Let's Talk: Lake Alpine Information for Long and Short Distance Backpackers

The Long and Short of it...

This site is designed to facilitate long-distance backpacking between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney. The topo map above covers a critical part of the Tahoe to Yosemite route through the Northern Sierra for long and short distance hikers.

Lake Alpine is critical for Tahoe to Yosemite hikers as a rest and resupply spot. Located 68 miles South of our starting point at Meeks Bay Trailhead I know that I am ready to pick up the food I sent to myself at the Lake Alpine Lodge , and rest up for the run across our next Wilderness. South of Lake Alpine we enter the Carson Iceberg Wilderness for the hike down to Kennedy Meadows on Highway 108, the next place we sent ourselves a resupply bucket.

Each section of the trail South gets higher, longer and harder. The hike from Lake Alpine South does not fall short, and if you follow my advice you will extend this section of your long trail through the Carson Iceberg even more. My Tahoe to Yosemite Trail hikes alter the original route.

I add about 15 miles and 3 or 4 thousand feet of elevation by turning NE off of the TYT to join up to the PCT at Wolf Creek Pass through Highland Creek. From Wolf Creek Pass the Southbound Pacific Crest Trail tracks down to the East Carson River, a place that I really have enjoyed over the years. I consider this the best route North or South through the Carson Iceberg Wilderness if you are both hiking the long trails and want to see the best of both trails.

As Sonora Pass and Saint Marys Pass are located less than a mile from each other where they intersect with Highway 108 the end result of your hike is much the same, though my route getting there will introduce you to much more territory along the way.

The Short of it...

For short and medium distance backpackers Lake Alpine is your key trail head for trips North through the Mokelumne Wilderness to Carson Pass. Southbound medium distance backpackers have a wide selection of trip routes to choose from, as mentioned above, in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness when you pass South through the Silver Trailhead.

South from Lake Alpine

A web of trails follows the web of drainages that cut through the Sierra flowing West from the Sierra Crestline, and each will lead us East up to the Pacific Crest Trail from the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail. The Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails are linked by no less than four trails from Highland Creek at the North side of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness down to the Boulder Creek trail up to the the Pacific crest Trail from the Tahoe to Yosemite route on the far South end of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

Loops of 30 to 80 miles can be crafted by linking sections of the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trail within the Carson Iceberg Wilderness. There are four trails linking the TYT and PCT between Highway 4 and the Sonora Pass on Highway 108. The maps and trail guide South of Lake Alpine will describe two of them, the Highland and Boulder Creek trails.

North from Lake Alpine

Heading North from Lake Alpine offers the long hiker one great route. The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route North to Carson Pass is special in a number of ways. Unlike the Tahoe to Yosemite route South of Lake Alpine, hiking North offers many fewer hiking options and loops. But the trail North has other advantages.

First, the whole section of trail between Lake Alpine and Carson Pass is geographically isolated by the remote locations of the trail heads on both ends of this section. Highway 4 is far off the beaten track, and 88 is in an isolated location, although the massive growth of both Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley's population during the last 40 years has made Carson Pass a busy place during both Summer and Winter. But few hikers venture South of Fourth of July Lake down the Tahoe to Yosemite to Lake Alpine

This is likely because the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail between Lake Alpine and Carson Pass offers an excellent 9 mile section of unmaintained trail North of Camp Irene to the Summit City Creek trail junction below Fourth of July Lake. Although this is a real fun section of the route, being a challenging section for backpackers with good route finding sense, good backcountry skills, and good fitness, the lack of maintained trail through here keeps the backpacker traffic low.

About 20 years ago I stopped carrying maps through the Summit City section of the trail, and along many sections of the trails I hike. I had hiked all of these trails many times, and came to feel that exploring without maps would better reinforce and build on my personal knowlede and understanding of the terrain, as well as draw out and sharpen my skills. I did study the maps before every trip, figure my route, speed, days and food, but I would leave the maps behind.

I've hiked seven or eight times through Summit City Creek without maps. Interestingly enough, even though I became personally familiar with the terrain, the seasonal changes cut by the forces of the Winter Snows, the Spring runoff and the resulting wild growth, each year I would find new things and new obstacles. One year it was great swaths of avalanche-smashed trees (really-one Winter an avalanche brought down a bunch of dead lodgepoles which were an exciting challenge to climb over... after I got over them!), and another year it was "The Green Monster." This section hast always brought new circumstances than neither my memory, a map, nor your GPS can account for.

These explorations helped me develop my observation and analytical skills, and more importantly, showed me unique ways the human mind percieves, models, and stores information about large physical spaces filled with infinite detail. These were also the skills I was developing as my Wintertime explorations in the Sierra Nevada expanded. Heavy Pack + No Maps = easier transitions to Winter Conditions. It's simple math, now and then.

Once I knew the terrain during Summertime the shock of its transformation into Winter conditions was much less unsettling. I only started carrying full maps again when I decided to build this guide. I needed more map information, not less, to build this guide. To properly build a trail guide I needed to put official designations and names on the mountains who's folds and cliffs I had developed a personal relationship with.

Second, the physical isolation and difficulty of the TYT between Lake Alpine and Carson Pass make it a very quiet trail. I have only seen a handfull of people on its Northern and Southern approaches, and have never encountered hikers on the unmaintained section of the trail.

Third, the granite gorge along Summit City is beautiful, as are the variety of terrains you will encounter before and after hiking Summit City Creek. Add physical and social isolation to the beauty of the route, and you have the makings of a unique section along a long backpacking trip down the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, or an excellent short trip between Lake Alpine and Carson Pass. If you drive up to Lake Alpine you can easily hitch back via 89 through Markleyville to Highway 4, and West over the Sierra Crest at Ebbetts Pass back to your ride at Lake Alpine. See, I've got this all figured out for you...

Lake Alpine is Good for You

You can't lose in either direction from Lake Alpine. Thus Lake Alpine is a critical part of the Tahoe to Whitney trail guide. On either side, North through Bee Gulch or South through the Silver Trailhead, you've got a lot of beautiful and challenging terrain at your feet that is suitable if you are treading the long trails or want to craft a custom loop or knock off a fine section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

Back to the Topo Map on this page

Main Features of this topo map: Crossing over the top of Mount Reba brings us to the end of the Mokelumne Wilderness.

Following the old jeep trail South leads us through massive fields of Mule Ears, and soon rewards us with a couple of glimpses of crystal blue Lake Alpine sitting sparkling through the trees nestled in at the Southeastern Base of Mount Reba.

The Tahoe to Yosemite trail continues straight Southwest when the jeep road bends South to head down mountain. The junction is well marked. The Southbound backpacker veers left off the jeep trail to follow Bee Gulch down towards the East side of Lake Alpine. Cutting off the jeep trail into Bee Gulch your route enters the Northern side of the Lake Alpine topo hiking map above.

Following Bee Gulch brings us through a delightful mountain-side meadow decorated with the same fine statuesque volcanic formations that greeted us as we climbed up the other side of Mount Reba, hiking South out of the great granite vault encasing the Summit City and Mokelumne River drainages.

Volcanic terrain flowed over, around, and right up to the great granite valleys. This created the unique interface zones the we are enjoying today. I digress...

Once over the top of Mount Reba we will be pointing ourselves Southeast into a different type of terrain. Lake Alpine and the terrain to the South beyond is granitic, but not for long. Looking South from the top of Reba you can see the massive volcanic formations of the Dardanelles, which dominate the horizon in the distant South past Lake Alpine. Nice.

Lake Alpine, marking our first resupply point since departing Lake Tahoe, is set in beautiful granitic terrain. Beside granite and blue water, Lake Alpine and Bear Valley offer a wide selection of hot food, a bar, and a couple of little grocery stores.

About forty miles West down the mountain on Highway 4 is the little town of Arnold, where full services of every type are avaiable.

Maps, Miles, and National Forest Information

Miles and Elevations: Carson Gap to Lake Alpine

back to Tahoe to Alpine Trail Guide Index

Backpacking permitting authority

National Forest: Stanislaus National Forest

North into the Molkelumne

The Stanislaus National Forest Administers a slice of the Southeastern section of the Mokelumne Wilderness.

Backpackers entering the Molkelumne Wilderness from the South, heading North from any of the trail heads around Lake Alpine, will require a permit from the Calavaras Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest.

The Massive extent of the Stanislaus National Forest

Southbound backpackers on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail entered the Stanislaus National Forest when they crossed the Noth Fork of the Mokelumne River.

Shortly thereafter the Southbound backpacker exited the Mokelumne Wilderness when they crested Mount Reba, above Highway 4 and Lake Alpine.

Lake Alpine and Highway 4 are both within the Stanislaus National Forest, and act as the rough dividing points between the Mokelumne Wilderness to the North, and the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness to the South.

We enter the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness when we continue South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail past Lake Alpine.

The Stanislaus National Forest extends South beyond the limit of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness at Highway 108, and continues South to administer the Emigrant Wilderness all the way up to the Yosemite boundary at Bond Pass.

This means that we will be hiking in the Stanislaus National Forest from our Southbound ford of the North Fork of the Mokelumne River at Camp Irene to Bond Pass at the South end of the Emigrant Wilderness, where we enter Yosemite National Park.

The Stanislaus National Forest administers about 120 miles of our travel through the Western flank of the Northern Sierras.

The Stanislaus NF is massive!

Two maps: Tamarack and Spicer Meadow Reservoir, Calif, 1979 and 1979, 7.5 minute USGS topographic maps

Compass Offset: Magnetic North is 16 and 1/2 minutes East of True North

scale: 1:24 000

Contours: 40 feet

South into the Carson-Iceberg

Backpackers continuing South on the Tahoe Yosemite Trail hike into the Stanislaus National Forest administered area of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness at the Silver Valley Trailhead.

You actually entered the Stanislaus National Forest's section of the Mokelumne Wilderness when you crossed the North Fork of the Mokelumne at Camp Irene...

Permits for backpacking trips heading South into the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness or North into the Mokelumne Wilderness from Lake Alpine both require a wilderness permit from the Calaveras Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest.

Just as an interesting fact: the Sierra Crest itself divides both the Mokelumne and Carson-Iceberg Wilderness between National Forests. The Eastern side of both is administered by the Toyiabe National Forest.

The Western Mokelumne is administered by the El Dorado and Stanislaus National forests. The Western slope of the Carson-Iceberg is in the Stanislaus National Forest.

Virtually the whole Eastern Slope of the Sierras is within the Toyiabe National Forest.

Wilderness Areas in the Stanislaus National Forest

Mokelumne Wilderness

Carson-Iceberg Wilderness

Emigrant Wilderness

Physical location: Lake Alpine on Highway 4

Mount Reba : 8729 feet

Lake Alpine: 7320 feet

elevation change: 1409 feet

Trail Guide, Section: Carson Gap to Lake Alpine

Trail Guide, Segment: Mount Reba to Lake Alpine.

Forum: Questions, Comments, and Experiences.

Ebbetts Pass, Lake Alpine, and Bear Valley Road Map

Map Credit

The United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior

The USGS ROCKS!

USGS MAP LOCATOR

Move the Map to the Sierras. Select size of Maps you wish to locate. Click "Mark Point" on map to see the USGS map grid of the selected map scale.

USGS Topographic Map Information