RESUPPLY

NORTH
Lake
Alpine
Lodge

SOUTH
Kennedy Meadows
Pack Station

PERMITS
National Forests

Stanislaus

Toiyabe

Southbound Backpacker

The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail
Exiting
The Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River
Headwaters Bowl
to the
Saint Marys Pass Trailhead

On the page below we explore the last bits of untrailed & self-navigated route up to Saint Marys Pass at the top of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

Atop the headwaters bowl we look to find where the mainatained trail comes up from Highway 108 through the gap into the top of the headwaters bowl to the Northeast of Saint Marys Pass.

Finding, then following the maintained trail South quickly brings us down to the end of this section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail across the Carson Iceberg Wilderness at the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108.

Changing Trail Environment
Judging by the maps presented below, this last bit of the trail coming up into and out of the headwaters bowl has experienced a lot of variety and change over the years. Taking a look at the evolution of this route and its various hiking options, or maybe their devolution would be a better description, clues us into the locations of our potential routes and the high degree of route finding skills and backpacking fitness necessary to safely hike them.

This guide page below describes the route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail as depicted on the 1970 TYT map above, as do the maps accompanying this guide.

POST UP!

My standard line is that, "All backpackers can post text comments about the segments of trail this guide page describes through the comments links on this, and 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."

This is important. You have recent information about this nebulous "trail" route if you hiked it recently, or at all, and should share your experiences here. Independent of your experience, be they fantastic, good, bad, ugly, or heavenly.

Independent of how much trouble you had getting through here, I will bet you diamonds to donuts that you thought the experience was tits after you got out, independent of how much you suffered along the way.

I dragged a group of Cal Students through the rough unmaintained East Carson River a few years ago. They cried all the way through, but could not stop talking about how exciting it was after it was over.

Hard segments of our trail through life are like that.

Sometimes the greatest pleasures of experience come after the experience.

Life is a funny thing.

Share your take on it.

Hiker's Accounts through the Clarks Fork:

comments

Segment
VI

Bottom of the Slot
in the
Southern Cliffs of the Headwaters Bowl
up to the
Top

Continued
from the previous page

Review
We left off at the bottom of the last trail guide page standing at the bottom of the slot running up through the cliffs on the South wall of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl. Now we're going to make the steep ascent up to the top of the headwaters bowl through the slot.
Once atop the headwaters bowl cliffs we'll find our way roughly Northeast, counter-clockwise around the oblong shape of the headwaters bowl to Saint Marys Pass. From Saint Marys Pass we'll review our options for hooking up with the maintained trail coming up from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108.
Hiking down to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108 ends this section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail across the Carson Iceberg Wilderness. It also marks the last of the unmaintained segments of trail that we'll hike along the rest of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

Images and Guide
Up the Slot in the Headwaters Cliffs
(Continuing Below)

Video
Scouting the Route
(NORTHBOUND)
Down the Slot into the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl

video duration
12:14

distance
.97 of a mile
The length of the route from where the tributary creek breaks off from the Clarks Fork to where we climb out of its creek bed onto the top of the headwaters bowl is .97 of a mile.

The first segment of our hike South up along the tributary creek to the base of the slot in the cliffs has a nice random selection of wild ducks assuring us we are indeed on the route leading us out of the headwaters bowl. But once we get up into the slot there is no trail, no wild ducks, but the way up is crystal clear once we get into the slot...

That's because the slot is narrow, offering few route options.

elevation change
1360 feet

Difficulty
Reaching the bottom of the slot we find a challenging steep climb up the bottom third of the length of the slot, requiring some use of hands. This would bring the rating of our trail from Class 2, being Cross-Country, to Class 3, Cross-Country using Hands. This little segment of Class 3 stretches from the bottom of the slot up to where we cross over the top of a steep sand berm, about a third of the way up the slot, as I mentioned earlier.

After getting over the sand berm the steep angle of the route moderates into a "normally" difficult H1 climbing trail, still Cross-Country. At the top of the slot we are atop the ring of cliffs of the headwaters bowl just a bit Southwest of Saint Marys Pass. We will either hike through or across Saint Marys Pass on our way hiking around the perimeter of the headwaters bowl, depending on where we decide to intersect with the maintained trail coming up from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead. More on that below.

The Other Side of the Mountain
The terrain East of Saint Marys Pass, including Sonora Pass, the Southern flank of Sonora Peak and the Northern flank of Leavitt Peak are all drained Westward by Deadman Creek. Highway 108 follows Deadman Creek's canyon nine miles West down to where it flows into the Middle Stanislaus River right next to Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

Backpacking Map
Highway 108 Offset
Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
to
Kennedy Meadow Pack Station Trailhead

Highway 108 continues West past Kennedy Meadows along the Middle Stanislaus River for another nine miles until we come to the point where the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River is subsumed into the Middle Stanislaus River.

That's where we find the end of the Clarks Fork River and the beginning of the Clarks Fork Road, where the road splits off from Highway 108 following the river East up to the Clarks Fork Trailhead at the end of the road.

From our position standing in Saint Marys Pass we can see all the terrain feeding the birthplace of the Clarks Fork surrounding its headwaters bowl. Behind us through the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead a twisting 18 mile drive West on 108 separates us from where the Clarks Fork River ends flowing into the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River.

That's the alpha and omega of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River, its beginning and end. We are about to finish backpacking the highest point along it's length when we turn around and cross Saint Marys Pass out of the Clarks Fork's Watershed into the Middle Stanislaus Watershed via Deadman Creek.

Trailheads at Both ends of this Segment of Trail
The confluence point of the Middle and Clarks Forks of the Stanislaus Rivers is also where we find the beginning of Clarks Fork Road breaking off from Highway 108. That road junction is about nine miles West down Highway 108 from the Kennedy Meadows Pack Station turnoff, putting the bottom-end of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River about 18 road miles West down Highway 108 from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead, accessing the top of its watershed.

It's at least 12 road miles East from the beginning of the rustic old Clarks Fork Road to its end at the Clarks Fork Trailhead.

I make this road and trailhead information as clear as I can for backpackers who are looking to put together a plan to hike this short but very challenging segment of trail as a stand-alone trip from the Clarks Fork Trailhead at the end of Clarks Fork Road to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead near the top of Highway 108.

We also have a google road map covering Clarks Fork Road and Highway 108 up to Saint Marys Pass Trailhead accompanying our backpacking trail map of the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead. Check the "pins" around "Peaceful Pines," on the google road map, which are located along Clarks Fork Road.

TWO ROUTES OUT
of the
CLARKS FORK HEADWATERS BOWL
In the video I hike NORTHBOUND into the headwaters bowl of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River by taking an East to West cross-country self-selected route through Saint Marys Pass. I did not follow the maintained trail up through the gap into the Clarks Fork Headwaters. I did this by turning off the maintained trail well below where it brings us way up to and through the gap onto the highest point around the perimeter of the headwaters bowl.

Well, the trail through the gap brings us up to unnecessary altitude to reach the top of the headwaters bowl, while our other option, cutting cross-country through Saint Marys Pass itself, confronts us with the increased difficulties of hiking cross-country across rough terrain.

Problems to the Left, Problems to the Right. Keep an eye on the sky!

Finding the Line of our Cross Country Route
NORTHBOUND HIKERS
We keep an eye over to our West looking for the point where we've hiked far enough up the maintained trail that we are above the potential obstructions posed by the granite formation under the Southeast flank of Saint Marys Pass. One we see we have gotten ourselves above that granite we can start lining up our potential routes looking for the best cross-country lines taking us East to West across the ravine below the gap. We need to figure out, and then line ourselves up with our self-selected route passing through Saint Marys Pass.

The same process is necessary if we are hiking either direction through Saint Marys Pass.

Note the 1987 Carson Iceberg Wilderness Map perfectly depicts the cross-country route I describe above, breaking off from the maintained trail to hike West through Saint Marys Pass. In 1987 this was the regular route. The only problem with this map is that the vast majority of the length of the route it depicts from the maintained trail East of Saint Marys Pass to the North edge of Clarks Fork Meadow are now all in cross-country route status, if even that.

My observations indicate that there is no trail and very few if any indications of a route route East or West of Saint Marys Pass along the line of trail depicted on the 1987 map above. That line of the trail/route is not maintained, nor are their many, if any indications of its presence along this line to the East and West of Saint Marys Pass. To the East of the pass the only indications of a route lay in our ability to clearly see the maintained trail on the other side of the ravine below Saint Marys Pass, and our intentions to cross the ravine over to it.

Winnett's 1970 map depictis the CURRENT route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail around the top of the headwaters bowl over to where it intersects with the maintained trail coming up through the gap from Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.
Winnett's old map perfectly depicts the current configuration of the maintained trail climbing North from the trailhead through the gap into the Clarks Fork Headwaters. This route through the gap is one of our two options for linking up our unmaintained route around Southbound around the headwaters bowl with the maintained trail down to Saint Marys Pass Trailhead. Either will do.

The only problem with Winnett's map is that he mislabeled the "gap" as Saint Marys Pass. The 1987 Wilderness Map correctly labels the position of the low point in the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl as Saint Marys Pass. Typos and mistakes happen.

You make sure to let me know if you find any here. Unless you are a quibbling troll with no experience or information and a big mouth.

Unmaintained TYT Trail Reports

And, I'll be damned if I'll tolerate being used by scammers to host their damn ads.

Maintained Trail to the Gap
NORTHBOUND HIKERS
The strong trail bed of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail hiking Northbound from the trail junction with the maintained trail at the gap is very short. The Northbound route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail rapidly fades into nothingness hiking just a few yards North of the junction. We will have to find our own route North around the perimeter of the headwaters bowl to the top of the slot.

It is not too difficult. We will observe remnants of use trail wrapping around the perimeter of the headwaters bowl, its faded bits pretty much following the line laid out by Winnett. We also identify a nice landmark to lead Northbound hikers to the top of the slot.

TWO ROUTES
IN & OUT
On the page below we explore and describe both the "standard" route in & out of the headwaters bowl following the maintained trail through the gap into the Clarks Fork Drainage, and we also describe the cross-country route breaking off from the maintained trail to hike West through Saint Marys Pass onto the top of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

The maintained trail pointing North out of the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead is overwhelmingly used by day hikers targeting Stanislaus and Sonora Peaks. It is rarely used by Tahoe to Yosemite Trail backpackers. That's because TYT backpackers are so rare. That might be caused by the nature of the "trail" itself. The fact is that trail itself is rare from the end of maintained trail on the rim of the headwaters bowl down to its resumption 6.24 miles to our North at the Eureka Valley trail junction.

These 6.24 miles are more route than trail.

We are either beginning or ending a very difficult little segment of The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, depending on our direction of travel.

Grand Context
Check out the Carson Iceberg Wilderness map to get an idea of the location of the upper reaches of the Clarks Fork and its Headwaters Bowl in context with the line of the nearby PCT on the East flank of the Sierra Crestline, the roads we can use to access them, and especially the local trails we can potentially use to tie them all together into awesome local backpacking trips, and certainly craft some interesting alternative routes for our series of long-distance High Sierra backpacking trips as they come across the Carson Iceberg Wilderness.

But, our first consideration here is the lack of maintained trail along the whole South end of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail across the Carson Iceberg Wilderness. The 6.24 miles of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail North between the headwaters bowl down to the Eureka Valley trail junction are unmaintained trail or self-navigated route selections.

This is challenging and stimulating terrain deserving of some special attention.

Shorter Explorations
Check out the Sonora Pass Region Map for an even broader perspective on the relationship between the PCT and TYT both North and South of the line of Highway 108 dividing the Carson Iceberg and Emigrant Wilderness Wilderness Areas. We can explore our options for tying bits of each trail together as they come across these two beautiful wilderness areas into unique routes enhancing our long distance trips.

Those of us without the time necessary to hike from Tahoe to Whitney or Yosemite can use this information for constructing amazing shorter local backpacking loops around the Southern Carson Iceberg and Northern Emigrant Wilderness Areas.

Remember, click the Black Dots on the 30 minute maps for more detailed maps,
and the Red Dots on all the maps for the associated trail guide information.

Each 30 minute map acts as an index for all the guide pages, underlaying detailed maps, and
guide information in its area of coverage.

Unmaintained TYT Trail Reports

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The Plan
Hiking Northbound
out of
Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
Entering the headwaters bowl of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus through Saint Marys Pass, circling clockwise Southwest to the creek running down to the floor of the canyon through the slot, and finding our way to the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

Hiking through Saint Marys Pass is a novel approach. Most hike North from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead all the way up the maintained trail through the gap onto the top of the headwaters bowl of the Clarks Fork.
Instead, I cut West off the maintained trail well below the gap to go "cross country" across the ravine running down below the gap.

That route actually crosses Saint Marys Pass into the drainage of the Clarks Fork. After that we begin hiking clockwise searching around to the South end of the headwaters looking for the entrance into the top of the correct slot leading down to the floor of the headwaters bowl.

The first one I explored was not the correct route down, forcing me to climb back out. The second one I explored proved fruitful, bringing me down to the Clarks Fork.

It is a lot of fun exploring new, unknown, rarely hiked routes.

12:14

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The Last or First Wild Duck

Hiking
North to South

We are standing at the base of the slot, looking to climb to the top of the headwaters cliffs.

From here we are hiking South up the Slot to the top of the Headwaters Bowl.

At the base of the Southern Passage cutting its steep route South up through the rock channel to the top of the headwaters bowl we find this big wild duck.

Though leading to no particular trail this duck marks our position standing below the granite channel, the "slot," and the beginning of the end of our Southbound hike climbing out, off the floor of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

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Wild Duck
Wild Duck at the base of the rocky channel out of the headwaters bowl. There are no more ducks above this position to the resumption of trail where we join the maintained trail coming up from Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

Heck, there's no, or not many ducks on the maintained portion of the trail down to the trailhead either.

Nonetheless, this wild duck pictured above is the top and last duck for Southbound hikers below the slot climbing out of the base of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River to the top of its headwaters bowl.

Northbound hikers will find this duck is the first is a potential series of wild ducks leading down to the North end of Clarks Fork Meadow.

I say potential because ducks, and especially wild ducks, can come and go each hiking season. Especially after a heavy Winter.

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Channel
into and out
of the
Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl

Bottom of a Sloppy Wash

The Entrance to the Slot.

This is interesting because it gives us a clue as to how our route and the creek share the slot. The creek is running out the slot beyond the line of low, bushy trees we can just make out between our position and the distant cliff face.

We hike up the West side of the slot while the creek runs down the East.

This distinctive rock dispels all doubt about our position.

The Black and White Stripping is Quite Striking.

We are at the base of the correct slot leading us up and out.

Now we just have to hope the last Spring Thaw did not re-carve the terrain to our great disadvantage. There is always a chance that conditions have changed radically for the worse since this account was written in August of 2015.

Welcome to the uncertainty factor. Will the passage be open and passable?

We will see.

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Inviting Dense Forest
at the
Base of the Rock Channel

Looking down at the base of the Clarks Fork headwaters bowl as we ascend the slot.

This is a happy sight for Northbound hikers, indicating that our route does indeed make it to the bottom, and has finally brought us down to the floor of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

It's also a happy sight for Southbound backpackers, indicating that our route does indeed climb out to the top, and we've found the correct route we were looking for up to the top of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

BOTTOM of the SLOT
We are looking down into the narrowing upper section of the floor of Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl from the bottom of the route up the slot to the top of the Headwaters bowl.

Let's take a look at our position from an overview point looking up into the headwaters bowl.

As we see in the next image below our view of the surrounding headwaters bowl expands as we climb higer up into the slot, before the walls of the cliffs rising around the slot cut off most long views.

On the far side of the forest in the image above we can see the bottom of the slope descending off the Southeast flank of the great citidel rock. This view indicates the narrowing of the headwaters bowl as the head of the canyon assumes its characteristic "horseshoe" shape. As we gain altitude following the tributary South up to the base of the slot our expanding view above the forest (before our view is eclipsed entering the slot) gives us some perspective on the location of our position exiting the upper headwaters bowl.

It is very cozy in here, as you can see.

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View East
at the
Top of the Clarks Fork River
climbing the
Eastern Extent of the Headwaters Bowl

Climbing the lower slot between the top and the bottom of the headwaters bowl we get a couple of views East at the womb of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River as we climb higher, and a sweet view Northeast opens up briefly before we are submerged deep between the cliff's walls.

To our East-Northeast we see the top of the headwaters canyon where the initial tributaries run out feeding the central river, which continues to run up into the center of the headwaters bowl above the point we turned South into our exit/entrance tributary along the route of the TYT through the slot.

The low point we see in the distance is atop the headwaters bowl located
just a bit Northwest of Saint Marys Pass.

ALT ROUTES
This view up the center of the upper headwaters brings to mind our alternative routes out of the headwaters bowl, such as they are. I say that because I am convinced the difficult route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail described here is the easiest route out of the headwaters bowl.

We may find ourselves facing the alternative routes. The TYT route is not easy to see, find, or stay on, so those who are charting their own route through here need all the information they can get, to find and stay on their preferred route, or find an alternative if unable to find the TYT.

I'd advise finding the TYT route out of the upper headwaters, but for those looking for alternative routes I've put together this short "map history" of the Upper Clarks Fork and its known and unknown route options, back on the previous page of the guide:

ALT ROUTES

Rumor, old and new experiences, and the old National Forest Wilderness maps are all indicative of a route, or routes continuing up the river beyond the upper ford to climb out of the center of the headwaters bowl roughly along line of the Clarks Fork in the direction of our line of sight below.

I have never found indications of such a route, even when I last hiked that route about 15 years ago. It was a tough self-selected route with few indications of humans, let along route or trail.

Nor have I seen indications of a route branching Southeast out of the upper North flank of the headwaters bowl, though Johnny described making his way out the upper end of the South canyon during 2015.

This is not to say that these routes cannot be hiked. I am sure they can. Johnny hiked out the Southeast flank. I am also sure that they require a superior level of fitness and route finding ability to pull off them off with a reasonable degree of safety.

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Rough country looking East-Northeast across the South flank of the headwaters bowl at the head of the canyon.

Unmaintained TYT Trail Reports

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Coming through the Rocky Channel

An adventure is composed of not knowing exactly what is going to happen next... and this section of the trail provides just that experience.

Up we go!

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View Northeast
at the
Very Upper Reaches of Headwaters Bowl

While climbing North-South between the base and top of the headwaters bowl we are able to observe the details of the upper reaches of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus to our East.

Climbing higer we can begin to see that the headwaters bowl is shaped like a narrow horseshoe.

Looking East-Northeast up at the very top of the Headwaters Bowl of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

We are at the last location we can get a glimpse out of the slot until we climb out of the top.

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View Northwest of Stanislaus Peak across the lower headwaters of the Clarks Fork while climbing South up the slot on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

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The distinctive stripped wall marking the entrance to the slot runs a straight and parallel wall up the slot for a considerable distance.

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Up the Slot we can see where the course of the tributary flows down to our Left through a jumbled gorge while our route climbs a slightly less jumbled steep sandy wash to our Right.

Sun breaking across the upper gorge brings out the rich earth tones in the rock.

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Looking back we can see the steep boulder and brush-filled sandy slot we've climbed up from the floor of the Headwaters Bowl.

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Coming Up through the Rocky Channel

Wall to Northeast as we climb up to our Right, Southeast.

Sweet granite cliffs along our route up the slot from the floor of the upper Clarks Fork River's canyon up to the top of the its headwaters bowl.

I was fascinated with the face above in 2012 when I shot the image above, but I prefer the image from 2015 below, in which I caught Sonora Peak off to the East-Northeast. We can also see a slice of how the steep funnel shape of the headwaters bowl wraps around the Northeastern quadrant of the upper canyon.

This is an amazing little piece of our route. A creek runs down from the top of the headwaters bowl through a steep jumbled channel along the base of this wall. We can get some idea about its character from the picture below. We are looking at all of this standing on a berm of sand to the West of the jumbled channel at the base of the wall.

I figure the course of the stream and position of the sandy berm are part of a alternating mechanism over time.

I figure the channel of the creek shifts every few decades, when the creek cutting too deeply and the sand berm piling too high is followed by a great Winter and a fierce Spring Thaw.

In my mind's eye I can see a powerful Spring Thaw collasping the sandy berm into the stream every few score years.

I speculate that the power of these random but regular flood-thaw events work to sweep the accumulated sand and debris out of the congested slot every couple of decades as part of a catastrophic process that both cleans and cuts a new layout of stream, sand, and trail in this rocky channel.

Maps of the Headwaters Bowl
(Scroll up for Current Map)

Along our way up the slot we find a series of sweet spots.

There are a few nice places one could camp in the slot, up near the top and at the top,
where we have access to the stream's water.

Unmaintained TYT Trail Reports

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To the Top
of the
Rocky Channel
up to the
Top of the Headwaters Bowl

Sweet Relief
The angle of our climb moderates from very steep to steep above the bottom third of the slot.
The upper end of the steep lower channel eases its way over a compacted hump of hard sand dividing the steep lower segment from the less-acute angle above, onto the remaining more-moderate upper two-thirds of the slot up to the top of the headwaters bowl.

Below, we are pointing South, maybe even a wee bit West of South in the slot. After climbing over the sandy berm our steady climb is split up by a series of steeper chutes between relatively flat bits of terrain, which composes a series of steps up to the top of the headwaters bowl.

Maps of the Headwaters Bowl
(Scroll up for Current Map)

At the Top
We will turn Left, when we climb up to where the cut of this tributary reaches across the top of the cliffs. Once we get up to the top we must determine the best point to climb East, to our Left, up of the face of the tributary's East bank to finally make the last bit of our way up onto the top of the headwaters cliffs.

Once we get out of the cut of the tributary exiting the slot we find wide-open terrain wrapping around the top of the horseshoe-shaped broad flat atop the cliffs of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl really opens up.

But first we have to ascend up a series of jumbled rocky slopes above the sandy bottom segment of the slot to bring us up there.

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Above we are entering the final two-thirds of our hike after getting up above the steepest lower segment of the slot.

Our route through the upper segments of this slot moderates once we get up to the top of this great steep berm of jumbled boulders, dense under brush, with gravity-drawn debris filling its lower end.

We are approaching the end of this steep lower segment of the slot.

Below us we can make out features that help us locate the position of the slot in the South wall of the headwaters cliffs.

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The image above is instructive for establishing the position of this slot in the cliffs up to the top of the headwaters bowl.

Note the remnants of the great granite dome sitting on the floor of the canyon at the base of this slot.

We can line up the location of the slot in the cliffs with the dome below it on images of the upper headwaters bowl and its surrounding cliffs.

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The angle of ascent of the lower slot we followed up through the cliffs moderates considerably once we climb above its very steep and chaotic lower section.

Here we go around to the Left of the boulders in the line of the creek, to rejoin the line of the creek on the other side of the low rise.

Maps of the Headwaters Bowl
(Scroll up for Current Map used by the trail guide)

The two images above are of exactly the same boulder-choked segment of the tributary, but from different perspectives.

Note the unique shape of the closest boulder.

We find many sweet perspectives across this beautiful terrain.

The character of the slot induces good feelings when backpackers reflect the spirit of the terrain.

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Faint indications of Use Trail at our feet.

Though there is no real trail through here there is really not much room to get lost in this narrow crack in the cliffs.

Here we are bending East to detour around a rocky jumbled segment along the creek.

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Pleasant details emerge out of the larger context of beauty around us.

Here our eyes are drawn to the sloppy route of the creek down through the rocks by the tinkling song it makes tumbling over and rushing around the rocks.

We can see the route ahead is moderating a bit more as our jumbled slot is finally moderating as it reaches up into the flattening top of its headwaters bowl.

Maps of the Headwaters Bowl
(Scroll up for Current Map)

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Great Panorama of the North Sierra

A final look back across the upper length of the slot, then we climb out of its ravine to our Northeast away from the creek below, to find our way to Saint Marys Pass seeking signs of the maintained trail that will lead us down to its trailhead on Highway 108.

Above, we can see the line of the creek running down into the slot below our view of an ocean of Sierra peaks running North along the Sierra Crest.

Expansive views greet us as our view opens with the opening terrain as we approach the top of the slot.

We inspect this North Sierra Panorama as we hike around the top of the headwaters bowl to Saint Marys Pass.

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Climbing Out of the Tributary Creekbed-Ravine

This is where I climb out of the vast widening cut (see the next image below) in the terrain that is growing above the top of the slot.

This cut in the terrain is the "mini-headwaters" bowl of the tributary creek making a substantial cut in the soft volcanic terrain above the granite slot, feeding the tributary creek flowing down through to the Clarks Fork.

The image below, and this one from a distance, show the size of the cut in the volcanic terrain above the slot in the cliffs.

This cut also identifies the slot and guides Northbound hikers to it.

Segment
VII

Cross-Country
between
Rim of Headwaters Bowl
and the
Saint Marys Pass Trail

Images and Guide
We exiting the slot in the cliffs coming up from the floor of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl to continue our Cross-Country hike counter-clockwise to our Northeast (Southbound on TYT) around the Top of Headwaters Bowl to Saint Marys Pass, the maintained trail, and finally down to end of this section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail by hiking through the Saint Marys pass Trailhead on Highway 108.

Below we are looking back at the End of our Hike up the Slot.

In the image below we are turning around to look West at the faint use trail at our feet we followed
climbing East out of the gully to our current position.

View Above
NORTHBOUND HIKER LANDMARK
In the image above we Southbound hikers have turned around to look West-Southwest across the creek that runs down to the floor of the Clarks Fork Canyon through the slot, which we Southbound hikers just climbed out of.

See that granite wearing out of the volcanic hillside along the face rising above the far Right side of the ravine? The lowest portion of that ridgline has a distinctive patch of exposed granite blocks that have eroded out from under their volcanic covering. It is a very distinctive feature.

Northbound hikers can use that distinctive patch of granite blocks as a landmark to identify the otherwise invisible gully as we Northbound hikers move clockwise around the top of the headwaters bowl. Other than this landmark the ravine feeding the slot is hidden from Northbound backpackers' view as they approach via Saint Marys Pass. But we can see the granite above the slot, and use that to guide us into the correct route.

That's the same granite we see emerging out of the same hillside in this image, looking around the Southwest end of the headwaters bowl from near Saint Marys Pass.

Northbound backpackers can guide themselves to the top of the slot using that emerging granite as a landmark. Note this distinctive feature if you ever plan on hiking into the Clarks Fork from the North. We know that the creek down through the slot to the floor of the canyon sits between us and that granite, right below that granite, in fact.

Video
Off the Saint Marys Pass Trail cross-country into the
Headwaters of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River

video duration
9:54

route distances
1.21 miles of no trail no ducks, but through open terrain from
the top of the slot to maintained trail

1.14 miles of maintained trail to
the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead

2.35 miles total
From the top of the slot to Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108

elevation change
About None, running around 10, 400 feet of elevation around the
top of the headwaters bowl from the slot to maintained trail

10, 400 at the Gap to 9440 at Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
960 foot change

Climbing out of the creek's ravine to reach the top of the Headwaters Bowl we find a maze of sweet low granite features decorating the terrain. We've got to hike counter-clockwise around its horseshoe shaped perimeter, which will bring us to the formal locations of Saint Marys Pass.

At Saint Marys Pass we will look East across the drainage below the gap to see our trail running down the mountain flank to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on its far side. We have two ways to get over there.

First, we will reach the top of that trail at the gap where that ravine begins if we continue counter-clockwise around the perimeter of the headwaters bowl across Saint Marys Pass. Or we can hike directly to the trail by scrambling across the drainage through Saint Marys Pass.

Either approach rapidly brings us to the maintained trail coming up from Highway 108.

We find a 1.14 mile length of well-maintained trail leading South down from the gap to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108, which is just nine miles East of our next rest and resupply stop at the fantastic rest and resupply services offered up by Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

It's almost time to kick-back a spell.

Rest, Recovery, Resupply
Kennedy Meadows Pack Station is right along our TYT route South. The next and last section of our Tahoe to Yosemite Trail begins through Kennedy Meadows Pack Station, as a matter of fact.

Both of these facts, that we have excellent resources, and that they are located right along our TYT route, are both good news. We are going to need some rest after the challenges and difficulties of this segment of trail, and it's nice not to have to get off the line of our route to get some rest, eat some great food, and pick up our resupply for our final 75 mile section of trail hiking down to Tuolumne Meadows.

CONTEXT
Check out the Carson Iceberg Wilderness map to get an idea of the location of the upper reaches of the Clarks Fork and its Headwaters Bowl in context with the surrounding PCT and local trails we can potentially use to put together awesome local backpacking trips, alternative routes for our long-distance backpacking trips crossing the Carson Iceberg Wilderness, and the roads accessing them.

Check out the Sonora Pass Region Map for an even broader perspective on the relationship between the PCT and TYT both North and South of Highway 108, and our options for tying bits of each trail together into unique routes for our long distance trips or as part of shorter, but expansive local backpacking loops.

Remember, click the Black Dots on the 30 minute maps above for more detailed maps, and the Red Dots on all the maps for the associated trail guide information.

Unmaintained TYT Trail Reports

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Reaching the top of the headwaters bowl we begin looking East for our potential routes to Saint Marys Pass and the maintained trail beyond.

We can see Sonora Peak peeking over the scene on the Left of the image.

We can use the top of Sonora Peak to guide our path towards the gap because the gap lays almost directly between us and Sonora Peak, while Saint Marys Pass is bit to the East of that line.

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Hiking Cross-Country from the maintained trail above Saint Marys Pass Trailhead West across the gully below the gap to and through Saint Marys Pass.

9:54

Exploring the Potential ways down to the Clarks Fork

Working our way East around the South side of the upper rim of the Headwaters we look at a potential channel we explored before rejecting it as a route down on a previous trip.

We'd need wings for this one.

I took this shot after climbing back out of my exploratory probe down-mountain through the slot below.

Above and Below: Two views of the wrong way down to the Clarks Fork!

This is a bit East of the route down.

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View
from the
Top

Stanislaus Peak tops the Northern ridgeline of the Sierra Crest above the Clarks Fork viewed looking West-Northwest from the rim at the top of the Headwaters Bowl of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

Stanislaus Peak from the Headwaters of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

Variations on a Theme
We are crossing a variety of terrains, many being variations on a central theme.

Here, hiking around the top of the headwaters bowl we find great sections of golden sands, pebbles, and fields of boulders all sitting on glacially-sculpted sheets of granite, all being variations on the theme of the color, tone, and texture of the underlaying golden granite that was glacially carved, volcanically coated, and environmentally eroded.

I like golden granites in all its forms.

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Looking Southwest at the South end of the headwaters bowl.

Note the granite emerging out of the volcanic terrain on the exposed end of the ridge in the middle-distance. That's the landmark terrain we saw above the creek running down through the slot to the bottom of the headwaters bowl.

Note that we cannot actually see the ravine in the terrain leading to the slot, or the creek that runs through it, while hiking across the top of the headwaters bowl.

Norhtbound hikers will be right up on the ravine before seeing it.

Long View
of the
Stanislaus Drainage

Twisting path of Clarks Fork through the Western Flank of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the top of the Headwaters Bowl.

View a bit North of West down the valley of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

In a longer context we are looking Northwest at the Sierra Crestline all the way up to the frigging Tahoe Basin, over the near terrain of the whole length of the Carson Iceberg and Mokelumne Wilerness Areas.

I can't see much of the Mokelumne Wilderness before the bulk of Round Top rises as the highest peak Left of center on the furthest ridgline. Off to the Right of Round Top we can see the Crystal Range in the fuzzy mists of this long distance view, with the vague form Red Lake Peak on the South Rim of the Tahoe Basin visible to the Right of the Crystal Range along the hazy horizon.

I focused on the Round Top and Sisters Massif in the far Northern distance, the highest mountain South of the Tahoe Basin until we get all the way down here to Stanislaus and Sonora Peaks.

Below we can see most of the North Sierra Crestline and its Western flank North to the West Shore of the Tahoe Basin from our position on the rim of the Clarks Forrk Headwaters Bowl.

Let's try to take an even closer look at the North Sierra Crestline and its Flanks below.

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North Sierra Panorama from Saint Marys Pass.
We're looking a bit West of North out over the course of the Clarks Fork at the North Sierra Beyond

I'm thinking we are seeing the mountains way up to our North approaching and even around the
Southern rim of the Tahoe Basin.

Airola Peak is the highest peak on the far Left horizon, Lightening Mountain the shadowed peak to its lower-Right. Oh heck, let's forget calling out the individual names of the mountains, and just post up a large and a large-labeled version of the image above.

Yes, looking a bit West of North from Saint Marys Pass we can see the backsides of Round Top and the Sisters above Carson Pass, the Crystal Range along the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, Highland and Silver Peaks above Ebbetts Pass and even make out the lines of Red Lake and Stevens Peaks guarding our trail's Southern exit from the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Well, I'm as certain as I can be of the peak identifications.

Nonetheless, the peaks of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness are spread across the middle of the image.

I am pretty confident in my identifications of the peaks, but your input, corrections, and additions are welcome.

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Segment
VIII

Saint Marys Pass Trail
and
Trailhead

Images and Guide

Our Southbound Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route climbing out of the headwaters of the Clarks Fork connects up with the maintained trail coming up from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108.

Once we climb South up onto the top of the headwaters bowl and start moving counter-clockwise atop these headwaters cliffs, we begin to find bits of use trail approaching Saint Marys Pass, located on the low point of the perimeter of the bowl, then we encounter signs of a consolidating trail pointing Northeast, climbing from Saint Marys Pass with faint trail further consolidating along the upper edge of the headwaters bowl, pointing us Northeast over to the gap where thes faint bits of our TYT route forms up into a few feet of formal trail before intersecting with the heavily carved line of the maintained trail running between the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead to Stanislaus and Sonora Peaks.

The faint route of the TYT consolidating as it reaches the maintained trail coming up from Saint Marys Pass Trailhead looks like the physical equalivant of a fading memory, if ancient terrain has a mind of its own.

The
Top Edge of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl
looking Southwest
Across
Saint Marys Pass

We are standing on a point along the uppermost Eastern edge of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl
on the rising red mound above Saint Marys Pass.

The gap where the trail coming up through it from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead is up a bit higher behind us.

Saint Marys Pass is in front of us, being the first dip below our position.
We can see the rising red knob of terrain marked on the map just Southwest of Saint Marys Pass in the middle of the image above on its far-Left side, its far Eastern edge.

All runoff running of the East side of this image flows down into Deadman Creek. Sonora Pass sits at the very top of the Deadman Creek drainage off to the Left, the East, at the top of the Sierra Crest.

We are about 800 feet above Sonora Pass at 10 400 feet of elevation here looking at Saint Marys Pass.

Everything flowing to the Right in the image above is flowing West into the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

Interestingly, the drainage coming off both flanks of Saint Marys Pass flow West.

Disappearing Trail North
The back of the wilderness boundary sign we find in the gap is carved with the name "Saint Marys Pass" and an arrow pointing Southwest, towards our position in the image above, but the trail to Saint Marys Pass only gets halfway to Saint Marys Pass before it melts into the quite granular terrain.

Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
Trail
The well-maintained high quality trail coming Northbound up from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead mostly leads day hikers to Stanislaus Peak. It runs up a major climb from the trailhead way up to the level of the Clarks Headwaters Bowl climbing aside a big gully up to the gap at the top of the Northeastern edge of the headwaters bowl. It is a hard 2 or a hard 3 trail climbing from the trailhead to the gap.

The trail up from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead accesses the top of the Northeastern corner of the headwaters bowl through the gap at the top of the drainage gully where we find the Carson Iceberg wilderness boundary. We can see that the wilderness boundary runs Southwest around the perimeter of the top edge of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl, passing through Saint Marys Pass.

The boundary to our East Crosses the summit of Sonora Peak.

Two Ways South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail
There are two ways of connecting up with the trail coming up from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead. One circles us counter-clockwise all the way around the rim of the headwaters bowl, across Saint Marys Pass, over to where the maintained trail comes through the gap on the Northeastern side of the headwaters bowl.

Our other option walks us to and directly through Saint Marys Pass cutting directly East across the ravine to pick up the maintained trail well below where it comes through the gap.

Film
Saint Marys Pass Trailhead and up the Trail Route Northbound.

video duration
16:53

Northbound
Cutting West through Saint Marys Pass
Where the trail up from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead brings us above the elevation of the granite formation blocking the SE approach to Saint Marys Pass, and the trail draws near and above the creek. This is where I begin looking West for a good cross-country route through Saint Marys Pass on the top of the headwaters bowl of the Clarks Fork.

Southbound
Cutting East Through Saint Marys Pass
Locate trail on East side of ravine below Saint Marys Pass. Locate best terrain and follow a
self-selected line across it to the maintained trail.

route distance
1.14 miles of well maintained trail from the junction in the gap to Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
or
1.14 miles

10400 to 9440 feet
-960 feet

Unmaintained TYT Trail Reports

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Southbound on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail
Above we are tracking Northeast along our Southbound route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail around the rim of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

At our feet we can watch our unmaintained route emerging and consolidating into a faded trail, then dissappearing again as it leads us over the red hill ahead to the gap on its far side where we will find the maintained trail running from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead to Stanislaus Peak.

Ahead to our Right we can see the wilderness boundary marker in Saint Marys Pass itself.

The terrain to the Right of Saint Marys Pass, to the East, drops into a ravine running down from the gap where we meet the maintained trail. The maintained trail runs from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead up the far Eastern flank of the ravine up to the gap.

To the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
Therefore we have two potential routes to the Maintained Trail from our postion next to Saint Marys Pass, as pictured above.

Gap Route
If we are going to intersect witht the maintained trail on the rim of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl we are going to continue hiking in the direction we are facing above.
We will wrap around the upper Left flank of the upcoming red hillside climbing to intersect with the maintained trail coming up through the gap located on the far end of the hillside above.

Saint Marys Pass Route
Our other option is to study the terrain to our Right, looking East through Saint Marys Pass to understand the cross-country terrain in the ravine we have to cross hiking East through Saint Marys Pass.

This decision requires crossing the ravine running down under the gap that the maintained trail follows up to the gap.

We will hike cross-country across this ravine to find the maintained trail on its Eastern flank if we turn East to hike through Saint Marys Pass.

In the meantime, let's take a look at the rest of our amazing surroundings up here on the rim of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

We've got 360 degrees of amazing around us.

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Looking West into the far end of the upper canyon we can see the Clarks Fork Meadow down in the floor of the Headwaters Bowl of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River. We were just down there.

Hit this next link to take a view from down there, looking East towards our position here on the top of the headwaters bowl, a perspective looking East from the far Western edge of Clarks Fork Meadow.

Check out the
North Sierra Panorama, too,
above.

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Leavitt Peak and Massif
Beyond Deadman Creek Canyon
View of Leavitt Peak across the upper meadow feeding Deadman Creek. Sonora Pass marks the top of the Sierra Crest just out of the Left side of the image.

This is the Sierra Crestline South of Sonora Pass. The Pacific Crest Trail runs North and South threading its way around the series of mountain peaks capping the the Leavitt Massif's segment of the Sierra Crest line on the Left, the East side of the image above.

Map of Leavitt Peak and the Southbound PCT

Highway 108 runs East-West along the bottom of this valley between us and the Leavitt Massif. Highway 108 runs around the near perimeter of the expansive meadow decorating the bottom of this canyon between our position and the Leavitt Massif.

Note that we can also see the Sonora Pass Road above and just a bit left of the obvious length of road in the middle-Left of the image above. That upper bit of road is actually the road going over Sonora Pass.

Let's take a closer look at that uppermost segment of the Sonora Pass Road:

We can actually see a car parked just on the West side of Sonora Pass. That's almost exactly where the PCT crosses Sonora Pass.
Below the road we can see the very uppermost reach of the meadow feeding the headwaters of Deadman Creek.

The peak on the far Left of the third image above is the Northern Peak 10 480 capping the Northern Flank of the Leavitt Massif. It is the only part of Leavitt massif shown in the second image above, which shows Highway 108 approaching Sonora Pass.

Leavitt Peak itself is the peak in the center-Left of the third image above that's decorated with two almost-vertical snow streaks. That's Leavitt Peak. Leavitt Peak is not visible from Sonora Pass. Only the Northern Peak 10480 of the Massif is visible from Sonora Pass.

Besides being able to see the The Pacific Crest Trail crossing Sonora Pass and Leavitt Peak back on its massif, we can also see where the PCT makes its big traverse South of Sonora Pass up the North-facing North face of the Northern Leavitt Massif peak.

PCT SIGHTING FROM TYT
at
Saint Marys Pass

We can spot the faint cut of the line of the ascending PCT where it makes its turn onto its traverse up the
North Flank of the Leavitt Massif.

We can see its faint line diagonally traversing across the middle of the image above.

We carefully studied the route over Leavitt Peak as we approached it on the Southbound PCT.

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To Maintained Trail
Climbing up the ascending rim of the headwaters bowl we bend Northeast around the upper flank of the rising red hill to find actual trail once we reach the top of our climb, the little nub of trail pictured above.

These last few feet of trail bring us across our final steps into the gap in the rim of the headwaters bowl (just over the low rise ahead) where we find the wilderness boundary and the trail junction with the maintained trail coming up from Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

The pattern of use on the trails makes it apparent we TYT hikers are joining in with the heavily-used trail from Highway 108 to Stanislaus Peak, and it is not the case that the trail to Stanislaus Peak is joining in with a heavily-used Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

The faintness of our TYT route turning off the deep grove of the trail to Stanislaus Peak proves that point.

In the image above the position where the maintained trail crosses the gap into the drainage of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River is just ahead. Our junction with the maintained trail is on the other side of the low patch of rough terrain just beyond the snow remnant.

We are at the Northeastern corner of the top of the Clarks Fork Drainage, but we will shortly turn Right, South by the compass, to drop into the Deadman Creek Drainage as soon as we step over the crestline to our South.

All runoff off the Right side of the image runs South into Deadman Creek. All runoff on the Left runs into the Clarks Fork.

There is a wilderness boundary sign marking the junction of our unmaintained TYT route with maintained trail coming up from Saint Marys Pass hidden out of sight hidden behind the low rough patch, pictured below.

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Wilderness Boundary Markers at the trail junction in the gap.

We've picked up the last feet of a very short bit of trail leading us to the well-maintained trail running from Saint Marys Pass Trailhead to Stanislaus Peak.

This is a faint four-way trail junction
In the image above we are looking at the faint trail leading East up to the top of Sonora Pass.

Southbound TYT Hiker
Behind us is the small segment of maintained TYT leading West around
the rim of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

To our Right is the Southbound TYT, now a maintained trail leading us down to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108.

To our Left is the trail leading Northwest out to Stanislaus Peak.

A look at the back of the wilderness area sign reveals an old faded carving of "Saint Marys Pass" and an arrow pointing us North back along our route around the headwaters bowl of the Clarks Fork towards Saint Marys Pass.

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Faint sign pointing Southwest
to
Saint Marys Pass

Wilderness Boundary sign in the gap where the maintained and unmaintained trails formally intersect.

There is a faint arrow pointing West along with the words,
"Saint Marys Pass" carved in the back of the sign's post.

The carving is almost worn out to the limits of perception as is the trail it points to.

The TYT "trail" North of this junction shortly melts into the terrain.

The faint arrow pointing to Saint Marys Pass and the faded remnant of trail are the only formal indications that the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, or any other trail, tracks West from this location in the gap intersecting with maintained trail.

That's the only sign pointing West in any way indicative of the route North.
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Leavitt Peak lined up in the Gunsight Gap

Down Through the Gap
TYT maintained trail South down the Mountain to Highway 108.

This view South reveals the complexity of the Leavitt Massif, and even Leavitt Peak itself as we hike South down maintained trail through the gap to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108.

Map of Leavitt Peak and the Southbound PCT

Before us is our last segment of the whole section of trail crossing the
Carson Iceberg Wilderness, and we just finished the last of the unmaintained segments of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail.

Much of the remainder of our route South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail is on some of the best maintained trail in the Sierra Nevada;
The Pacific Crest Trail.

We will intersect with, and rejoin the PCT following our hike across the Emigrant Wilderness where we enter Yosemite.

In the meantime we are getting a good look at the route of the PCT across the Leavitt Massif from our position exiting the Carson Iceberg Wilderness along the route of the TYT.

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Continuing Route of the Maintained Trail

View North to Stanislaus Peak, topping the North wall of the Clarks Fork Canyon. We are looking Northwest across the top of the gap where the trail up from Saint Marys Pass reaches the top of the headwaters bowl.

Remember the location of our campsite on the North edge of Clarks Fork Meadow was at the base of Stanislaus Peak's Southwestern flank?

This shot gives us some perspective on the great volcanic cap covering/composing the Sierra Crestline between the granite lined valleys of the Clarks Fork and East Carson Rivers which are emerging out from under both flanks of the volcanic-capped crestline.

Fascinating.

View North through the Gap
Last Steps up to The Gap
for
NORTHBOUND BACKPACKERS

The view of the gap climbing up from Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

We are in the throat of the narrowing ravine which begins its flow down the mountain to Deadman Creek from the narrowness of the gap.

We can see the wilderness boundary line represented by the snow pole rising above us in the gap.

The Historical Maps define the line of the Wilderness precisely.

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Wilderness Boundary
across
Saint Marys Pass

An Alternative Route

Through, rather than Across
Saint Marys Pass

Our view in the second image below is gazing West as we climb (Northbound on the TYT) making our own cross-country route that actually hikes Westbound through Saint Marys Pass into the Headwaters Bowl of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus.

We do this by turning West off the Saint Marys Pass Trail as soon as we gained enough altitude to put ourselves above the granite feature, pictured below, on the West side of the drainage that is blocking our cross-country access to Saint Marys Pass from the Southeast.

This image shows the granite feature below the Southeast side of Saint Marys Pass.

Granite blocking Southeast approach to Saint Marys Pass pictured above. We should be above this feature before turning West to hike through Saint Marys Pass into the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

Check out our view of this formation from further down the mountain towards the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

"Standard" Route North
Our other route option is the "standard" route continuing North on the trail from Saint Marys Pass up to and through the gap, where we will find about 50 feet of Tahoe to Yosemite Trail leading us onto the rim of the headwaters bowl before the trail disappears.

At our back is the Saint Marys Pass Trail which we exited.

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Carson Iceberg Wilderness Boundary runs across Saint Marys Pass around the perimeter of the Clarks Fork Headwaters bowl.

One Route Through Saint Marys Pass
This is a variant of the TYT as depicted following the trail as shown on the National Forest Carson Iceberg Wilderness map of 1987, which depicts the trail turning West across the ravine below the gap to walk through Saint Marys Pass.

One Route Across Saint Marys Pass
This is opposed to the actual route of the TYT as depicted on Winett's 1989 map, which shows the TYT climbing through the gap, then bending Southwest around the headwaters bowl, across Saint Marys Pass.

Two Locations cited for Saint Marys Pass
Notice how the two maps above give two different definitions for Saint Marys Pass? Winett places Saint Marys Pass in what I call the "gap," while the USGS and National Forest Maps place Saint Marys Pass in the low spot along the perimeter of the headwaters bowl.

In real terms Winett names this gap as Saint Marys Pass, while the federal maps cite the low point along this ridgeline. I follow the federal definition for the location of Saint Marys Pass.

Above we are looking West at the Carson Iceberg wilderness boundary marker in Saint Marys Pass.

One day while hiking North from Saint Marys Pass Trailhead along the Northbound Tahoe to Yosemite Trail I decided to cut directly West over to, and through Saint Marys Pass into the headwaters bowl, rather than hiking up to the gap on the maintained trail, then circling clockwise on the unmaintained route around the headwaters bowl.

I turned West as soon as I considered myself high enough, and began finding the easiest route over to Saint Marys Pass. I had hiked high enough on the maintained trail to get above the granite blocking the lower approaches to the pass, but the loose terrain and lack of trail makes this more direct route maybe a bit harder than the standard route up to the junction in the gap.

Your comparisons are invited.

comments

Unmaintained TYT Trail Reports

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Looking North at the descent from the gap down towards the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead for Southbound backpackers.

Northbound hikers find a challenging climb.

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Saint Marys Pass

View West from above the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead

Saint Marys Pass is the low gap making up the saddle on the far Right side of the ridge, to the Right of the pointy feature above upper section of the granite feature.

My "alternative route" plan is to use the Saint Marys Pass Trail to put myself above the granite so I have a clear traverse from the trail West over to and through Saint Marys Pass.

Otherwise we climb way above Saint Marys Pass to the gap, then descend across Saint Marys Pass.

Saint Marys Pass viewed from the East side, looking Northwest from a position where we've climbed above the trailhead and can identify the ravine leading up to the gap.

Saint Marys Pass is the low point between the creme-colored granite formation blocking access to it from the Left, the Southeast, and the ruddy volcanic terrain rising on its Right, the Northeast. We can see a "sweet spot," a thin strip of green terrain approaching Saint Marys Pass from above the boulder-sheet and below the volcanic rise.

Northbound hikers would keep an eye on the approaches to that "sweet spot" position if considering hiking a cross-country line West through Saint Marys Pass into the headwaters bowl, rather than hiking the maintained trail all the way up to the gap. Nonetheless, this is what I consider the correct identification of Saint Marys Pass.

Interestingly, the National Forest Map from 1987 shows the old trail threading through Saint Marys Pass connecting with the present line of the maintained trail far below the gap, while Winnett's Map has the route climbing through the gap (not Saint Marys Pass), while all the current USGS and National Forest maps show no through trails here at all, maintained or unmaintained, but only this trail at our feet servicing Stanislaus and Sonora Peaks.

The trail we can see in the immediate foreground is the TYT tracking North. It positions itself on this side, the East flank of the upcoming ravine running to our Right up to the gap. The trail climbs the East flank of the ravine all the way up to where the two radically steepening flanks of the ravine converge at the gap crossing us into the drainage of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

Wooo Hooo!

That gap is the highest point along this section of the perimeter of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl, while Saint Marys Pass as identified above is the lowest point around the perimeter of the headwaters bowl. The latter is the definition of a pass.
The current route of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail through the gap reflects the logic of laying out the trail route across the most stable terrain, which here requires the trail go through the relative stability of the gap rather than the unstable terrain leading directly West across the unstable ravine to Saint Marys Pass.

I would bet that back when the trail was laid out across the ravine it was wiped out by the Spring Thaw almost every year, until the trail was rerouted to stay up on the flank of the ravine to pass through the gap. That kept it from getting washed away every year.

The route of the TYT as described on Winnett's Map follows the current route of the maintained trail running from the gap to Saint Marys Pass Trailhead. This is the only trail depicted on the current maps. The current maps depict this trail as the access point to Stanislaus and Sonora Peaks from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead, and nothing else. Nothing. That's it.

No current trails or routes are depicted through Saint Marys Pass or around the perimeter of the headwaters bowl. But they exist.

That other route across Saint Marys Pass into the Clarks Fork drainage exists because I've hiked it. It might be easier or harder than following the trail higher up in elevation to the gap, but I believe the most important part of the route is West of Saint Marys Pass, not East.
Finding our way East from Saint Marys Pass to the trailhead is easy. Finding our way West of Saint Marys Pass down to the floor of the headwaters bowl is much more difficult.

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Our final run SOUTH down to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
or
looking back while climbing Northbound
The first stage of our climb NORTH to the Gap onto the top of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl.

Or, looking at our last descent South to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on Highway 108.

Looking South above we can see the very impressive North flank of the Leavitt Massif, and actually make out Leavitt Peak too. Leavitt Peak is the rounded peak with a little dash of snow peeking out behind the descending ridgline on the far Right side of the image.

Yes, that is the actual Leavitt Peak back there.

The peak in the center is Peak 10 480, which is the dominant peak of the North Flank of the Leavitt Massif. Because of its position rising above Sonora Pass and Highway 108 a lot of folks mistake peak 10 480 for Leavitt Peak, while it is actually one of its subordinate peaks on the quite substantial Leavitt Massif.

Thus the above image presents a broad look at the North Face of Leavitt Massif and its almost hidden peak.

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Camelback formation sitting at the base of the Southwest corner of Sonora Peak.

This looks like something shot out of a volcano like a cannon shell, which subsequently has sat in place since landing, slowly but steadily dissolving into the surrounding terrain.

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Flowers.

From a distance this looks like barren terrain. Closer inspection shows a healthy carpet of colorful plant life across the terrain. Closer yet we find colors, shapes, and unique textures forged by the interactions of living things with radical weather and radical weather changes.

These bits of blooming beauty are our rewards for the continued survival of the plants displaying them, as close to a "something for nothing" deal as we can come.

Nature is amazing like that.

Dayhiker Heaven

I spotted a fast moving hiker coming down the trail.

The Saint Marys Pass Trailhead access to both Sonora and Stanislaus Peaks makes this trailhead a favorite for serious dayhikers.

Here's one now.

Gerry is a local day hiker dedicated to seeing the Sierra.

Though there is excellent trail all the way to Stanislaus Peak, the last bit of the climb to the very top looks really hairy!

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Deadman Creek
and
Highway 108

To our Southwest we can see the bottom of the headwaters meadow running West from Sonora Pass where Deadman Creek begins it Westward flow.

Descending to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead we find that the bottom of our trail sits along the Western edge of the expansive meadow feeding Deadman Creek.

The meadow is situated running down the Western Flank of the Sierra between Leavitt and Sonora Peaks. Below the bottom of the meadow is visible with Highway 108 winding its way along its edge towards the steep drop into the canyon below.

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Westbound Highway 108 turning into the Big V.

This is the bottom of the meadow off the West flank from Sonora Pass where Deadman Creek begins its flow down to the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River through Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

Our Saint Marys Pass Trailhead is located along the North edge of this meadow about a mile West of Sonora Pass.

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Leavitt Peak and Massif

We get great views of the Leavitt Massif to our South and note Leavitt Peak's position in the surrounding terrain.

Leavitt Massif to our South.

Leavitt Peak is the peak to the Right down the ridgeline from the predominant peak, which is not Leavitt Peak but Peak 10 480.
Peak 10480 is the highest peak on the Northern flank of the Leavitt Massif. Leavitt Peak is what appears as a double peak, the first peak to the Right beyond ridgeline descending to the West, the Right of Peak 10 480.

The peaks on the Left side of the image, including Peak 10 480 and Leavitt Peak are all along the Pacific Crest Trail's route over the massive bulk of the Leavitt Massif.

That, my friends, is the Sierra Crestline South of Sonora Pass. The ridge descending to the Right of Leavitt Peak divides Deadman Creek's drainage on this side from Kennedy Creek's flow West on its South side.

Views of Leavitt Massif and Peak
PCT PERSPECTIVE
Let's take a look at these mountains approaching Sonora Pass from the North along the PCT, and take a close-up look at Peak 10 480 from the PCT climbing up it, and then hike down the Pacific Crest Trail South from Peak 10 480 to take a close-up look at Leavitt Peak too.

View South
Leavitt Peak peeking out from behind its own surrounding lower mountains, in this case the end of the tail of terrain descending South from the crest of Peak 10 480.

I've climbed Leavitt Peak in Winter and Spring. The Winter climbs required ascending the snow-covered Eastern Flank from the end of the plowed road at the Marine Base up to Sonora Pass to start the climb in earnest.

So do the Spring climbs, until evolving conditions open the Sonora Pass Road. That's when most folks take their shots at climbing Leavitt Peak in Winter conditions.

Quite a time, however you do it. I suggest it as a goal for all High Sierra Backpackers.

I mean a four day High Sierra Winter Mountain Climbing Expedition.

Winter Forum

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View North

Camelback lava formation on the Southwest side of Sonora Peak.

Sonora Peak

Dominating the scene to our Northeast. The Saint Marys Pass Trail runs up the East side of the ravine desending off the Southwestern shoulder of Sonora Peak.

We're looking up at where the trail runs up to the gap below the Southwestern corner of Sonora Peak.

Sonora Peak to the Northeast.

The volcanic formation on the far upper Right of the image above, below the top of Sonora Peak, marks the Western end of the PCT route across the South Flank of Sonora Peak. The route of our TYT is just off to the Left of that point, West, where we can see the line of the Clarks Fork Headwaters Bowl running into the Southwest corner of Sonora Peak.

The Pacific Crest Trail route almost reaches the line of those volcanic formations on the far Southwestern flank of Sonora Peak as it traverses the South Flank of Sonora Peak, before turning Southeast down to Sonora Pass.

Our TYT route comes through the gap above, on the Southwestern corner of Sonora Peak, before following the ravine down to the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

We're at the point where the PCT and TYT come closest together since departing the Tahoe Basin (map) before they again reunite entering Yosemite. (map)

The map below Right shows where the TYT and PCT swing close together on the Southwestern corner of Sonora Peak before beding away from each other descending to their respective Highway 108 Trailheads.

Highway 108 Trailheads

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High Sierra grasshopper at 9500 feet.

Living Things:
Insects

Saint Marys Pass Trailhead

The beginning, the end, or another way point on our endless trail exploring Sierra Life.

The Saint Marys Pass Trailhead is located just short of the top of the Western Slope of the Sierra Flank along Highway 108, the Sonora Pass Highway. Sonora Pass cuts through the Sierra Crestline about another three-quarters of a mile East of Saint Marys Pass.

The Saint Marys Pass Trailhead is one of the unusual number of three trailheads here in proximity to the Sierra Crest. The other two trailheads are the PCT Trailheads pointing North and South from Sonora Pass.

The Saint Marys Pass Trailhead has no matching Southbound TYT Trailhead along the Sierra Crest.

TYT Trailhead Offset
The matching trailhead continuing South on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead is located nine miles to our West down Highway 108 at the Southern end of Kennedy Meadows, where the gate marks the limits of the Kennedy Meadows Road.

The actual National Forest Trailhead is about a mile beyond Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

The relative positions of the TYT and PCT Trailheads on the North and South sides of Highway 108 are laid out on this map:

Sonora Pass Region Hiking Map
USGS 30 minute topo map

Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

The trailhead sign posted with fire, plague, and temperature information.

All good things to consider.

Transportation
discussion

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Saint Marys Pass Trailhead

Sonora Pass Trailheads

Northbound Hikers
If we are planning on hiking North through the Saint Marys Pass trailhead we are likely driving or hitching up Highway 108 to the trailhead. Keep your eyes open for the trailhead as we get halfway around the great meadow approaching Sonora Pass.
The Trailhead and its sign are located about .75 of a mile West of Sonora Pass.

Dirt Road
The nondescript sign marking the short dirt track up to the lonely Saint Marys Pass trailhead is easy to miss.

2015 Update:
Even easier to miss! The sign gone as of July, making it difficult to see the faint dirt road, even for folks who know where it is.
Updates?

The Saint Marys Pass trailhead itself is situated a short distance up a dirt road about one mile West of Sonora Pass on the North side of Highway 108, above the North perimeter of the great meadow feeding Deadman Creek.

The trailhead is situated along along the spottily-wooded Northern perimeter of the large meadow that opens up below the Western flank of Sonora Pass's gap in the mountains. We saw that above, as we observed the terrain to our South while descending to Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

Deadman Creek
Deadman Creek comes into existence in this meadow below Sonora Pass, consolidating the runoff from the flanks of the surrounding mountains and carrying it down to the Middle fork of the Stanislaus River at Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

The current route of Highway 108 follows Deadman Creek's Canyon from the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus up the Western flank to cross the Sierra Crestline at Sonora Pass. Saint Marys Pass was the second Trans-Sierra road used by Western settlers before the current route through Deadman Canyon was opened.

The first was to the South of Sonora Pass, made by poorly-informed travelers who attempted to cross via the West Walker via Emigrant Pass. That route was abandoned in favor of the current route up the Eastern flank to Sonora Pass, but the second route did not follow the present course of Deadman Creek.

Wagons first climbed to 9643 feet to cross the Sierra Crest at Sonora Pass, then made a second climb over the 10,400 feet of Saint Marys Pass to get into the top of the Clarks Fork, prior to opening the Deadman Route.

Though a bigger and less-steep canyon than Deadman Creek's sheer canyon, the soft terrain of the Clarks Fork is terribly unsuited for a road and was difficult to maintain and keep open. Thus the current route was moved to Deadman Creek, where it could be carved into much more stable terrain along the side of the canyon than available along the Clarks Fork Route.

Now you know.
I'm compiled some historical information if you want to know more.

History of the Sonora Pass Road

We will cross the bridge over Deadman Creek far down the mountain just above where it surges into the Middle Stanislaus River, as we are entering Kennedy Meadows Pack Station to continue South on the TYT.

Top Regional Headwater
Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River
Our route, if we are hiking North through Saint Marys Pass, brings us up onto the fantastic headwaters bowl of the Clarks Fork and then drops us into the very top of the massive Western drainage off this whole section of the Western Sierra Crest: the top of the Clarks Fork of the Stanislaus River.

The Clarks Fork transports much more water into the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus than the Middle Fork itself carries to their convergence point. The other major contributor to the Middle Fork, Summit Creek running up to Brown Bear Pass, is well designated. Summit Creek and its canyon are an order of magnitude smaller than the Clarks Fork River and Canyon.

The Clarks Fork and its Canyon provide the majority of the water flowing down the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus from their convergence point. This map shows the convergence point of the Clarks Forks and Middle Stanislaus Rivers:

Carson Iceberg Wilderness
MAP

The Canyon of the Clarks Fork marches all the way up to its magnificant 10 400 foot granite headwaters bowl.

Or, if we have hiked South over Saint Marys Pass we have hiked into the watershed of the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus, which is nine miles below our position. The Middle Fork is fed from the crest by streams, while the Clarks Fork marches up to the crest and takes the runoff itself.

The Middle Fork of the Stanislaus drains our next segment of our Southbound Tahoe to Yosemite Trail from Saint Marys Pass until we cross Brown Bear Pass into Emigrant Basin and enter the massive watershed of the Tuolumne River.

The watershed of the Tuolumne River stretches from Emigrant Wilderness all the way across the whole length of the Yosemite High Country along the Western Sierra Crestline to our Southern exit from Yos over Donohue Pass.

May all your water be cold and fresh.
If you stay on these lines of the TYT and PCT it will be!

Starting Backpacking Trips
from
Sonora or Saint Marys Passes
Drivers Eastbound on Highway 108 will pass a very noticeable waterfall climbing up the last steep section of Highway 108 to and through a gap beyond which the road flattens considerably entering the bottom of the substantial high altitude meadow spreading down West flank from Sonora Pass.

This is where we enter the bottom of Deadman Creek's headwaters meadow.

The Eastbound Sonora Pass Road begins bending a long arc to the Northeast tracing out the perimeter of this expansive high altitude meadow on our final approach to Sonora Pass.

When the road bends enough to begin pointing us directly East we start looking to our Left for the Sign and faint dirt track to Saint Marys Pass Trailhead on the North side of the road.
Westbound drivers along Highway 108 will find the Saint Marys Pass trailhead about a mile West of Sonora Pass.

We will notice a rather exposed car-camping site sitting on the South side of Highway 108 just a few paces East of the Saint Marys Pass trailhead sign. Better car camping sites are located a short distance West, located off the short dirt roads running off the North side of Highway 108 a short ways towards the bottom of the meadow from the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead.

Sonora Pass Car Camping

Map with Car Camping sites noted near Sonora Pass

Sonora Pass Corridor Road Map

Use of Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
Remote and Rare
Very few Northbound hikers along the Pacific Crest Trail hike the mile West down Highway 108 to switch their route North over to the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail route.

In fact, there are very few backpackers hiking this 11.25 mile segment of mostly unmarked and unmaintained trail from the end of the Clarks Fork Road to the trailhead at Saint Marys Pass.

We become aware of this fact as the trail fades away due to lack of use as well as lack of maintenance. The same is true in the Southbound direction. Very few backpackers attempt this section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail hiking the TYT North or South.

I have never seen anyone out here on the unmaintained segment above Boulder Creek, nor below the Headwaters Bowl. This is very remote country for our modern times.

Lots 'O Dayhikers
The vast majority of use at the Saint Marys Pass trailhead is by dayhikers. The dayhikers are primarily attracted by the access the trailhead offers to Stanislaus and Sonora Peaks.

I have always encountered a day hiker or two here. Very nice folks.

A Tough Hike
Boulder Creek to Saint Marys Pass
Backpackers along this section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail are discouraged not just by the steepness and physical difficulty of the terrain, but by the difficult to navigate unmaintained segment of the TYT route between Saint Marys Pass and the Boulder Creek trail junction.

The Boulder Creek trail junction is located 8.69 miles North of the Saint Marys Pass trailhead, and another 2.56 miles further North brings us through the Clarks Fork Trailhead onto the old paved Clarks Fork Road.

The Boulder Creek trail junction marks the point on the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail where trail conditions South towards Saint Marys Pass begin deteriorating while the trail North to the trailhead at the top of the Clarks Fork Road is well maintained.

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Amenities at the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead
At the Saint Marys Pass trailhead there are a couple of flat sleeping spots around and under the trees at the trailhead.
There is a year-round stream just East of the trailhead. There are also a couple of much nicer and private flats and a primitive fire spot in the rocks atop the low rocky granite rise about 20 yards directly West of the trailhead parking.

Look West up the low rise at the left (South) side of the massive granite boulder for the sheltered little private site just West of the trailhead.

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Saint Marys Pass road sign from Highway 108.

Sign Missing as of July 2015, which makes the narrow dirt road even more difficult to locate...

Kennedy Meadows is nine miles West down Highway 108, Sonora Pass a mile to our East, behind us.

Hiking South through the Saint Marys Pass Trailhead onto Highway 108 finishes the 34.57 mile long section of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail from Lake Alpine to Saint Marys Pass.

Good Work!

Sonora Pass Corridor
Road Map

Now we have to figure out how to cross the nine miles West down Highway 108 to our trailhead continuing South through Kennedy Meadows Pack Station. I discuss our rather limited options for local transportation up and down the Highway 108 corridor.

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