The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail joins the Main North-South Trails

Hiking 2.62 miles South off of Phipps Pass and 11.5 miles from our Meeks Bay Trailhead the Tahoe to Yosemite/Desolation Trail intersects with the combined North-South routes of the Pacific Crest and Tahoe Rim Trails.

The Desolation Trail ends 16.3 miles South at Echo Lake, the Tahoe Rim Trail turns Northeast 27.4 miles South at Meiss Cabin, and the Pacific Crest and Tahoe to Yosemite Trails first divide 28.92 miles South of here above Highway 88 at the Carson Gap.

At this trail junction below Phipps Pass the Southbound hiker on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail takes a Left to continue South on the TYT.

MAP                MILES & ELEVATIONS

The Long Trails South

Turning South here we are not just hiking on a whole mess of "named" trails South through Desolation Wilderness, but we have joined the main High Sierra trail that spans the length of the Sierra Crest.

More important than the particular name of the trail is the fact that we are now on the main North-South trail route that runs along Sierra Crest between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney. The main route is the PCT, sharing parts of its route with the TYT up here in the Northern Sierra, and parts of its route down South with the JMT South of Tuolumne Meadows.

Along the way the TYT and JMT routes vary significantly from the PCT, and alternative routes along the way, such as the Tungsten Road, Fish Canyon, and The High Sierra Route offer real variety.

Pacific Crest Trail

The overall main route, measured by the number of annual long-distance hikers, is the Pacific Crest Trail, at least during late Spring and early Summer when the main body of PCT hikers come through. After the PCTers pass through the PCT hosts section and local hikers.

The timing of their passage through every part of the High Sierra depends on each hiking season's transition from Spring to Summer conditions, specifically when the trails are free from snow. Down South we are going to run into heavy backpacker traffic where the John Muir Trail hikers join our Southbound hike along the Pacific Crest Trail at Tuolumne Meadows.

I call the Pacific Crest Trail "The Super-Highway of Trails" because of these annual periods of very high-volume long distance backpacker traffic, and also because the Pacific Crest Trail's trail bed is so deeply cut into the terrain.

If the PCT is the Superhighway of Trails, then the Desolation Wilderness is Los Angeles during the evening commute, constantly jammed full of backpacker traffic. This place is a zoo during mid-Summer. This high traffic means that all of the Desolation Wilderness trails are cut deeply into the terrain by the huge volume of hikers and backpackers here.

Entering the Heart of the Desolation Wilderness

Long after the annual flood of Pacific Crest Trail hikers have hiked far to the North the Desolation Wilderness is still full of backpackers. By turning South into the heart of the Desolation Wilderness during Summertime we are putting ourselves into one of the densest backpacker zones in the country, so put on your smile, get your "howdy" warmed-up, and be ready to meet some of the best people in the USA, its backpackers, because it looks to me like they are all hiking in Desolation every Summer.

Section Hiking, Loops, and Short Trips in the North Desolation Wilderness

Two Cars-Two Trailheads-or a hitch

This trail junction leads from the Northernmost trailhead in the Desolation Wilderness, the Meek Bay Trailhead. Thus if you are hiking the length of the Desolation Wilderness as a 28.71 mile section from Meeks Bay to the Echo Lake Trailhead (or visa versa) this trail junction is important.

To the South of us we have 3 trail junctions that can be hiked to from Meeks Bay to trailheads along Highway 89 South of our Meeks Bay Trailhead.

South of Middle Velma Lake from the Bayview Trail Junction we can hike 3.85 miles over Maggies Peak to Eagle Falls or 3.81 miles to Bayview Camp. A bit further South we can also hook up with this same trail to Eagle Falls and Bayview Camp from the trail junction between Fontanillis and Dicks Lake.

From the South side of Dicks Pass near Gilmore Lake we can hike West over Mount Tallac to the West side of Fallen Leaf Lake.

MAP

A right turn coming out of Meeks Bay would bring you Northbound on the Pacific Crest Trail: We go South on the TYT!

But, you can see that heading North on the PCT brings you to the General Creek Trail, which loops back to Lake Genevieve.

You can see bits of the unmaintained General Creek Trail route between the PCT and Lake Genevieve on the top of the 30 min map.

Southbound PCT and TRT hikers

Those heading Southbound on the Pacific Crest or Tahoe Rim Trails who encounter this junction will veer right to continue South.

Southbound hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail route who are heading towards Meeks Bay will take a Left at this trail junction.

We follow a nice soft forest trail down to Middle Velma Lake through a mature lodge pole pine forest.

I'm always talking about the trail surface because this will reflect the amount of impact your feet, and your whole body are going to have to absorb through any particular part of the trail.

The constant shocks of feet on granite is very different than the shock produced crossing soft forest trail.

This small difference in the nature of the trail surface ultimately going to translate into how you are going to feel later in the day, and further on down the trail.

Slowing down on hard surfaces to minimize impact is offset by speeding up on soft terrain where impact is minimized will be a major factor in how your body feels tomorrow, and 400 miles further down the trail.

These physical stresses will build up, if you let them.

Backpacking North

Trail Guide

South Side, Phipps Pass

Backpacking South

Trail Guide

Middle Velma Lake