This trail guide, like the High Sierras, divides itself into ups and downs. Your miles are generally done either going up to the top of the mountain, or you are coming down from the mountaintop into the valley that separates you from the next mountaintop.

This means that the mileages and elevations between the peaks and valleys on any given day is going to be important in determining how many miles you can reasonably expect to cover that day. This will be instrumental in planning where you are going to camp every night, and ultimately all of this information will be necessary for you to determine how many days it will take you to cover a given distance. This in turn establishes your proper food load.

There are 29.44 miles between Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass along the Pacific Crest Trail. Ebbetts Pass is 911 feet lower than the Sonora Pass. But you will descend and climb countless times between Ebbetts and Sonora Pass as your path steadily increases in elevation.

This gradual increase in elevation continues for the whole length of our hike down to Mount Whitney. As you continue South the average elevation of the trail constantly increases, along with the elevation of the mountains and the mountain passes that transect them.

Yet these gross elevation and mileage figures do not accurately describe rigors that the constant ups and downs that characterize High Sierra Trails. Not at all.

The Changing Nature of the Terrain between Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass

From Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass the terrain cannot be easily categorized. This segment of the trail passes through many different types of, and interfaces between different types of terrain. The Red Volcanic Geology that has characterized the environment from the Carson Pass, through Ebbetts Pass and across Tyron Peak begins to transition into amazing Shark-Fin formations of metamorphic rock South of Wolf Creek Pass.

As you continue South and approach Murray Canyon, you are beginning to depart the Volcanic Terrain Zone, entering an interface between the golden granite terrain that encases the upper reaches of the East Fork of the Carson River, and the Great Red Mass of Volcanic remnants that composes Sonora Peak..

As you approch the top of the East Carson's headwaters bowl you can look back to the North, behind you, and make out elements of the interface line between the granitic and volcanic terrain that you just climbed through.

In terms of hiking difficulty, the ups and downs between Ebbetts Pass and your descent into the East Carson River Valley can be characterized as one long moderate difficulty traverse across the Sierra Crest. You are constantly dipping down into and up out of every drainage coming off the Sierra Crest to the East and West.

Until you are around 17 miles South of Ebbetts Pass, where you finally get a long view of the East Carson Valley winding its way up to its headwaters bowl.

The only problem is that you have to drop down into that valley, and after you drop down to the East Carson drainage you have a long, difficult climb paralleling the East Carson River up to where we finally exit the river's headwaters bowl through a gap in the ridge arm descending off of the Northeastern Flank of Sonora Peak.

After cresting the East Carson River headwaters bowl you are not done climbing. After easily flanking the Western Shore of Wolf Creek Lake, which sits in a small shelf on Sonora Peak's Eastern Flank, you have a hard climb up the trail to the Sonora Gap.

The Sonora Gap is the 10, 536 foot elevation gap in the high ridge arm descending from Sonora Peak's Southeastern Flank. From the Sonora Gap you don't just have a splendid view of Leavitt Peak and Sonora Pass's 9,600 foot gap in the crestline, but you also command an overpowering view of precipitious descent of the Eastern Sierras to the thin strip of high altitude desert which separates the Sierras from the ancient mountains to their East.

In any case, High Sierra backpackpacking requires that anyone who enters the mountains be prepared to be constantly ascending and descending. This is also required for your hike between the Ebbetts and Sonora Passes.

Always remember this important rule: Every descent route holds many mini-ascents, and every ascent has many mini-descents hidden within its course.

The mileage you hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains will never be flat, at least not for very long at all. And the terrain you pass over will very rarely just go straight up, or straight down. For the majority of your hike you are going to find yourself going endlessly up and down.

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Pacific Crest Trail

Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass: 29.44 miles

Start: Ebbetts Pass 8732 0

Parking Junction 8760 .36

Junction to Noble Canyon 8400 3.01

Noble Lake 8880 3.96

North Sierra Nevada

miles and elevations page NORTH: Echo Summit to Carson Gap

miles and elevations page NORTH: Carson Gap to Ebbetts Pass

This location: Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass

miles and elevations SOUTH: Sonora Pass to Tuolumne Meadows

Note: The Ups and Downs of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness between Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass. And every other High Sierra Trail...

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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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