Brief View of Lake Tahoe along PCT North of Showers Lake.

South Lake Tahoe view, for a moment, from Southwestern edge of the Basin in the Meiss Country Roadless Area

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Backpacking
Southwestern Edge of the Lake Tahoe Basin

South to Showers Lake from Echo Summit in the Meiss Country Roadless Area

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Trail Guide

INDEX

North

Frog
Lake
Loop

South

Meiss Roadless
Area Rock

Topo Map

Echo
Summit
to
Carson
Pass

Maps
INDEX

MILES
and
ELEVATIONS

Miles
and
Elevations
INDEX

Lake Tahoe
Basin
PERMITS

Meiss
Country
PERMITS

All
High Sierra
PERMITS

Local
Weather

All Sierra Weather

Tahoe
to
Whitney
on
YouTube

South of the footbridge the trail gets harder as we begin climbing

Bridge South of Frog Lake Loop junction, Meiss Country Roadless Area.

1.40 miles south of Echo Summit we encounter this foot Bridge across the creek feeding Benwood Meadow, off to the Left.

Trail difficulty increases after the bridge.

Hiking Map South
Meiss Country Roadless Area

Echo Summit to Carson Pass
Backpacking Miles and Elevations

Video Playlist
Echo Summit to Carson Gap

Comments-questions-experiences here?


Soft but rocky trail approaching foot bridge.	Though the terrain provides an excellent soft yet firm forest trail surface, the forest is a just a thin cover upon great granite outcroppings.

Aspens grow thickly along the damp drainages. top of page

Looking across the South end of Lake Tahoe. We are on the Southwestern rim looking over at the Carson Range on the Southeastern rim. There are very few views of Lake Tahoe from Echo Summit to the Carson Gap. This is one of them. Mostly we wind around through deep forest and sheer rock, suddenly emerging onto an crack in the terrain or forest cover opening up quick views into and across the surrounding terrain every now and again. Keep your eyes open!

Though the trailbed is soft from thick forest floor liter, it is still the rock that characterizes the trail.	And it is the Massive rock formations that determine the trail route.

The Pacific Crest - Tahoe to Yosemite trail works its way South around a great granite wall. This is a very nice trail thorough densely forested granite terrain here. Our direction above is Southwest by the compass moving into the ravine running Southwest up to the crest of Peak 8905. This explains our lack of views climbing this part of the trail. We are pointed Southwest climbing in a deep granite ravine. Our views East, the direction of Christmas Valley, and Northeast at Tahoe itself will open up as we approach an excellent break spot located in a gap a bit more that halfway up our climb. This break spot has an expansive view overlooking Christmas Valley and the South end of the Tahoe Basin. We'll take a break there to take it all in.
Views Northwest to Northeast

Northwest Turning around to look to our Northwest we see the top of the Sierra ridge rising to the Southwest of Echo Summit dropping down to Echo Summit. That ridge marks the Western extent of the Tahoe Drainage above Christmas Valley. Our trail South (behind us) arcs Southeast following the Tahoe Rim along the Southwestern edge of the Basin's drainage towards our first goal of Showers Lake.	Northeast The South Lake Tahoe Airport with Lake Tahoe in the background looking Northeast through a break in forest cover. top of page Comments-questions-experiences in here?
Stateline
Check out the long view to the Northeast, at Stateline in South Lake Tahoe. It looks like Harvey's Casino, Stateline, from our position on the far Southwestern edge of the Tahoe Rim.

Trail Information

Footbridge
past
Echo Summit

Backpacking
Meiss Country Roadless Area

Elevation
7600
+223 feet above Echo Summit

Mileage
1.4 miles South from Echo Summit.

1.48 miles to high point of trail.

5.4 miles South to Showers Lake.

10.6 miles South to Carson Pass.

Backpacking Map South
Meiss Country Roadless Area

Miles and Elevations

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North: Frog Lake Loop South: Meiss Roadless Area Rock

The Meiss Country Roadless Area

Hitting the footbridge marks the point where the trail difficulty transitions from Intermediate difficulty 3, the lowest level of intermediate difficulty, to Intermediate difficulty 1, the hardest of the three levels of intermediate difficulty.
(See the trail rating system)

From the footbridge to the Sayles Canyon junction we will be going constantly up and down, as if on a washboard or roller coaster tilted mostly upward for 1383 feet over almost three miles.

Our first target is the gap with a fantastic overlook of the Tahoe Basin about halfway up our climb.

Once we get over the highpoint of this section of trail across Peak 8905 our descending trail relaxes to Easy 1, South through the Sayles and Schneider trail junctions to Showers Lake.

Easy 1 is the most difficult degree of easy level trail.

7.5 min hiking Topo Map
Echo Summit
to
Carson Pass

30 min hiking Topo Map
Echo Summit
to
Round Top and The Sisters

Miles and Elevations

Next page
South
Meiss Roadless Area

Comments-questions-experiences in here?

Video Playlist
Echo Summit to Carson Gap

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Backpacking Trail Guide

North

Frog Lake Loop

Backpacking Trail Guide

South

Deeper
into
Meiss Roadless Area

Backpacker Forums

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The Backpacker's Forum.

On the TRAILS Forum you can browse the locations and add your experiences, comments, questions (or pictures and videos) about hiking South out of the Echo Summit Trail Head.

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High Sierra Backpacking
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High Sierra Backpacking
Topics

General comments about the Echo Summit to Carson Pass section of the trail:

Backpacking Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney

Your guide to the High Sierra Crest, including the Tahoe to Yosemite, Pacific Crest, and John Muir Trails

The Trails

Current Weather Conditions

Gear

Backpacking Southwestern Edge of the Lake Tahoe Basin

South to Showers Lake from Echo Summit in the Meiss Country Roadless Area

Languages

Trail Arts

Trail Skills

Food

Other

South of the footbridge the trail gets harder as we begin climbing

Trail Information

Footbridge past Echo Summit

Backpacking Meiss Country Roadless Area

The Meiss Country Roadless Area

Backpacker Forums

Have a backpacking issue to relate?

Backpacking Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney

Your guide to the High Sierra Crest, including the Tahoe to Yosemite, Pacific Crest, and John Muir Trails

© Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Crown Jewel of the Pacific Crest Trail

Backpacking
Southwestern Edge of the Lake Tahoe Basin

Footbridge
past
Echo Summit

Backpacking
Meiss Country Roadless Area