Summit City Creek

Dropping off the Southeastern side of Fourth of July Lake puts us on a grand exposed traverse East down the Southern flank of Round Top and the Sisters. Hidden at the bottom under heavy forest cover is the trail Junction with Summit City Creek.

MAP

As we drop down this great traverse we get a glimpse to the East up the Summit City Creek Canyon at where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses Forrestdale Divide.

To the West, the upper portion of the great granite canyon that holds our route down Summit City Creek is laid out at our feet.

Soon our feet will be pounding the bottom of that canyon.

Further South down the trail we will be able to look back and get a bird's eye view of the general features of this whole section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail through Summit City Creek climbing the North Flank of Mount Reba.

Summit City Creek Trail Forum

Summit City History

comments or questions?

Summit City Creek Trail Junction

Miles and Elevations on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Elevation: 7440

Mileage North

1.23 miles South of Fourth of July Lake.

6.62 miles South of the Carson Pass via Winnemucca Lake.

7.43 miles South of the Carson Gap via the Lost Cabin Mine trail.

Map

7.5 Topo Hiking Map: Carson Pass Region Map

Mileage South

About a mile North of "Boy Scout Camp," a campsite. (see below)

9.52 miles North of Camp Irene, where maintained trails resume.

17.54 miles North of Lake Alpine, Hwy 4, and resupply.

Maps

30 min Tahoe to Yosemite Topo Hiking Map: Echo Summit to Lake Alpine

7.5 Topo Hiking Map: Round Top to Reba on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

comments-questions?

Summit City Creek Trail Forum

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View South from the traverse below Fourth of July Lake at Summit City Creek's route down the canyon.

From the trail junction at Round Top Lake it is a 10.81 down-mountain hike to the Lower Ford of Summit City Creek. The only significant uphill exceptions are the small bluffs just South of the upper ford.

Left or Right from the Summit City Trail Junction

Southwest, or Right, at the Summit City Creek Trail Junction

The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

As we are following the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route 17.54 miles South from here to our next re supply point at Lake Alpine, we will turn right, downstream and Southbound along Summit City Creek, at this trail junction.

Continue South down this trail guide for details.

East, or Left, at the Summit City Creek Junction

Local Loop, or the long way to Ebbetts Pass...

We do have another option. If you are running a short loop around Round Top Lake out of, and back to Carson Pass, this Summit City trail junction is where you turn East, to your Left, rather than West.

Turning Left you are heading up Summit City Creek towards the trail split that presents you with the option of either continuing East to pass under the massive rock above Devils Corral on your way to Upper Blue Lake, or turn North to follow the trail leading up to Forestdale Divide.

If you turn North to Forestdale Divide you are likely in the process of looping back to Carson Pass to finish your loop. If you instead follow the trail branching East, past the headwaters of Summit City Creek, you will shortly arrive at the Upper Blue Lake. Here your trail will intersect with where the paved Blue Lakes Road and the unpaved Forestdale Divide Road meet next to the Upper Blue Lake Campground.

From the Upper Blue Lake Campground you can follow the paved Blue Lakes Road South past both Blue Lakes to follow the road out as it as it climbs up and out of the basin holding the lakes to where the PCT crosses. Or you can hike North up the Forestdale Road to the PCT at Forestdale Divide from the Upper Blue Lake Campground.

The Pacific Crest Trail crosses the paved Blue Lakes Road a mile up the paved road from Lower Blue Lake. From here you can turn Right to continue your hike South on the PCT to Ebbetts Pass. At any of these points you can turn North back towards Carson Pass. Where you turn back to your original trailhead determines the length of your loop trip.

Years ago I hiked this section of trail out of the Tahoe Basin, over Round Top to Summit City Creek. Then I hiked upstream past Devil's Corral and past the Blue Lakes on my way to Ebbetts Pass. I was planning to hike down Summit City Creek, but I had not checked out the upper Summit City Creek trail to Blue Lakes, so I hiked over to Ebbetts Pass via Summit City and Blue Lakes.

During the high Summer Season you may see some day hikers coming down trail from the full PGE car campgrounds at Blue Lakes. At Blue Lakes you will encounter the PGE car camping crowd.

Here's a fun though: Either way you hike from this junction takes you South. The upstream trail East up Summit City Creek past Blue Lakes follows Blue Creek South to Highway 4, if you don't cut over to hike the PCT route to Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4. Turning Right, downstream, is the Southbound TYT towards Lake Alpine on Highway 4.

The Carson Pass Management Area Map shows the Summit City Creek trail to Forestdale Divide and Blue Lakes.

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This section of the trail guide treats the Tahoe to Yosemite Route, so we will turn Right at the Summit City Creek Trailhead, and head South down Summit City Creek. This is a hard route. Notice I say "route," rather than "trail."

Warning: Your are now entering the 9.52 mile section of un-maintained trail on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail between this junction and Camp Irene.

This section has large stretches with no trail, no blazes, no ducks, nor any indication of a route or trail through the terrain.

If you wander too far off of the actual route that gets you through this terrain with minimum difficulty your trip through this section may be much harder, and take much longer, than you expected or planned for.

Route Description

Warning: Backpacking is Dangerous

Continue South down the Trail Guide to explore the unmaintained route to Camp Irene.

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Blue Lakes and Car Camping

Blue Lakes Car Camping: Information from the El Dorado NF website. Scroll down to Amador Ranger District. It's expensive! Remember, car camping in National Forests is FREE, so why the heck are you paying?

Add a shovel, come-along, some rope, and plenty of water to your car camping gear and take that car down some of these mountain roads.

Check out this Google Road Map of the Carson Pass Area which marks the locations of both the unpaved Forestdale Road to Blue Lakes, as well as the paved Blue Lakes Road. This map also describes your car camping options West of Carson Pass near Woods Lake.

The Blue Lakes Road, which is paved, is located 6.3 miles East of Carson Pass on Highway 88.

At the Blue Lakes you can car camp at the PGE Car Campground, or you can explore some of the surrounding dirt roads in National Forest Lands. One of these dirt roads will bring you to Tamarack Lake, and the series of lakes running South from Tamarack Lake.

At Tamarack Lake you can set up your backcountry car campsite. Just make sure you clean up your site, and it would be real nice if you hauled out any crap that your fellow car campers always leave behind.

Though permits are not required for car camping, the National Forests generally require fire permits, even for self-contained stoves.

Check out the Car Camping Notes, and Car Camping near Carson Pass

Also see the Car Camping in the Sierra Nevada section of the Forum.

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Hiker Experiences and Comments

Check out this recent note by Jim about this route on the Summit City Creek Trail Forum. Add your update about the route, and tell us how it went for you here.

Your comments-questions-experiences?

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At the base of the great traverse down from Fourth of July Lake the trail tees out at the Summit City Trail Junction where we find the trail running up and down Summit City Creek.

Historical Note: This junction is the actual location of Lower Summit City, a Silver Rush boom town of the early 1860s, according to Historical Summit City. An 1860'S Mining Center in Alpine County California, by Mr. Roy Acker. Heading 2.43 miles South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail will bring you to the location currently signed as Lower Summit City. This sign is incorrect according to Mr. Acker.

You are likely standing at Lower Summit City at this trail junction.

According to Mr. Acker the location of the Summit City site is 2 miles East, or upstream, from this trail junction. The location currently marked as Lower Summit City is just a nice remote spot in a remote High Sierra canyon.

Check out the Historical Summit City Forum Page

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Basic Details about the Unmaintained Section between Summit City Creek and Horse Canyon

(As of July 2009)

The trail deteriorates moderately immediately South of the Summit City Creek trail Junction with the trail down from Fourth of July Lake.

Five years ago this section of trail was maintained down to Telephone Gulch.

Not so as of July '09. The trail is unmaintained, and it has deteriorated sufficiently to make finding the route moderately rough South of this trail junction.

South of this junction there are occasional followable remnants of trail bed you can piece together, though very faint in segments.

Moderately overgrown and obscured segments of the trail bed are complimented by no shortage of downed trees, many of which require some climbing.

This is why you do sit-ups. Climbing over downed trees with a heavy pack tests abdominal muscles. Don't lean backwards.

I was able to stitch together identifiable sections of the trail bed from the Summit City Creek trail junction to bring me to Horse Canyon with little difficulty during July of 2009.

Conditions are not the same at this later date. More trees have fallen. More overgrowth has grown up, covered, and grown through the trail bed.

Or the El Dorado National Forest has cleared the trail. (I doubt it) If I was your, I'd hope for the best, and prepare for the worse.

The Amador Ranger District of the El Dorado National Forest manages this area. Contact them for current trail maintenance details.

Comments, Experiences, or Questions?

Hiking South along Summit City Creek

As I was finding my way down the faint trail remnants South of the Summit City Creek trail junction, I ran into a dad with his early teen daughter and her friend, three in all, making their way up to the Summit City trail junction. I am happy to meet people backpacking this remote territory.

I asked how the trail was, and the girls' eyes all widened, and they all scoffed, almost simultaneously saying indignitly, "What trail?" It was cute.

Dad said it was fine, and that they had gone down to Telephone Gulch. The girls said they didn't know where the hell dad had brought them, there was no trail, and that dad was certainly crazy, and they suspected I was too, judging by my location and direction.

Dad was pretty stand-offish, so I did not take their picture or ask more questions. I could have scared the shit out of dad as he was making his way through the dense forest, as he was concentrating on finding his way, and did not see me. I gently coughed,  so he would understand I was there. And then he was rude ...I guess that some people are like that.

I could have scared the shit out of him... and after he was jerkish I kind of regretted my kindness.

He knew enough to bring his daughter and friend out to a place that considerably stretched the kid's comfort zone. But he didn't know enough to be a nice guy to a fellow back country traveler. Or to observe the surrounding terrain while tracing out route.

Oh Well. A third of a loaf is better than none.

Remember my social motto:

Be Nice!

And my physical motto:

Observe-Engage!

comments or questions?

"Boy Scout Camp," Then and Now

Summit City Creek

About a mile South of the Summit City trail junction you will come to a rather large campsite on your left hand side. The picture below at left below shows the camp in the late 1990's, when it's organization and clean appearance led be to believe it was established and maintained by a Boy Scout Troop. Not even the best horse-packing operations set up a primitive camp like that! Boy Scouts do.

Alas, a big snag fell right across the center of the camp a few years ago. The snag fell right across the elevated fire ring, making the fireside benches unusable, effectively splitting this big camp into two.

There are still plenty of nice flat spots around this campsite where you can sleep, and Summit City Creek is beautiful where it passes by, though the nice benches and fire ring are unusable.

Unless you want a damn big fire...

comments or questions?

Horse Canyon Trail Junction

Elevation: 6880 feet.

The Horse Canyon trail junction marks where a trail climbs Northwest through Horse Canyon, the lowest and largest gap in the granite walls of Summit City Canyon, to Highway 50.

Check out an image of Horse Canyon as part of the Sierra Crestline.

The trailhead into Horse Canyon is on Highway 50 just North of the Oyster Creek trailhead on the North side of Silver Lake. Silver Lake sits about 10.3 miles West of Carson Pass on Highway 88.

The Bail-Out, or Easy In, through Horse Canyon

Mileage: 7.44 miles Northwest from the Horse Canyon trail junction to the trailhead on Highway 50 North of the Oyster Creek car campground.

Heading South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Mileage: Horse Canyon is .8 of a mile North of Telephone Gulch.

Mileage: Horse Canyon is 7.09 of a mile North of Camp Irene. (where maintained trails begin.)

Heading North on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Mileage: Horse Canyon is 2.43 miles South of the Summit City Trail Junction below Fourth of July Lake.

Mileage: Horse Canyon is 9.05 miles South of Carson Pass via Winnemucca Lake junction to the Pacific Crest Trail to Carson Pass.

Summit City Creek Trail Forum

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Telephone Gulch is strange. There is no trail junction here, only the remnants of a trail sign. The two pieces were widely separated before I reunited them.

It looks old here, like a place that was used by people long enough ago that their only remaining traces are an uneasy feeling.

The uneasiness may be a product of the end of the trail traces that had so far led us to Telephone Gulch from the Summit City Creek trail junction below Fourth of July Lake.

Traces of "trail" South of Telephone Gulch were hard to find in July 2009.

Elevation: 6720 feet.

Mileage

.8 of a mile South of Horse Canyon.

3.23 miles South of the Summit City Junction.

6.26 miles North of Camp Irene

Summit City Creek Trail Forum

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Telephone Gulch

Shortly past Telephone Gulch we cross a creek feeding Summit City Creek. No problem in July, but the two drainages around Telephone Gulch that feed Summit City Creek will present real problems to cross when the Spring Thaw is pushing high levels of runoff through them.

Be Careful!

After crossing the tributaries we come to a strange piece of water-carved granite alongside Summit City Creek.

comments or questions?

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Telephone Gulch Campsite

Elevation: 6720 feet.

Mileage

.8 of a mile South of Horse Canyon.

3.23 miles South of the Summit City Junction

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Summit City Creek to Telephone Gulch

The Unmaintained Section

As of July 2009. Post your reports and experiences along this route.

On this segment of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail between the Summit City Creek trail junction to Telephone Gulch there is occasionally a followable faint trail bed, though the trail was very faint or non existent in some sections. This section of trail from Summit City Creek junction to Telephone Gulch was maintained just a few years ago, but this is no longer the case.

There are many downed trees that require some climbing to follow the identifiable sections of the trail bed. If you lose the route along the faded trail bed, you will have a rough hike down to Horse Canyon.

Basic Details of the Unmaintained Section

To cross this unmaintained section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail between Summit City Creek to Camp Irene, you should be prepared to find your way without trail or trail signs through 9.52 +/- miles of forest, rock, and manzanita. That is the worst-case scenario. Remains of the trail can ease your passage though this section, if they are still there, and you can find and stay on the old trail route.

If you lose the old trail route the whole way through this section, which is theoretically possible, you will face a tremendously difficult 9.52 mile hike.

If you are reasonably skilled at wilderness observation, you will note that the traces of an old trail bed can be discerned at various points throughout this section, while ducks mark some of the route across open granite. Other parts of this unmaintained section have no reliable trail markers at all.

Independent of the observable trail markers, the majority of the trail through here is obscured to one degree or another. This means that you really have to keep your eyes open and watch the near terrain, where you put your feet, while simultaneously scanning the upcoming features for the best route through, all while trying to piece together what bits of the old trail you can find.

This route requires careful walking, careful observation of your hiking surface, careful observation of your potential upcoming route options, while carefully observing for old faded blazes and the remaining bits of the old trail bed all at once. In the meantime, you will be forced to climb over downed trees, push through dense underbrush, and cross unexpected runoff gorges blocking the route.

Rest assured that the old trail marked a route through this section that still exists, even though the trail itself has faded away in places. If you lose the trail through here, think! The first thing I do is carefully observe my forward options. If none prove fruitful, I backtrack to my last know position. This is generally a piece of old trail, but may not be. From my last known position I observe and explore the other forward options that I declined my last time venturing forward from this point.

I jokingly call this "exploring unknown territory." That sounds a lot better than being lost. But this is not being lost, as I have a "known position" that I can trace back to the same way I entered. That would be a real drag, but objective hazards such as impassable fords or unavoidable avalanche zones sometimes require a healthy retreat and rerouting.

I once pointed myself West from the Sierra Crest at Grizzly Peak Lake in the Emigrant Wilderness, and worked my way West down the Sierra flank by a self-selected route to Pinecrest Lake, and Highway 108 at the Pinecrest Ranger station. As I worked my way down the ridges descending off the Sierra Crest, I quickly found that many of the options down mountain I explored led into complex dead-end gorges. I quickly decided that I had to have a fool-proof way to work my way back up to a solid known position. So I decided to duck my explorations. If the route down failed, I kicked the ducks down as I climbed back up to my last known position. If that route successfully brought be down a section of the mountain, I left the ducks behind.

I have never needed to use this method while hiking the unmaintained trail along Summit City Creek.

In the long run, I have found that if I observe and follow what is the best route through the terrain along Summit City Creek, it is likely that I will refind pieces of the old trail, then lose them yet again, only to stumble upon it yet again. Another reassuring fact: The distance from the shore of Summit City Creek to the rock of the canyon wall is pretty short. The trail, or the best route through any particular section along Summit City Creek, do not have much space to hide in.

Expert cross-country hikers skilled at route finding should find this a fun hike. Rookies may want to develop some experience and skills before attempting this section, while experienced hikers may want to get in shape before running this route.

The conditions you may encounter through here demand that you have the physical fitness, backpacking experience, and navigational skill to find your way through difficult terrain without trails.

If you don't have these skills you will suffer and be endangered in proportion to your lack of skills and fitness.

Psychological Difference: Much more Isolated

The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route is much more remote and less traveled than the Pacific Crest Trail route. It is not uncommon to pass through the whole section between Summit City Creek to Lake Alpine without meeting another backpacker.

The lack of Summertime traffic through this section marks it as somewhat unique. I've only run into three hiking parties over the years I've hiked this section. The steepness of the canyon walls, the lack of human traffic, and the signs of disuse expressed by the deteriorating trails and unused camps impart a deep feeling of isolation. This is a good feeling, unless you get into trouble.

Solo Backpackers should note that the lack of backpacker traffic through here, and the possibility of hikers taking different routes through the same sections, combine together to make extra caution prudent.

The lack of trail, the remoteness of the terrain, and the history of this location combine to give you a small psychological window into the isolated experiences of early Western hikers in the Sierras.

Unmaintained Trail Section on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

The reason for the low backpacker traffic on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route between the Carson Pass and Lake Alpine is the roughness of the terrain and difficult navigation demanded by the 9.52 miles of unmaintained trail between the Summit City Creek trail junction below Fourth of July Lake, to the North Fork of the Mokelumne River at Camp Irene.

Basic Conditions on Unmaintained Sections

On an unmaintained section of trail you should expect, and be able to navigate through, terrain where all signs of trail, trail bed, blazes, and ducks will be absent for extended lengths. If you cannot follow the old trail route through this section you may not see any route indications whatsoever.

You should expect fallen trees, heavy overgrowths of brush, runoff gorges, and boulders to block your way. A wide variety of obstacles can be depended on to block your route, and to obscure all traces of the trail you are following.

This type of terrain demands physical conditioning and skills necessary to prevent injury while carrying a heavy pack across difficult and unstable terrain. Crossing this type of terrain with a backpack is very hard work. This terrain also demands the ability to find the best route through a particular section of terrain while maintaining your proper direction without trail, trail markers, blazes, or ducks while working yourself hard.

Projected or predicted times to make mileage on maintained trails are significantly altered by encountering unmaintained trail sections. It can easily take twice as long to cross a mile of unmaintained trail than a mile of maintained trail.

Warning

Backpacking is Dangerous

Backpacking is dangerous, and can generate significant amounts of physical and psychological stress. Injury and death are regular outcomes for backpackers.

Every year backpackers get lost, injured, struck by lightening, eaten by bears, drown while crossing rivers, shot by hunters, or frozen in unexpected blizzards. These are the things that can happen to well-prepared, smart backpackers. I have not even begun to mention the things that unprepared stupid backpackers do to themselves through bad decision making.

Nothing in this trail guide will protect you against yourself or the occasional Fury of Nature.

Backpacking unmaintained trails multiplies all of these dangers, puts you further from help and/or rescue, and generally multiplies all of the physical and psychological stresses and dangers of normal backpacking on maintained trails across steep high altitude mountains.

I don't mean to scare you, but backpacking, for all of its joys, can put you into some very dangerous situations.

And it is during these hard engagements with nature that I have my best and worse experiences. Though most of us attempt to mitigate these dangers, there is always a reasonable chance that you will get lost, get injured, or get dead.

Thus I offer these cautions, and suggest precautions.

The best way to minimize the ever-present chances of injury and death is to build your backpacking and backcountry skills and fitness in conjunction with increasing the difficulty of your backpacking trips in a logical and safe progression. This is the best way you can reduce the chances of putting yourself in situations you are not prepared for.

Don't attempt the unmaintained section of the Tahoe to Yosemite trail unless you are an accomplished, experienced backpacker, in good physical shape, capable of reading maps, and properly equipped with enough food to accommodate a longer crossing of this section than you anticipated. Shit happens.

Your pace, carrying capacity, state of physical conditioning, and the particular route you choose may extend or shorten the duration of your trip through this section of the trail, and any of the trails described on this web site. Plan accordingly. Discretion is often the better part of valor.

30 min Tahoe to Yosemite Topo Hiking Map: Echo Summit to Lake Alpine

7.5 Topo Hiking Map: South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Note: Click the Red Dots on the Maps!

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Miles and Elevations

South: Telephone Gulch to Camp Site South of Upper Ford

Backpacker Forums

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Section: Backpacking Carson Gap to Lake Alpine on the TYT

Location: Summit City Creek