Tree, Poison Flat, Carson Iceberg Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Your Backpacking Guide to the High Sierras Yellow Flower
Backpacking Miles and Elevations between Lake Alpine and Saint Marys Pass
                Lake Alpine from the top of Mount Reba

 

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Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass

Hiking across
The Carson Iceberg Wilderness

Backpacking Miles and Elevations
for
Hikers on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

 

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MILES
NORTH

TYT

Carson
Gap
to
Lake
Alpine

MILES
SOUTH

TYT

Kennedy
Meadows
to
Tuolumne
Meadows

MILES
INDEX

TYT-PCT

Highway 4
to
Highway 108

REGIONAL
MAPS

TYT
 Lake Alpine Region

PCT-TYT
Carson Iceberg
Wilderness

TRAIL
GUIDE
INDEX

TYT-PCT

Highway 4
to
Highway
108

MAPS
INDEX

Lake
Alpine
to
Saint
Marys
Pass

ALL
MAPS

INDEX

TRAIL
GUIDE

INDEX

PERMITS
Stanislaus

SIERRA
WEATHER

EBBETTS
WEATHER

SONORA
WEATHER

Miles & Elevations

The Tahoe-Yosemite Trail

Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass
34.57 miles

Backpacking Miles
Western Carson Iceberg Wilderness
in the
Stanislaus National Forest

The trail South diverges.

Carson Iceberg Wilderness
Forest Service mileage map
Carson Iceberg Wilderness
Backpacking Map

Lake Alpine Area Backpacking Topo Map

Location  Elevation Mileage
Lake Alpine 7330 0    
East Side of Lake Alpine @ camp behind the backpackers camp. +70 .28    
Silver Valley & Highland Creek
Trailhead
7400 .28    
-200 .29    
Duck Lake loop 7200 .57    
+000 .79    
Duck Lake West Junction 7200 1.36    
+000 .58    
Duck Lake East Junction 7200 1.94    
Respective distances to the junctions above are measured from the Backpacker's Camp around the West Shore of Duck Lake.
-160 1.36    
North Fork Stanislaus River 7040 3.3    
+340 1.37    
Rock Lake Junction 7380 4.67    
-340 1.46    
Summit Junction 7040  6.13    
-440 4.03    
Bull Run Junction 1 
(Site Removed)
6600 10.16    
+000 .15    
Bull Run 2nd Junction 6600 10.31    
+30 .21    
Sword and Lost Lakes Junction 6630 10.52    
+250 1.06    
Jenkins Canyon
Tahoe Yosemite Trail
junction in Highland Creek

(TYT route South.)
6880 11.58    
Total elevation Gain
Lake Alpine to Jenkins Canyon Junction
+ feet
over
11.58 miles

 

The mileages and elevations below describe the route if you hiked up the Highland Creek trail, past the Highland Lakes via Gardner Meadow to connect with the Pacific Crest Trail  at Wolf Creek Pass.

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Jenkins Canyon-Tahoe Yosemite Trail junction in Highland Creek (To the PCT route via Highland Lakes.)

Location  Elevation Mileage
Jenkins Canyon
Tahoe Yosemite Trail junction in Highland Creek

(To the PCT route via Highland Lakes.)
6880 11.58    
  +240 1.08    
Cabin, Hiram Meadow  7120 12.66    
+000 .42    
Weiser Creek 7120 13.08    
+1493 4.96    
Highland Lakes Trailhead 8613 18.04    
+27 .31    
Highland Lakes
Car Campground
8640 18.35    
+000 .84    
Gardiner Meadow Trailhead 8640 19.19    
-240 .27    
Bear Tree Meadow Junction 8400 19.46    
+80 .82    
Arnot Creek Junction 8480 20.28    
-80 1.03    
Wolf Creek Pass
Junction with the Pacific Crest Trail
8400 21.31    
Total elevation Gain
Jenkins Canyon to PCT at Wolf Creek Pass
+ feet
over
9.73 miles

The route detailed above now continues South on the Pacific Crest Trail towards Sonora Pass. Or North towards Ebbetts Pass and Lake Tahoe. That's up to you... The proper map to view the Pacific Crest Trail route is the Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass map.

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The route below describes the mileages if you continue South onthe Tahoe to Yosemite Trail from the Jenkins Canyon trail junction in Highland Creek Junction to Saint Marys Pass. The mileage figures are measured from the East Side of Lake Alpine.

Location  Elevation Mileage
Jenkins Canyon
Tahoe Yosemite Trail junction in Highland Creek
6880 11.58    
+1262 2.27    
High point
between Jenkins Canyon & Woods Gulch
8142 13.85    
-1742 3.65    
Arnot Creek Junction 6400 17.5    
-240 1.65    
Arnot Creek Trailhead 6160 19.15    
+000 .56    
Clarks Fork Paved Road
Junction
6160 19.71    
+000 1.1    
Sand Flat
Car Campground
6160 20.81    
+240 2.51    
End of Clarks Fork Road 6400 23.32    
+560 2.56    
Boulder Creek Junction  6960 25.88    
+560 1.31    
Eureka Valley Junction 7520 27.19    
+850 2.81    
First Ford 8370 30.00    
+430 .66    
End ALL trail, Clrk Frk Mdw,
Ford & Campiste
8800 30.66    
+240 .42    
Third Ford 9040 31.08    
+000 .17    
Creek Exiting Headwaters 9040 31.25    
+1360 .97    
Top of Creek 10,400 33.43    
+000 1.21    
Jnct w/ St Marys Pass trail 10,400 33.43    
-960 1.14    
Saint Marys Pass TH Hwy 108 9440 34.57    
Total elevation Gain
Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass
+ feet
over
34.57 miles

Miles North
Carson Gap to Lake Alpine
  Miles South
Kennedy Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows

Stanislaus National Forest
Trailhead Miles Chart
Carson Iceberg Wilderness PDF

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Miles North: Carson Gap to Lake Alpine                                                  Miles South: Kennedy Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows

Note
The Ups and Downs of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness,
and every other
High Sierra Trail

This trail guide, like the High Sierras, divides itself into ups and downs. Our 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 us from the next mountain. This means that the mileages and elevations between the peaks and the valleys is going to be important in determining how many miles we can reasonably expect to cover any day. This will be instrumental in planning where we are going to camp every night, and ultimately this information will determine how many days it will take you to cover a given distance. This in turn establishes our proper food load.

The terrain between Lake Alpine and Saint Marys Pass has three climbs, the first being the long but fairly gentle climb to overlook Spicer Meadow Reservior, the second climbs out of Highland Creek around the Northeastern End of the Dardanelles, and finally our big climb into unmaintained trail conditions approaching Clarks Meadow, and the route-finding beyond Clarks Meadow which will bring us over Saint Marys Pass.

This section of trail is ended by a difficult climb through unmaintained trail conditions which go "trail-less" for the last few miles. 

Remember this important rule: Every descent route holds many mini-ascents, and every ascent has many mini-descents within its length. Your mileage will very rarely just go up, or just go down. You are going endlessly up and down.

 

Backpacker Forums

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The Backpacker's Forum.

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If you have experiences, comments, questions, trip reports, trail conditions updates or pictures and videos of the Tahoe to Yosemite/Pacific Crest Trail from Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass, most especially how the unmaintained and untrailed segment of trail up to and across Saint Marys Pass was looking, and how it felt to you.

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Section
LAKE ALPINE TO SAINT MARYS PASS

North: Carson Gap to Lake Alpine                                                     South: Kennedy Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows

Trailhead

Contact
Alex Wierbinski

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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

© Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Crown Jewel of the Pacific Crest Trail