a tiny store, and if their Post Office is still open you might be able to send yourself a package... But you'd be a lot better off resupplying on the Western slope of the Sierra at Lake Alpine.

Markleeville is five miles Left, North, up Highway 89 from the Highway 4 junction with Highway 89, which is located about 12 miles to the East of Ebbetts Pass. Highway 89 is also the route to Gardnerville.

If you continue East on Highway 4 through the junction with 89, Highway 4's Eastern termination point drops into Antelope Valley just North of Coleville and South of Topaz Lake on Highway 395. The canyon between Highway 4's junction with Highway 89 and its end at Highway 395 is through an amazing canyon. There are great people up and down Antelope Valley, but little in the way of re supply resources. I've spent time during all four seasons in the fine little towns of Walker, Holbrook Junction, and Gardnerville resting from the last trip to begin the next.

In fact, I've spent a lot of time kicking back with friends who live along the Highway 395 corridor between Coleville down to Walker, generally on my way to or from backpacking trips in the Eastern Sierra. Fine people live out there who I really enjoy seeing. They are as much fun as my backpacking, but in a different way. The good country folk out there make every trip better. But the Carson and Antelope Valleys are not good resupply options from Ebbetts Pass.

If you plan on using Highway 4 at Ebbetts Pass as an opportunity to resupply, I strongly suggest sending a resupply package to Lake Alpine.

 

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Transportation

Hitching to and from Ebbetts Pass

There is no public transportation across Highway 4. Either you drive or you hitch.

During late Spring and early Fall the traffic on Highway 4 across Ebbetts Pass goes down to 3 cars an hour, by my count. I have found that one of every three cars will stop to say hello, and make sure that you are O.K. Nice people up there. During mid-Summer there is regular traffic across Ebbetts Pass. Up to 15 cars an hour.

The real problem is getting to Ebbetts Pass from the West, across The Valley. The farmers and cowboys in The Valley rarely pick up hitch-hikers, and the idiot city yuppies driving across The Valley generally drive right past everyone, including backpackers. We've grown some pretty weird urban idiots/creeps is our mega-cities during the past half-century of unrestricted greed and growth. Try to hook-up with a Craig's List ride to get across The Valley if at all possible.

Once you get across The Valley to Highways 49 and Highway 4 heading up-mountain you will easily get a ride. The country folk are still cool, and not afraid to meet and greet their fellow-citizens.

If you are planning on starting a backpacking trip from Ebbetts Pass note that you cannot park at Ebbetts Pass. The sign below says, "Please do not park here."

Ebbetts Pass no parking sign.

The sign points towards the parking area located .03 of a mile East of Ebbetts Pass.

Backpacker Assets & Resources Near and Far

North and South

The long and the short of it...

Mileage North

26.78 miles North to Carson Pass

28.71 miles North to where the PCT and TYT rejoin in the Carson Gap, the entrance to the Lake Tahoe Basin.

38.78 miles North to Echo Summit, where you can also hitch East on Highway 50 down to South Lake Tahoe for some R&R.

40.78 miles North to Echo Lake Chalet, where you can pick up your resupply

57.99 miles North to PCT-TYT split at Velma Lakes, where the PCT continues North, and our Trail Guide follows the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail to where it begins at Meeks Bay...

69.49 miles North to TYT Trail head at Meeks Bay

Mileage Information

Carson Pass to Ebbetts Pass TW

Mileage South

29.44 miles South to Sonora Pass.

From Sonora Pass you have a 9 mile hitch West down to Kennedy Meadows, where you can pick up your resupply package.

miles South to where the PCT & TYT routes rejoin below Bond Pass in Jack Main Canyon

103.24 miles South to Tuolumne Meadows (Hwy 120), where we can pick up a resupply package

miles South to Reds Meadow and Mammoth Lakes, where we can pick up a resupply package.

 

Mileage information

Carson-Iceberg Mileages Stanislaus NF

Ebbetts to Sonora Pass TW

Campsites North

Sherrold Lake

Upper Kinney Lake

Camp on N Side of Raymond Peak

Sunset Lake

Tamarack lake

Campsites South

Noble Lake

Asa Lake

Wolf Creek Pass

Wolf Creek

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Topo Hiking Maps

Backpacking Topo Maps North and South

Planning Maps

To plan your trips North or South from Ebbetts Pass you should refer to the free downloadable USGS topo map series. The 1 x 2, 30 minute, and 7.5 series topo maps are free to download and open in the free Adobe Reader. You can also download the free Terrgo Toolbar for Adobe, which gives you limited trail measurement capabilities.

Here's the USGS Store site. It will provide the proper maps to plan this part of your trip. Navigate the map to Stockton Ca, and follow Highway 4 up to Ebbetts Pass. Check the "mark points" selection, click the desired quadrangles and select the map sizes you want to download, and download them. Unzip the file and open it with Adobe.

I have set myself up with a well-organized collection of USGS maps covering all my main routes and side trips from Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney in various scales. I find these maps very helpful to properly plan trips.

Use these detailed USGS topo maps, and the maps, mileages, and trail guide pages laid out here on Tahoe to Whitney to plan the details of your backpacking trips starting at, or hiking across Ebbetts Pass.

Hiking Maps

For trail use I prefer to carry the USDA National Forest Wilderness Maps when hiking either the Mokelumne or Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. These maps are a fine balance between size and detail. Each well covers its respective wilderness area. The new 2009 plastic maps are better in field conditions, but the color, labeling, and accuracy of the new maps leaves a lot to be desired compared to the older 1988 paper map. One step forward, two steps backwards...

Familiarity gained with the detailed USGS maps during your planning stage will make better sense of your trail maps during your trip.

Trail Maps

North: USDA Forest Service Mokelumne Wilderness, ENFIA.

South: USDA Forest Service Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Toiyabe National Forest.

Though long-distance hikers may consider these topo hiking maps too "big," the extra coverage provided by these "whole wilderness" topo maps allow the backpacker to clearly and correctly identify terrain features within their range of vision. I always want to know what I'm looking at, and how my route fits into the "big picture" of the overall terrain.

Unlike topo hiking maps that only display a "sliver" of the terrain, these wilderness-sized topo maps allow you to situate and saturate yourself in the terrain.

Good Long-Distance Backpacker Practice

I send myself my selected hiking topo map for the upcoming trail section in my resupply package. As most of the resupply points have mail services I mail my last map back to myself from the re supply point when I finish that section.

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Ebbetts Pass Backpacker Tour and Information

  Ebbetts Pass Tour  
     
Video: Ebbetts Pass Tour. 3:00

Pacific Crest Trail North and all-season Creek at Ebbetts Pass

  Pacific Crest Trail on the North side of Ebbetts Pass.       A small creek runs across Ebbetts Pass.  
  PCT North from Ebbetts Pass       Creek at Ebbetts Pass  
Another trail by the sign joins the PCT. It usually runs through October.  

Pacific Crest Trail South from Ebbetts Pass

  Pacific Crest Trail on the North side of Ebbetts Pass.  
  Pacific Crest Trail South out of Ebbetts Pass  
The trail up from the parking lot meets the PCT .36 of a mile South.

Ebbetts Pass History

  Ebbetts Pass Historical Marker  
  Ebbetts Pass Historical Landmark  

Ebbetts Pass

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Sierra History

Recent names of topographic features represent the character of our interaction with the terrain.

Silver Creek, Silver Peak, and the Silver Trailhead all hearken back to the great Silver Boom of the late 1850s that followed on the coattails of the Gold Rush.

These mountains were overrun first by gold prospectors during the early 1850s, and then by seekers of silver in the late 1850s through the 1860s.

Prior to the frenzy of the Gold Rush and Silver Boom explorers and early settlers probed the Sierra for a path to the Pacific, and many met hard ends.

As we head South we will encounter Disaster Peak, Relief Peak, along with a series of terrain features that broke many wagons while testing both the fortitude while demonstrating the apparent lack of common-sense of many of the people who attempted to cross the Sierra with a wagon before the main roads were established. The Clamper's Historical monument at Sonora Pass attests to these attempts.

If you have hiked or driven the length of Highways 4 or 108 that mark the Northern and Southern limits of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness across the Sierra crest and its approaches, you know what I mean. Those are a couple of mean hikes as well as mean roads!

I can see crossing the Sierra without road or trail by hiking, or with a well-equipped and well-provisioned horse and mule team. But not with a wagon. I can say one thing about the early attempts to cross the Sierra with a wagon: they did not scout the route, or they would not have attempted it with a wagon.

Sierra Nevada History Basics

Ebbetts Pass History

TahoetoWhitney Historical Resources for Backpackers

Ebbetts Pass History Forum

High Sierra Historical Monuments

History Forum

History Forum General Welcome-Comments

 

Other Ebbetts Pass & Highway 4 Historical Resources

The Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway has produced an excellent History of Highway 4.

Ebbetts Pass Historical Association

Ebbetts Pass History Wikipedia

Ebbetts Pass historical references or knowledge, comments

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Southbound Hiker's NOTES: Short and Medium Distance Hikes in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness

This Section of the Pacific Crest Trail

From Ebbetts Pass we have a 29.44 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail South to Sonora Pass on Highway 108. From there we will easily hitch 9 miles West to access our next resupply package at the Kennedy Meadows Pack Station. I'm looking forward to that already...

Kennedy Meadows has an excellent restaurant that serves three squares a day, a store, a bar, laundry facilities, and excellent showers. Best of all I like the people who work there, and the family who owns the operation. But your trip South into the Carson Iceberg Wilderness doesn't have to go all the way down to Kennedy Meadows from Ebbetts to Sonora Pass.

There's all sorts of excellent short, medium, and long distance hikes you can carve out of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness from Ebbetts Pass.

Explore the Carson Iceberg Wilderness

You don't have to hike the whole length of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness as part of a long distance hike from Tahoe to Whitney, or as a short section of the Pacific Crest Trail. There are many possibilities to craft awesome short, medium, and long distance backpacking trips South into the Carson Iceberg Wilderness from Ebbetts Pass.

I've laid out a trip report about a Carson-Iceberg loop you might find interesting. This loop was planned as a 79 mile loop around the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness weaving together elements of the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails around the Carson-Iceberg. It finally ended up as a shorter 4 night 51 mile loop, but it was a gas nonetheless.

This trip depended on the fact that the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail roughly parallels the position of the Pacific Crest Trail down the length of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. On Highway 4 the trail heads for the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails at Lake Alpine and Ebbetts Pass are separated by 14 miles.

It gets better. As we head South these two classic trails are connected by four trails between Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass. Each of these connector trails gets shorter as you hike further South, as the Pacific Crest and Tahoe to Yosemite Trails draw closer and closer together on their respective routes approaching Highway 108. Though these trails are separated by 14 miles up North on Highway 4, their respective trail heads are only a mile apart on Highway 108.

This means that you can craft a range of short to medium distance backpacking loops around the Carson-Iceberg incorporating sections of the Pacific Crest Trail in one direction, then crossing over to the Tahoe to Yosemite for the return leg. Or visa-versa...

Check out these potential routes on this map of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness I'm working on.

The Highland Creek, Arnot Creek, Disaster Creek, and the Boulder Creek trails are the trails that connect the Pacific Crest Trail to the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

Starting at Ebbetts Pass on the PCT you can cut down any of these trails to connect with the TYT to hike down to Lake Alpine or loop back to Ebbetts Pass for a nice medium-distance hike. Or you can craft a grand circle route around the Carson Iceberg Wilderness by hiking the PCT down to Sonora Pass, then returning to Ebbetts Pass via the and TYT and your selected connector trail.

The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness offers a remarkable range of experiences for all levels of backpackers, from short trips for the checked-out novice to isolated cross-country routes perfect for the grizzled old expert backpacker. As we head South on this trail guide I will point out the Murray and Golden Canyon trails down to the East Carson River, and your potential Eastern entries into the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

The Carson-Iceberg is completely awesome. It contains classic sections of both the Pacific Crest and Tahoe to Yosemite Trails, which can be hiked in short bits or woven together into substantial backpacking trips that remain within the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness? It's real good.

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Northbound Hiker's NOTES

To the North on the Pacific Crest Trail your next possibility of re supply is 40.78 miles North at Echo Lake Chalet, where you may have sent yourself a re supply package.

If not, you can easily hitch East on Highway 50 from Echo Summit (38.78 miles N of Ebbetts Pass) the short distance down to South Lake Tahoe, which offers a full range of full services. South Lake Tahoe mixes the liberality of California with the legal corruption of Nevada. You can get anything there.

Along the trails between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney there are two full-service resort "towns" right next to the trail: South Lake Tahoe in the North Sierra, and Mammoth Lakes in the South Sierra.

Though re supply is distant from Ebbetts Pass to the North and to the South from Ebbetts Pass, good camping is available near the pass. Nice campsites sit just North of Ebbetts Pass at Sherrold and Upper Kinney Lakes. Ebbetts Pass itself has a small stream flowing through. If you arrive late you will have water.

Hiking North from Upper Kinney Lake you will shortly rise out of the forest to pass below and around the strangely carved flanks of Reynolds Peak and then across Raymond Peak's eroded barren terrain. After passing these peaks you will be rewarded with a fine series of little forest-shaded lakes. Follow the trail guide North for more information. The red dots along the trail route on the Ebbetts Pass to Carson Pass topo map will bring you to particular locations along the trail.

Administratively, heading North from Ebbetts Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail you will cross in and out of the Toiyabe managed Eastern section of the Mokelumne Wilderness many times as you repeatedly cross its highly convoluted boundary with Toiyabe National Forest lands.

This means that you will encounter a series of 4-wheel roads and 4-wheel campsites if you look around. These roads offer a variety of loops off of the main Pacific Crest Trail.

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Roadbound

  Ebbetts Pass in relation to resupply and the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail at Lake Alpine.  
 
View Lake Alpine and Bear Valley Road Map in a larger map 
 
The Pacific Crest Trail at Ebbetts Pass is 15 miles East of the TYT at Lake Alpine.

 

The Locals are Active!

Arnold Rim Trail

Local News: ThePineTree.Net

Sierra News Sources

North: Ebbetts Pass to Raymond Peak                                                                            South: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

Ebbetts Pass for the Long-Distance Backpacker

Ebbetts Pass Backpacker

East and West from the Sierra Crest

The difference between accessing Gardnerville to the East or Arnold to the West from Ebbetts Pass to obtain full services are as significant as their climatic differences.

Both Gardnerville and Arnold have full-service medical services and big grocery stores.

First, Gardnerville is outside of the Sierra. The Eastern flank of the Sierra ends abruptly, terminating in a narrow valley wedged between the Sierra on the West and the mountain range to the East, the Pine Nut Range. In between sits Gardnerville at the Southern end of Nevada's Carson Valley. Arnold, on the other hand, is still a mountain town, though further distant to the West from the Sierra Crest than Gardnerville is to the East.

The Western flank of the Sierra Nevada loses elevation very gradually. There are 63 miles of gradually diminishing-steepness mountain roads heading West from Ebbetts Pass down to Angels Camp on Highway 49. West from Angels Camp 20 more miles of gradually receding, rolling foothills follow, until all traces of the Sierra Nevada finally disappear, submerged into the seemingly infinite flatness of The Valley. Except that the rich soils of The Valley itself were eroded from the Sierra.

Though we are no longer traveling in the Sierra when finally depart the foothills and pass Westward into The Valley, we are still traveling on the Sierra. The Valley floor is itself composed of ancient soils eroded from the Sierra Nevada. The East side of the range is very different.

Many sections of the Sierra's Eastern escarpment appear to rise vertically, straight up from the floor of the high desert valleys that sit under the Eastern shadow of the Sierra up and down the length of Highway 395.

Highway 395 bounds the Eastern limit of the Sierra for its entire length. Interestingly, like the soils of The Valley on the Western side of the Sierra, the valleys along the Eastern escarpment of the Sierra from Lake Tahoe past Lone Pine are also composed of material eroded from the Sierra. The depth of the deposited material is thousands of feet in some locations. The actual base of Mount Whitney is buried under thousands of feet of eroded Sierra debris, far below Lone Pine.

The Western Slope's dry forests seem downright tropical compared to the arid conditions under the Eastern rain shadow of the Sierra crest. The dry, high desert valleys that stretch North and South along the base of the Eastern Sierra are uniquely beautiful places that offer some of the best views of, and quickest access to the Sierra available.

Though beautiful and deserving of launching many excellent backpacking trips into the Eastern High Sierra, these towns along the base of the Eastern Sierra are not our best resupply options from Ebbetts Pass.

Though it is only 17 miles to the East to Markleeville and 14 miles West to the Lake Alpine Lodge, both seem like much further distances. This is due to the extra time it takes to drive the narrow, undivided, convoluted route that Highway 4 carves through the mountains. Travel time on all the trans-Sierra mountain roads should be taken into consideration when planning your trailhead departure time.

It always takes longer to drive these roads than you anticipated. Relax and enjoy the view. Get yourself up to the trailhead a day early to camp and acclimate before beginning your backpacking trip.

For more information about Highway 4 itself, check out The Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway website.

 

Let's review our position at Ebbetts Pass:

Southbound Topo Maps

7.5 Map South: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

30 min Map South: Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass

Northbound Topo Maps

7.5 Map North: Lower Sunset Lake to Ebbetts Pass

30 min Map North: Carson Pass to Ebbetts Pass

 

Southbound Miles and Elevations

Northbound Miles and Elevations

 

Trail Guide South: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

Trail Guide North: Ebbetts Pass to Raymond Peak

 

Southbound comments

Northbound comments

 

Backpacking Trail Guide

North

Raymond Peak to Ebbetts Pass

Backpacking Trail Guide

South

Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

Backpacker Forums

Have a great Sierra Nevada trip or story to relate? A fine piece of gear? Or gear that failed?

Post it on: TahoetoWhitney.Org

If you have experiences, comments, questions, or pictures and videos of the Pacific Crest Trail between Ebbetts and Sonora Passes, Post up here:
Forum Section: Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass
Forum Segment: Ebbetts Pass South
Forum Segment: Ebbetts Pass North

North: Raymond Peak to Ebbetts Pass                                                                                 South: Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

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Frosted Backpack

Backpacking Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney:

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

Snug tent after Snow Storm
©Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Crown Jewel of the Pacific Crest Trail