flat holding Showers Lake with Meiss Meadow beyond ridgeline in middle foreground>

flat holding Showers Lake in foreground with Meiss Meadow beyond ridgeline in middle distance

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Backpacking Showers Lake to Meiss Cabin

Hiking Showers Lake to Meiss Cabin & The Round Lake Trail Junction in the Meiss Country Roadless Area

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Trail Guide This Segment

NORTH Showers Junction-Showers Lake

SOUTH Meiss Cabin Trail Junction

Topo Hiking Map Echo Summit to Carson Pass

Maps Index

MILES AND ELEVATIONS

Miles and Elevations Index

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

All permitting Authorities

Tahoe to Whitney on YouTube

Hiking South from Showers Lake we follow the Tahoe Rim into Meiss Meadow

View of the terrain heading South.

The trail South drops down into the broken meadow below and climbs out the other side over the low point of the descending ridge in the middle foreground. The trail then veers right, (SE) continuing up a gentle ascent through moderate forest and broken meadow for a mile, where the broken meadows open up into Meiss Meadow.

The distance South to Meiss Cabin from Showers Lake is 1.88 miles dropping 280 feet of elevation..

Meadow Apron along NE edge of Tahoe Rim Leading to Meiss Meadow

The descending ridge and mountain in the far background compose the Eastern perimiter of Meiss Meadow and the Lake Tahoe Basin. Just to their right behind the descending ridge sits our Carson Gap exit from the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Your Thought and/or Experiences Here?

South from Showers Lake to Meiss Cabin

The deep forest and rock that typifies the trail between Echo Summit and the Schneiders Camp trail junction opens up South of the junction into a series of small bowls along the Tahoe Rim containing meadows broken by forest, just a bit North of Showers Lake.

The picture above shows the terrain of the trail across the bowl holding Showers Lake, which sits to the right out of the image. Meiss Meadow sits between the far distante mountains and the descending ridge arm.

On the Southern end of of Meiss Meadow we begin climbing up to a low gap in the mountains I call the Carson Gap to exit the Tahoe Basin just Northwest of Carson Pass.

Ahead of us our trail tracks through rolling terrain across these broken meadows following the Tahoe Rim just below its Southwestern crestline, until we reach the expance of Meiss Meadow.

Shortly thereafter the Meiss Cabin and barn will come into view, and you will meet the Round Lake-Big Meadow trail junction where the trail is almost parallel with the Meiss Cabin.

Video: Backpacking South into Meiss Meadow from the North

Shortly after departing Showers Lake you will enter the Northern limit of Meiss Meadow

First Steps into Meiss Meadow from the North.

Cross Country Route:

Meiss Lake to Round Lake

As we enter Meiss Meadow from the South, Meiss Lake appears on our Left, visible sitting just North of the combined Pacific Crest-Tahoe to Yosemite trail routes.

If we work our way North along the NW side of Meiss Lake, we are beginning the cross-country route down to Round Lake.

For more on this cross country route, see

Video: Spring Snow Backpacking trip, Round Lake to Showers Lake, June 6, 2010

and

Cross Country Advice for the Meiss Country Roadless Area

Balzaccom's comments on hiking the cross country route between Meiss Lake and Round Lake.

Add to our information or ask questions about this cross-country route at the Trail Guide Forum Page for the

Dardanelle Lake Trail Junction

On that page I describe the three cross country routes I use to get from Round Lake to Meiss Meadow during Winter and Spring snow conditions. One route brings me to the far Southeastern end of Meiss Meadow, another route brings me to the far Northwestern end of Meiss Meadow, while the third route roughly follows the trail route up to Meiss Cabin.

Looking South at Meiss Lake turning to slush in Springtime.

Looking South across Meiss Lake from it's Northern shore, at Round Top sitting outside of the Tahoe Basin in the distance.

This view is from the Northern side of Meiss Lake during a Springtime Snow shoe trip, looking South at Round Top to the South of the Tahoe Basin. Round Top is the snow shrouded rock in the distance.

The Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trail routes are buried under snow just past the far side, the South side of Meiss Lake.

See the links in the box above this picture for more information on snow camping and cross country travel across the Meiss Country Roadless Area.

Continuing South into Meiss Meadow

Looking North towards Echo Summit.

View to South, and Meiss Cabin, from the Round Lake trail junction.

Pond between Showers Lake and Meiss Cabin

Approcahing the Meiss Cabin, Round Lake trail junction fromt the North

Small Lake above Meiss Lake, just North of the Meiss Cabin.

Approaching Meiss Cabin we are coming to the Round Lake trail junction.

The Tahoe Rim trail break off here to the Northeast towards Big Meadow, while the main Pacific Crest and Tahoe to Yosemite routes continue South together to the Carson Gap.

Looking Northwest towards Showers Lake from Meiss Meadow

North: Showers Lake South: Meiss Cabin Trail Junction

Showers Lake to Meiss Cabin, Meiss Country Roadless Area

Showers Lake Marks the end of the roller coaster of drainages that worked you hard between the Echo Summit trailhead and Showers Lake.

South of Showers Lake you traverse a bowl of thin forest and meadow, crossing a low ridge arm on its South side to drop down into forest just North of the furthest Northern extent of Meiss Meadow.

This section of the trail is well-depicted by the picture on the top of this page.

From here, the Northern fringe of Meiss Meadow, the terrain gently climbs to the Southeast until flattening out into Meiss Meadow. At the Southern end of Meiss Meadow you begin your Easy 1 climb up to the Carson Gap.

The Long Distance Context

Passing through the Carson Gap to the South marks our final exit out of the Lake Tahoe Basin three and one half days and 41 miles after starting our September trip South from Meeks Bay towards Tuolumne Meadows on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route.

7.5 Hiking Topo Map: Echo Summit to Carson Pass

30 min Hiking Topo Map: Echo Summit to Carson Gap

Miles and Elevations

Next page:Meiss Cabin Trail Junction

Backpacking Trail Guide

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Showers Lake