Carson Pass
to
Ebbetts
Pass

MILES
AND
ELEVATIONS

End
of the
Shared route
of the
Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails

South on the TYT

The page below continues our hike South on the Pacific Crest Trail across the 5.1 miles separating Carson Pass from Forestdale Divide, the first waypoint along our 27.88 miles of trail between Carson and Ebbetts Passes.

Hiking South from the Carson Gap on the PCT route through Carson Pass is also part of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail if we turn Southwest on the TYT through the Winnemucca Lake trail junction a mile South of Carson Pass.

Arriving at Winnemucca Lake hiking the TYT route we see the trail coming up from Woods Lake joins us for the hike up to Round Top Lake where the Lost Cabin Mine Trail next ties in, covering all the possible routes hiking the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route up to Round Top from the Carson Gap.

This page covers the last possible bit of trail the PCT and TYT share before their routes divide across the Mokelumne, Carson Iceberg, and Emigrant Wilderness to our South. The PCT and TYT next reunify in the Northeast corner of Yosemite National Park.

PCT South

From the Winnemucca Lake junction we finish the last bit of the moderate climb from Carson Pass to the high point of this segment of trail hiking across the low rounded flat below the steep North face of Elephant Back. Here we enjoy expansive views of the Northeast to Southeast horizon while exiting the Carson Pass Management Area.

Looking East from the high point of the trail across Elephant Back we see Forestdale Creek reaching South towards its headwaters within the valley topped by Forestdale Divide. We begin a descending traverse down the Western flank of this valley South to the ponds that spawn Forestdale Creek. These ponds lay below a set of wide switchbacks making up the end of this moderate difficulty hike from Carson Pass to Forestdale Divide.

Backpacker's Index

Carson Pass to Forestdale Divide: 5.1 miles

Carson Pass to Ebbetts Pass: 27.88 miles

Backpacker Resources
and
Hiker Information

POST UP!

All backpackers can post text comments about the following section of trail through the comments links on all the trail guide pages.

Registered Members can post up stand alone post about the trail with text, images, maps and videos in the Trails Forum that supplements this section of the Trail Guide.

Check out the Tahoe to Whitney .org Backpacking Trails and Topics forums

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Pacific Crest Trail Trailhead information Southbound out of Carson Pass.

The trailhead is located behind the Carson Pass Cabin. The permit box where pre-arranged permits are left for pickup is attached to the Southwest corner of the Carson Pass Cabin.

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Above
Kind of a self-portrait...

Below
Better detail of the miles listed on the Pacific Crest Trail information board at Carson Pass.

Local and long distance trail miles from this Carson Pass Trailhead.

Schneider Camp road and the trail to Little Round Top are routes South into the Tahoe Basin located to our Northwest along the North shore of Caples Lake. This map shows the dirt road and Schneider Camp. This larger map shows where the trail from Schneider Camp over Little Round Top into the Lake Tahoe Basin joins with the combined PCT-TYT-TRT routes in the Meiss Country Roadless Area.

Carson Pass to Ebbetts Pass
PCT Miles and Elevations

The first six trails on this list are to our Northwest, which is funny because this trailhead is pointing us to the Southwest and these first six trails are behind us.

No problem. All information is good information.

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Lone local day hiker heads out for twilight walk.

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The Mokelumne Wilderness boundary is highly gerrymandered between Carson and Ebbetts Passes. Only a small section is in the El Dorado NF. The majority is within the Toiyabe NF.

But there are many cut-outs along the tattered Eastern edge of the Mokelumne Wilderness.

The boundary marker looked a lot better in 2009, above, than it looked in 2014, second image above. It was just starting to crack up in '09.

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View of Round Top from just South of Carson Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Views of Round Top open up as our climbing trail rotates around the lower flanks of Elephant Back rising above Carson Pass, rotating around to the Southwest facing flank as we climb higher.

Note the big bird...

Carson Pass Region
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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Approaching Elephant Back from Carson Pass.

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Southwestern View

Now that we've turned fully onto the Southwest flank below Elephant Back we've come around into some fine views of Round Top off to our Southwest.

Southwest viewing of Round Top.

We can see two depressions in the terrain between us and Round Top. The first is in front of us, filled with forest. At the far side of the forest we can see the terrain dropping elevation past a strip of golden meadow. The terrain over there is dropping into the second depression, at the bottom of which the trail up the footbridge route from Woods Lake is tracking South up to Winnemucca Lake.

Carson Pass Region
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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Southeastern View
Elephant Back

Looking South down the trail we are hiking in a Southeast direction towards Elephant Back, now rising into view above tree cover.

A few hundred feet further South we will encounter the unmarked trail leading Left to Frog Lake, and a few hundred feet beyond that the trail junction to our Right, where the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route breaks off to the Southwest to the Round Top Lake trail junction via Winnemucca Lake.

If we're hiking South on the Pacific Crest Trail we will hike past the Winnemucca Lake trail junction to finish our climb up to and around the North side of Elephant Back, its Left side, before following the trail's bend to the Southeast towards Forestdale Divide. We'll pass under the Eastern flank of Elephant Back dropping down into the canyon holding Forestdale Creek.

If we are hiking South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail we will turn Right at the Winnemucca trail junction on this side, the West side of Elephant back back for the short hike to Winnemucca Lake.

Frog Lake Trail Junction

An unmarked trail leads Northeast to Frog Lake. It needs not be marked as we can see Frog Lake from the junction.

Unmarked Frog Lake trail junction.

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Note the trail down to Frog Lake.

Map Addition
The trail to Winnemucca Lake is South of the unmarked trail Northeast to Frog Lake. The USGS map shows no trail or junction to Frog Lake. There are both.

Elements of High Sierra beauty tie themselves together at Frog Lake.

View Northeast across Frog Lake.

Water, Clouds, Forest, Mountains and Me.

All the ingredients of deep experience, deep satisfaction.

View Northeast across Frog Lake low level of late season. Cold winds blew and snow fell on this late September day.

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View to the Southwest

Round Top and The Sisters perfectly frame our trail climbing South from Frog Lake towards the Winnemucca Lake trail junction under the Northwest flank of Elephant Back.

Last night's snow flurries left their mark on Round Top and The Sisters.

We'll be up there soon if we are turning onto the TYT through the upcoming Winnemucca Lake trail junction.

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A Fall Morning.

Caples Lake viewed through morning light looking to the Northwest from under the Northwest side of Elephant Back, Pacific Crest Trail.

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Here we see the mountains making up the Southwestern corner of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

I'm thinking we're lined up, and looking at Tallac Peak using the Carson Gap as our gunsight.

Everything on the far side, the North side of that low gap drains into Lake Tahoe. Everything on this side of the ridge drains into the Silver Fork of the American River.

Little Round Top is visible on the far Left side of the image. The Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trail routes pass North and South through the low gap on the Right of the Tahoe Rim Ridgeline. I call this low gap the Carson Gap.

Carson Pass is a short ways out of frame to the Right at the high point below the Southern base of this golden ridge arm. The forest is running up to the gap in the terrain between the base of Red Lake Peak to the North and Elephant Back to the South.

In the Distance we can see the tip of Pyramid Peak in the Crystal Range in Desolation Wilderness and Mount Tallac in the far distant Right of the image as well.

A grand terrain with interesting views in all directions.

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TRAIL GUIDE PAGE
Southwest

Pacific Crest Trail
to
WINNEMUCCA LAKE
to the
Tahoe to Yosemite Trail
@
ROUND TOP LAKE

Post pointing the way for Southbound PCT hikers around the North flank of Elephant Back.

The trail to Winnemucca Lake can be seen on the Right side of the sign post.

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The trail
to
Winnemucca Lake
is the
Tahoe to Yosemite Trail
route to
Lake Alpine.

Trail to Round Top Lake
via
Winnemucca Lake
Here is the Southernmost Point where our classic routes, the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails, split East and West.
The PCT stays up on the Sierra Crest and Eastern Sierra Flank of the Sierra Nevada down to Ebbetts Pass while the TYT route is turning Right, to our Southwest, for a great sweep lower down onto the Western flank of the Sierra on its way South to Lake Alpine.

Lake Alpine is located about 15 miles West along Highway 4 and 1400 feet lower in elevation than Ebbetts Pass.
Despite, or maybe because of this great swing down the Western Sierra flank, this section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail is far and above my favorite route between Highways 88 and 4, and among my very favorites of all the routes I've ever hiked.

East and West Sierra Experiences
That difference between these two routes between Highway 88 and 4 is the same as what characterizes the difference between these two trails between Lake Tahoe down to the Yosemite Wilderness:
One covers the East and the other the Western flank of the Sierra Crest. The PCT stays along the Sierra Crest Line or its Eastern Flank while the TYT stays on the Western flank of the Sierra, with the TYT also making two grand sweeps far down the Western flank before climbing back to the crestline.

The great drops down to Camp Irene (5280) and Kennedy Meadows (6400) are followed by great hikes back to the Sierra Crest.

The PCT and TYT share the same trail through the Lake Tahoe Basin in the North Sierra and rejoin at the Yosemite boundary for the hike through the Yosemite Wilderness in the Central Sierra. Between these areas the TYT covers the Western and the PCT the Eastern flank of the North Sierra Nevada.

The junction below is our last chance to decide East or West.

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The tree cover is thinning as we climb. We will be without tree cover before reaching Elephant Back's North side. We will not enjoy cover again until we pass South of Forestdale Divide. The next section of trail crosses much open terrain.

Carson Pass Region
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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This is the Southbound Backpacker's last chance to turn West and head up to Round Top, and follow the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route.

Winnemucca Lake trail junction to

Winnemucca Lake: 1.26 miles

Round Top Lake: 2.14 miles

Carson Pass: 1.04 miles

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PCT to WINNEMUCCA LAKE
to
TYT at ROUND TOP LAKE

The Winnemucca Lake Trail Junction
to
Winnemucca Lake

West to the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

Here at the Winnemucca Lake trail junction with the Pacific Crest Trail we are at the Southernmost cutoff to Round Top which also puts us on the most Eastern of the three possible ways of linking up the Pacific Crest Trail with the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail around Carson Pass, if we are planning on hiking the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

Three Ways from Carson Gap to Round Top Lake

Which one we take depends on how we are coming down the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

If we are hiking South out of the Tahoe Basin on the TYT I suggest splitting off the PCT route at the Northern trail junction to hike the Western route up to Round Top via the Lost Cabin Mine Trail.
If we are hitching into Carson Pass to begin hiking the Southbound TYT the easiest place to get road access to is Carson Pass, so this Eastern route may be best.
If we are driving to Carson Pass we can park near Woods Lake and hike the Lost Cabin Mine Trail or the middle route to Round Top Lake.
But, in any case the route we choose is up to our tastes or fitness. The easiest route is arguably the middle route from Woods Lake to Winnemucca Lake to Round Top Lake.

I consider all three to be the TYT.

The video below depicts the section of the TYT route from the Carson Gap through Carson Pass to the Winnemucca Lake junction along the PCT South of Carson Pass, and then on to Winnemucca and Round Top Lakes.

At the Winnemucca Lake trail junction the middle trail coming up from the foot bridge near Woods Lake joins us for the next leg of our hike up to the high point of this trail at Round Top Lake. At Round Top Lake we note the junction where the Lost Cabin Mine trail from Woods Lake intersects with our route.

Clicking the red dots on the Carson Pass Region Map below links to the guide page for that position. Clicking the black-dotted route on the Wilderness Map brings that area's detailed map, the red dots also linking to guide information.

Mokelumne Wilderness
30 minute Backpacking Map

From Round Top Lake our Tahoe to Yosemite Trail guide continues South on the next TYT guide page covering the TYT down past Fourth of July Lake to Summit City Creek while this page continues South down the PCT below our brief detour exploring this Eastern route to Round Top Lake, to Forestdale Divide.

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Three ways from Carson Gap to Round Top Lake.

Duration: 13:27

In the video above we hike the PCT route from the Carson Gap through Carson Pass. Turning Right, to the Southwest on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route at the Winnemucca Lake trail junction opens up views across the Carson Pass Management Area revealing the terrain the two other potential routes between Carson Gap and Round Top Lake cross. When we arrive at Winnemucca Lake we pass the trail junction where the "middle" route, the trail coming up from Woods Lake arrives at Winnemucca Lake.

Arriving at Round Top Lake we take note of the third route up to Round Top Lake, the Lost Cabin Mine trail coming up from the campground near Woods Lake. This is the most Western of the three routes.

This video covers the Eastern route from Carson Gap to Round Top Lake through Carson Pass and Winnemucca Lake. This is the most lengthy route between these two points. The Woods Lake trail guide page covers the other two routes, of which the Lost Cabin Mine Trail is the most direct and steepest route, while the "middle" route over the footbridge near Woods Lake up to Winnemucca Lake splits the difference in difficulty and distance between the "Eastern" and "Western" routes.

Carson Pass Region
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

Our next move is from Round Top Lake to Fourth of July Lake on our way down to enter the unmaintained section of Tahoe to Yosemite Trail along Summit City Creek.

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Note the gentle sloping almost-flat terrain here on the North side of Elephant Back.

This Guide

is set up so that you can add your perspective & experiences here to broaden the trail guide's view of the Carson Pass and its backpacking opportunities.

Check the Forum linked to every trail guide page for more information or to add yours. My perspective alone is insufficient to describe the terrain or the experience. Thus your perspective adds another dimension to the experience and value of this guide.

Questions and comments always welcome.

General Backpacking
Backpacker's Forum Home Page

Specific Backpacking Trails & Topics
Backpacker's Forum

This Location
Carson Pass to Forestdale Divide

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Note how deeply the PCT route is cut into the terrain. You can follow this sucker at night. It glows in the dark.

This is why I call the Pacific Crest Trail the "Super-Highway" of trails.

The trail ahead is working its way Southeast below the East flank of Elephant Back. The Southbound trail from our high point on the North side of Elephant Back traverses down to the canyon floor while hiking up-canyon.

We can see the dirt Forestdale Divide road climbing towards the divide on the far side of the canyon.

That rock on the far upper-Left of the image looks like The Nipple above Lost Lakes.

Carson Pass to Blue Lakes
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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This crew was composed of Trail Crew Leaders who will later lead SCA student trail crews.

These were real nice kids. A credit to our country.

For more on Trail Crews, see the Trail Culture section in the Backpacker's Forum.

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The golden grasses of Hope Valley bend around towards Freel Peak on the furthest Left, Jobs Sister to its Right and Jobs Peak to the furthest Right.

This fine scene comes into view as we climb out of Carson Pass during Fall up to the flat on the North side of Elephant Back.

Highway 88 hits Hope Valley on the section of meadow on the Right, which is also where the Blue Lakes Road intersects with Highway 88.

Check out the top blue marker on the road map below the backpacking map.

The distant meadow section in Hope Valley is crossed by Highway 89 between Picketts Junction and Luther Pass.

Carson Pass to Blue Lakes
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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Hiking South towards Forestdale Divide along the lower East Flank of Elephant Back. Forestdale Divide is out of sight out of the Left side of this image, making up the low point of where the crestline is dropping down.

That's Forestdale Divide. That's where we're going.

This Crestline is the Southeastern extension of the Round Top/Sisters crestline.

As I mentioned, the ridgeline along the far Left of the image is running down to Forestdale Divide, and the top of our Southbound trail's switchbacks up to the divide. The West end of each switchback up to Forestdale Divide turns East under/to the Left of the triangular rock jutting up from the Left end of the ridgeline.

The sharp crest of the ridgeline ahead moderates into a wide area of flattish terrain across Forestdale Divide.
The terrain still climbs, but across the great inclined dry flat known as the Forestdale Divide.

The topo hiking map well depicts this flat.

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Forestdale Creek is running through the meadow in the foreground.

Note the location of the pond with the island on the topo hiking map.

Carson Pass to Blue Lakes Map
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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Fresh Sprouting Wyethia mollis, commonly called Mountain Mule Ears, which I call Paper Plant.

Why I call them Paper Plants
The Mule Ears have dried out early in the season on the exposed terrain of the East flank of Elephant Back.

I call them paper plants because of the sound they make at the end of their annual lifecycle.

They look like ears of corn sprouting straight out of the wet Earth during early Spring.

Paper Plant
Lifecycle

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When wind blows through these plants during late Summer into Fall its dried leaves rubbing together in the breezes sound like the raspy rustling of thousands of dried-out pieces of loose paper blowing about in Nature's ancient library.

Thus I call them "paper plants..."

To get even more interesting-weird, I am not as much concerned about what man calls the plants, but what they call themselves...in a manner of "speaking."

How we approach nature determines what we see...

Remote Trailhead Access
At the top of our great traverse South from Elephant Back up to the top of Forestdale Creek we turn East to cross the upper section of the Forestdale Creek and its canyon.

Hiking South to the point the trail crosses Forestdale Canyon we look to our Left while approaching our fording point of Forestdale Creek, over our Left shoulder at the semi-shaded parking in a small stand of trees off the Forestdale Divide Road. This parking offers auto access to a trail leading up here to the PCT and/or down Forestdale Creek's Canyon.

Note the Forestdale Road beyond the SUVs, at the base of the mountain on the East side of the canyon.

Forestdale Creek Road is a rough unpaved road which leads from Highway 88 to Upper Blue Lake. See the Road Map for information.

Well, it does not look too rough, but the drivers of SUVs I've observed crossing its upper section over the years all exhibit great fear climbing the last steep section of road up to Forestdale Divide. It's steep, and I've watched numerous SUV drivers lose confidence approaching the crest, causing them to slow and stop on the steepest upper section of the road.

Stopping on the steep section of a dirt road is not a great idea. Knowing how to keep and carry your vehicle's traction and momentum up and over steep sections of marginal traction surfaces is an important driving skill.

It is a skill you should posses if you decide to drive Forestdale Road.

Drivers can avoid Forestdale Road in favor of the paved Blue Lakes Road which also connects Blue Lakes to Highway 88. But hey, why do you have a fake four-wheeler, an "SUV," if not to drive roads like the Forestdale Divide Road?

Forestdale Creek Road connects Highway 88 at Red Lake with the upper end of Upper Blue Lake while the Blue Lakes Road connects Highway 88 in Hope Valley to East end of Lower Blue Lake.

We can see the Forestdale Road beyond the cars.

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Looking West-Northwest across the headwaters pond of the Forestdale Creek towards Round Top/Sisters Massif.

Frkn nice terrain.

Stunningly beautiful in a remote and harsh manner.

We've crossed over to the East side of the very upper section of Forestdale Creek, and are hiking South around the East shore of the pond Forestdale Creek issues from.

Carson Pass to Blue Lakes
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

We're positioning ourselves for the switchbacks up to Forestdale Divide.

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Looking Southwest across the upper pond after crossing over to the East side of Forestdale Creek at the very top of the Forestdale Creek Headwaters.

The Sierra Crestline runs Southeast from Round Top, to the Left, towards Forestdale Divide.

It's a pretty scene dressed in Fall colors.

We're beginning the switchbacks up to Forestdale Divide. The West side of each switchback will turn East under that triangular rock jutting up from the Sierra Crestline on the upper Left of the image above.

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Hiking up the great inclined flat known as Forestdale Divide.

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Looking North at our Route from Elephant Back
Our trail South worked its way around the East flank of Elephant Back. The East flank of Elephant Back is the steep flank rising on the Left side of the image, up to the crest of Elephant Back.

Carson Pass to Blue Lakes
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

We worked our way to the East on the semi-flat ridgeline extending East from the North side of Elephant Back. That ridge is plainly visible in the image above. From the East end of that ridge we began what was essentially a great traverse South from our position under that steep Eastern flank of Elephant Back, hiking down to Forestdale Creek as we can see that the line of our traverse South brings us to the top of the rising valley Forestdale Creek flows down.

We're hiking down to the top of the valley Forestdale Creek flows through.

Red Lake Peak is the mountain on the Right of center in the distance. Between us and Red Lake Peak we can see the ridge running East from Elephant Back.

Carson Pass
We have another feature we can locate in this image, the position of Carson Pass. Carson Pass is located between the ridge to the East of Elephant Back and Red Lake Peak in the distance.
Between these two features we can see a thin bending line of trees tracing out the location of Carson Pass.

The Highs and Lows
One traveler's High Point is another's Low...
Carson Pass is the high point for drivers on Highway 88 running East and West across the Sierra Crest, which we can see in the image above.

Carson Pass is also the lowest point for hikers on the Sierra Crestline running North and South.

Life is a series of highs and lows, and life on the trail makes this fact especially apparent.

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An inspection of the map reveals that the Mokelumne Wilderness is highly gerrymandered through it's whole length along the PCT between Carson and Ebbetts Passes.

This is our second Wilderness Boundary so far since departing Carson Pass. We'll see a few more before we arrive at Ebbetts Pass.

In the image above we can almost see the line of Forestdale Road crossing the divide at the base of the mountain behind the wilderness boundary marker.

The road runs across there, though we can't quite see it clearly.

Note the location of the Wilderness Boundary on the map below.

Trail
into
Summit City Creek in Summit City Canyon
The trail in the foreground is heading down South off the Forestdale Divide to intersect with the trail running between Upper Blue Lake and the top of Summit City Canyon.

It's easier to hike to Upper Blue Lake by continuing South along the PCT down to the Lost Lakes intersection with Forestdale Road, then follow the road down to Upper Blue Lake, than it is to hike the trail above to Upper Blue Lake.

But, this is the best trail to enter Summit City Canyon and access Summit City Creek, and Devils Corral, where we can continue our hike South along the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

Besides the web of connector trails around Carson Pass and Round Top between the Pacific Crest and Tahoe to Yosemite Trails, there are not many/any other trails linking the TYT and PCT together across the length of the Mokelumne Wilderness. Well, there's the one we see above, and our three options to Round Top Lake across the Carson Pass Management Area to our North, and that's it.

Once we hike South of the trail from Upper Blue Lake to Summit City Canyon there are no more trails tying the the PCT and TYT trails together across the South end of the Mokelumne Wilderness.

This is very unlike the situation across the Carson Iceberg and Emigrant Wilderness Areas to our South. Down there we have many amazing trails that we can use to tie these two routes together into custom local loops and long distance routes across the lengths of both of these upcoming wilderness areas to our South.

Not so across the Mokelumne Wilderness, once we get South of Upper Blue Lake. There are no PCT/TYT connector trails across the Southern Mokelumne Wilderness.

The trail above is the last connector between the PCT and TYT until we hit Highway 4.

This limits local loop backpacking trips around the Mokelumne Wilderness. We can do fairly short loops around the Carson Pass Management Area using the trail above to connect the PCT with the TYT elements of a Carson Pass Management Area loop. And, we could hike an arc from Lake Alpine to Ebbetts Pass using the trail connecting Summit City Canyon with Upper Blue Lake that the trail pictured above intersects.

Once we get down to the Carson Iceberg and Emigrant Wilderness Areas we will be able to craft custom long-distance backpacking routes across both, as well as hike loops of various diameters around both wilderness areas.

Carson Pass to Blue Lakes
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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I have the distance South to Ebbetts at 21.33 miles, and the distance North to Carson Pass at 5.1.

See the barren peak rising to the East of Forestdale Divide in the background Right above?

Check that peak out from the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail between
Fourth of July Lake to Summit City Creek.

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Upper Blue Lake sits behind the forest-covered ridge in the distance.

We can see the distinctive shape of the forest wrapping around the Southeast flank of the peak rising to the East of Forestdale Divide.

Carson Pass to Blue Lakes
CPMA 15 min Backpacking Map

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This trail post is informing us of the location of the PCT running South along the South side of Forestdale Divide Road.

The PCT runs along the South side of the road for a short distance before crossing.

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We encounter two trail junctions teeing off our PCT route to the Southwest as we arrive and cross the Forestdale Divide. The first junction in Forestdale Divide is at the wilderness boundary marker, and the second junction is at the marked trail junction just South of Forestdale Divide.

Both trails track Southwest, and both can bring us down to Summit City Creek and the Tahoe to Yosemite Route down Summit City Canyon. The trail from the wilderness boundary is longer and steeper.

The trail from the wilderness boundary tracks directly into Summit City Canyon, while the trail from the post connects with the trail between Summit City Canyon and Upper Blue Lake.

I don't see the reason for the first trail from the wilderness boundary. The trail from the marked junction crosses a better route across the terrain hiking both directions, be we hiking up or down the terrain.

Local hikers circling the CPMA can turn here to begin through either trail to bend their circle route back to Carson Pass to bring them to Fourth of July Lake and the trails over Round Top to Carson Pass.

Or, local hikers can start loop trips around the Carson Pass Management Area by hiking West into Summit City Canyon through the trailhead at Upper Blue Lake.

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First trail junction in Forestdale Divide

Southwest to Summit City
2.85 miles

Second trail junction South of Forestdale Divide

Southwest to Summit City
2.5 miles

Note that the second trail junction, the Southern junction on Forestdale Divide is a shorter, easier, and more direct route into Summit City's Canyon and Creek.

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Looking at the East side of the Carson Pass Region Map reveals our position on Forester Divide looking to the Southwest at what the map calls Peak 9626 with Devils Coral located on the Left side of this massive rock.
Deadwood Peak itself is visible in the far upper-Left corner of the image.

Note on the map the route of the trail from Forestdale Divide down to Summit City Creek and downstream along Summit City Creek to its intersection with the route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail below Fourth of July Lake.

The trail down from Forestdale Divide intersects with the trail out of the top of Summit City Canyon East to Upper Blue Lake.

This is the Southernmost route that connects the PCT with the TYT. Below us a trail works its way over the low rise West of Upper Blue Lake down into Summit City Canyon. Our trail down from Forestdale Divide intersects with this trail about halfway between Summit City Creek and Upper Blue Lake.

Continuing South past this short position offering views up Summit City Creek we cross to the East side of Forestdale Road and shortly enter the relief of shaded forest cover dropping down the South flank of Peak 9374.

Peak 9374 is the peak we can see at the head of Summit City Creek while hiking on the TYT from Fourth of July Lake down into Summit City Canyon.

Once we enter the forest we will be distracted between the old routes of the PCT and the Forestdale Divide Road over to Lost Lakes, and their new routes which stay to the West of the Lost Lakes.

I've noted these changes on the maps, and discuss them on the next trail guide page to the South,

Forestdale Divide to Blue Lakes Road

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Backpacking Trail Guide

North

The Carson Pass

Backpacking Trail Guide

South

Forestdale Divide
to
Blue Lakes Road