Hiking the Pacific Crest and the Tahoe to Yosemite Trails through The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness

Introduction

This trail guide approaches the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness from the perspective of a long-distance North to South hiker on the main PCT & TYT routes.

The configuration of the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails through the Carson Iceberg Wilderness between Highways 4 and 108 is set up in such a way to offer many route options for those hiking the long trails though it.

Therefore the Carson Iceberg also contains a vast range of fine short, medium, and long distance backpacking trips and loops. There is something to suit everyone's style, skill, tastes, and fitness in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness from short and easy to long and hard.

I'm hopeful that the maps below and their related guide and mileage pages will draw you in.

The key to the diversity of trips available in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness are the four trails connecting the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails between Highway 4 and 108.

In Oct of 2011 I put together a quick 51 mile backpacking loop tying elements of both the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails around the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness using these connecting trails. You will find years of backpacking trips to explore through the four main PCT-TYT Trailheads on the edges of the Wilderness and the four nifty trails connecting them across the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

The maps below also depict the wide range of secondary trailheads along these routes that you can use to plan short and medium distance backpacking trips and loops around the Carson Iceberg Wilderness, as well as the information we need to section hike the main TYT and PCT routes across the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

Another fine way to approach the Carson-Iceberg is to enter via the steep Eastern escarpment of the Wilderness, such as through the Corral Valley Trailhead near the Little Antelope Pack Station up on Rodriguez Flat. Access is from Highway 395. This trailhead offers remote "backdoor" access to the PCT through the East Carson River and Murray & Golden Canyons.

My point is that there are many fine short and medium distance backpacking loops for you in the Carson Iceberg Wilderness as well as a beautiful section hiking the long trails. The topo hiking maps below should get your imagination going. Click the RED DOTS on the maps for the trail guide view from that location.

Administration of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness is split North and South between the Calavaras and Summit Ranger Districts of the Stanislaus NF on the Western Sierra, and the Carson Ranger District oversees the Toiyabe National Forest's activities along the Eastern Flank of the Sierra Nevada from Lake Tahoe to Sonora Pass.

Topo Maps for The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass

Lake Alpine to Jenkins Canyon

TYT South

Jenkins Canyon Junction

TYT or PCT?

Jenkins Canyon to Saint Marys Pass

TYT South

Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

South Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass

Pacific Crest Trail

North Carson Iceberg Wilderness Including Ebbetts Pass to Wolf Creek Pass

Lake Alpine area

Duck Lake to Spicer Reservoir

Custom Route:

Up Highland Creek to PCT:

Highland Lakes to Wolf Creek Pass

PCT at Wolf Creek Pass

Spicer Reservoir to Sand Flat

Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus R

Saint Marys Pass on Hwy 108

Context: The Big View of Two Routes, Carson Pass to Bensen Lake 1x2 Topographic

Miles and Elevations: Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass

Topo Maps for Planning and Topo Maps for Hiking North and South

Planning Maps

To plan your trips North or South from Ebbetts Pass you should refer to the free downloadable USGS topo map series.

USGS Store

The 1 x 2, 30 minute, and 7.5 series topo maps are free to download and open in the free Adobe Reader.

You can also download the free Terrago Toolbar for Adobe from the USGS site, which gives you limited trail measurement capabilities. Watch the TerraGo tool carefully, for it screws up.

Here's the USGS Store site. It will provide the proper maps to plan this part of your trip.

Navigate the map to Stockton Ca, and follow Highway 4 up to Ebbetts Pass. Check the "mark points" selection, click the desired quadrangles and select the map sizes you want to download, and download them. Unzip the file and open it with Adobe.

I have set myself up with a well-organized collection of USGS maps covering all my main routes and side trips from Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney in various scales. I find these maps very helpful to properly plan trips.

Use these detailed USGS topo maps, and the maps, mileages, and trail guide pages laid out here on Tahoe to Whitney to plan the details of your backpacking trips starting at, or hiking across Ebbetts Pass.

Hiking Maps

For trail use I prefer to carry the USDA National Forest Wilderness Maps or their commercial counterparts when hiking either the Mokelumne or Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

These maps are a fine balance between size and detail. Each well covers its respective wilderness area. The new 2009 plastic maps are better in field conditions, but the color, labeling, and accuracy of the new maps leaves a lot to be desired compared to the older 1988 paper map. One step forward, two steps backwards...

Wilderness Press and National Geographic offer excellent commercial counterparts to the USDA National Forest Wilderness Maps.

Familiarity gained with the detailed USGS maps during your planning stage will make better sense of your trail maps during your trip.

Trail Maps

North: USDA Forest Service Mokelumne Wilderness, ENFIA.

South: USDA Forest Service Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Toiyabe National Forest.

Though long-distance hikers may consider these topo hiking maps too "big," the extra coverage provided by these "whole wilderness" topo maps allow the backpacker to clearly and correctly identify terrain features within their range of vision. I always want to know what I'm looking at, and how my route fits into the "big picture" of the overall terrain.

Unlike topo hiking maps that only display a "sliver" of the terrain, these wilderness-sized topo maps allow you to situate and saturate yourself in the terrain.

Good Long-Distance Backpacker Practice

I send myself my selected hiking topo map for the upcoming trail section in my resupply package. As most of the resupply points have mail services I mail my last map back home to myself from the re supply point when I finish that section.

Trail Route Option: Spicer Meadow Reservoir (off of the TYT) to Wolf Creek Pass (and onto the PCT)

Southbound

For Southbound hikers, this route option swings you up to the PCT via Highland Creek from the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail junction at Jenkins Canyon. This route splits the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness section of your hike between the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails.

This route substitutes a hike up Highland Creek to the Pacific Crest Trail South through the East Carson River to Sonora Pass by sacrificing the section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail along the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River to Saint Marys Pass.

This modification adds a bit below nine miles to the TYT mileage between Lake Alpine and Saint Marys Pass.

Northbound

For Northbound hikers, this option will swing you down to, and through Lake Alpine its food and resupply opportunities, which you may need for the next section of the trail heading North. From Lake Alpine I suggest experienced hikers stay on the TYT to experience the remote and unmaintained section of the Tahoe to Yosemite trail North of Lake Alpine from Camp Irene through Summit City Creek. The TYT and PCT routes North into the Lake Tahoe Basin join together again at the Carson Gap.

Your other long-distance Northbound option is to remain on the standard PCT route through Ebbetts Pass on your way North to the Carson Pass. or hike the Highland Trail down to Lake Alpine to resupply and eat, and then hitch the 14 miles East up to Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4 to continue North on the PCT.

All Around

The Highland Creek Trail from Jenkins Canyon up to the PCT at Wolf Creek Pass is the first of four trails that link the Pacific Crest Trail to the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail on their routes across the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

These trails are, from North to South, the Highland Creek, Arnot Creek, Disaster Creek, and Boulder Creek trails. Trailheads for these trails wrap around the Carson Iceberg Wilderness from Lake Alpine, Highland Lakes, and Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4 to the Saint Marys and Sonora Pass Trailheads on Highway 108 to the Arnot, Disaster, and Clarks Fork Trailheads nestled in along the Clarks Fork road off of Highway 108 just West of Kennedy Meadows Pack Station. The topo hiking maps presented above and below are linked to all of these locations. Check them out!

These are your main options for hiking around the Carson Iceberg Wilderness. What you do with them is up to you. I suggest that you explore them all. You will see that the maps, guide, and the mileage pages all interlink to present different dimensions of your hiking options.

Happy Trails!

Spicer Reservoir up Highland Creek

Highland Creek via Highland Lakes to Wolf Creek Pass

The next maps South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Kennedy Meadows Pack Station to Grizzly Peak Lake (Not Yet Finished...,) 7.5 min

Topo Maps for The Pacific Crest Trail

Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass

Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass

Carson-Iceberg Wilderness region (With the Tahoe Yosemite and PCT routes)

Ebbetts Pass to Tyron Peak

Tyron Peak to Wolf Creek

Wolf Creek to Swampy Lake

Swampy Lake to Boulder Lake

Boulder Lake to Sonora Pass

Context: The Big View of Two Routes, Carson Pass to Bensen Lake 1x2 Topographic

Miles and Elevations: Ebbetts Pass to Sonora Pass on the PCT

Topo Maps for Planning and Topo Maps for Hiking North and South

see above

The next maps South on the Pacific Crest Trail

Sonora Pass to Bensen Lake, 30 minute USGS Topographic