Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass

Miles & Elevations

The Tahoe-Yosemite Trail

Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass: 34.64 miles

Backpacking Miles: The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness in the Stanislaus National Forest

The trail South diverge.

Carson Iceberg Forest Service mileage map

Lake Alpine Area Backpacking Topo Map

Location                     Elevation        Mileage

Start: Lake Alpine                     7330            0

East Side of Lake Alpine @ my secret camp behind the backpackers camp.

                                      +1xx                    .xx

Silver Valley & Highland Creek TH

                                    7400            .28

                                    +1xx                      .xx

Duck Lake loop                      7200            .57

Duck Lake West Junction     7200            1.38

                                      +1xx                      .xx

Duck Lake East Junction      7200            1.96

                                      +1xx                      .xx

North Fork Stanislaus River xxxx            X.XX

Rock Lake Junction              7380            4.74

Summit Junction                    7040            5.93

Bull Run Junction 1               6600            9.96

Bull Run 2nd Junction           6600            10.11

                                      +1xx                      .xx

Sword and Lost Lakes Junction    XXXX            XXXXX

                                      +1xx                      .xx

Jenkins Canyon-Tahoe Yosemite Trail junction in Highland Creek (TYT route South.)

                                                6880            11.38

                                        +1x                      .xx

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.)

                                                6880            11.38

Cabin, Hiram Meadow          7120            12.46

Weiser Creek                         7120            12.88

Highland Lakes Trailhead     8613            17.84

Campground                           8640            18.15

Gardiner Meadow Trailhead  8640            18.99

Bear Tree Meadow Junction 8400            19.26

Arnot Creek Junction             8480            20.08

Wolf Creek Pass Junction with the Pacific Crest Trail

                                                 8400            21.11

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 on the 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.

Jenkins Canyon-Tahoe Yosemite Trail junction in Highland Creek:

                                              6880            11.38

                                        +1xx                      .xx

High point betwn Jenkins Canyon & Woods Gulch:

                                              8142            13.65

Arnot Creek Junction            6400            17.21

Arnot Creek Trailhead           6160            18.86

Clarks Fork Road Junction     6160            19.42

Sand Flat Campground        6160            20.52

End of Clarks Fork Road      6400            23.03

Boulder Creek Junction        6960            25.59

2nd Junction                           7520            26.96

End mrked trail, Clrk Frk Mdw   8800           30.55

Jnct w/ St Marys Pass trail      10,400          33.33

Saint Marys Pass TH Hwy 108      9440           34.64

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. 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 mountain. This means that the mileages and elevations between the peaks and the valleys 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 this information will determine how many days it will take you to cover a given distance. This in turn establishes your proper food load.

The terrain between Lake Alpine and Saint Marys Pass is generally upward, climbing higher in elevation as it cuts up the Western flank of the Sierras to where the Saint Marys trailhead sits on Highway 108, about a mile to the West of Sonora Pass. 

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.

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What do you think about these figures? Add your experiences, comments, or question about these figures.

Section: LAKE ALPINE TO SAINT MARYS PASS