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Echo Summit to Carson Pass backpacking Meiss Country Roadless Area.
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Meiss Country Roadless Area Backpacking Map

Hiking the Tahoe to Yosemite, Pacific Crest and Tahoe Rim Trails

Four
USGS 7.5 minute Backpacking Topo Map of Echo Summit and South Upper Truckee Trailheads to The Carson Pass

 

MAPS
INDEX

TYT-PCT
TRT

Meiss
Country
Roadless
Area

GUIDE
INDEX

TYT-PCT
TRT

MEISS
COUNTRY

Echo
Summit
Trailhead

7.5 min
MAP
NORTH

PCT-TYT
TRT

Dicks Pass
to
Echo
Summit

7.5 min
MAP
SOUTH

TYT-PCT

Carson
Pass
Region
Map

Miles
and
Elevations

NORTH

TYT-PCT
TRT

Meeks
Bay
to
Echo
Summit

Miles
and
Elevations

SOUTH

TYT-PCT
TRT

Echo
Summit
to
Carson
Pass

Trail Guide
PAGES

Echo
Summit

South Upper Truckee, Meyers

30 minute
MAPS


Echo Summit
to
Lake Alpine

Phipps Pass
to
Echo Summit Trailhead

Click
RED DOTS
for Trail Guide
ENTRY

WEATHER

Carson
Pass
Stations

Tahoe
Weather

All
High Sierra
Weather

RESUPPLY

Echo
Summit

Lake Alpine

PERMITS

LTBMU

Road Maps

map information

Echo Summit, South Upper Truckee, and Big Meadow Trailheads to Carson Pass

Echo Summit to Carson Pass miles and elevations                                  CLICK RED DOTS                        Meyers to Carson Gap miles and elevations

North
Dicks Pass to Echo Summit
North
Echo Summit to Echo Lake DETAIL Map
South
Carson Pass Region Map
Meiss Country Roadless Area backpacking map.
North
Dicks Pass to Echo Summit
North
Echo Summit to Echo Lake DETAIL Map
South
Carson Pass Region Map

30 min version of this map: Echo Summit to the Carson Pass

Carson Gap Trail Guide Page

Location

Main Features
This Map depicts the Pacific Crest, Tahoe to Yosemite, and Tahoe Rim Trails all sharing the same route through the Meiss Roadless Area from Echo Summit to the Carson Pass.

Excepting the Tahoe Rim Trail, who's turn Northeast at the Round Lake Trail junction near Meiss Cabin marks this trails furthest point South before it circles North following the Lake Tahoe Rim, independent of which way you are hiking it.

Visit Showers Lake, Meiss Lake, and Meiss Cabin on your way South on the main High Sierra Trails.

Or come out to visit this pretty area for a couple of days of fine local backpacking to warm up for the long trails.

 

Map Anomalies

South of Echo Summit
South of Echo Summit the trail has been rerouted from out of the creek drainage to wrap around the outside of the peak climbing from Benwood Meadow up to the overlook point. I marked a rough outline of the new route approaching the overlook. I think the trail reroutes prior to where I marked it.

Showers Lake
The route around the backside of Showers Lake, the South shore has been rerouted around the North shore of the lake as indicated above.

South Upper Truckee Trailhead
The trailhead of the South Upper Truckee Trailhead has been moved from the end of the Summer Cabin road to South Upper Truckee Road. The trail up to Round Lake has been expanded with sets of switchbacks below the burned area. The trail above the burned area crosses the creek for a couple of hundred yards that is not indicated on the map above.
Though I moved the trailhead to the South Upper Truckee Road, I did not attempt to lay out the switchbacks, nor correct the route above the burned area.

 

MAP NOTE
Those squares breaking the USGS maps up into grids are the Universal Transverse Mercator / Military Grid Reference System, otherwise commonly known as UTM.

What's important for our general reference purpose is that each side of a square is 1000 meters, or a Kilometer.

From my point of view that is 1093.6 yards or .62 of a mile.

Diagonal: 1414.22 meters, if my trig is correct.

That converts the diagonal distance into 4,639.8 feet or .88 of a mile.

Map Information Map Symbols

Online and Trail Maps Online Length Conversion

 

ROAD MAPS
NORTH and SOUTH

Road and Trailhead
access to
Meiss Country Roadless Area
  NORTH & EAST
Highways 50 and 89

Echo Summit with South Upper Truckee and Big Meadow Trailheads
  SOUTH
Highways 88
Carson Pass
 
 

More
Roadmaps

South Lake Tahoe
Resources

 

Lake Tahoe
Trailheads

 
         

 

Mapping Information

Mileages

Backpacking Miles: Meiss Roadless Ares

The trail South from Echo Summit to Carson Pass is a roller coaster from Echo Summit to Showers Lake. After Showers you drop down into Meiss Meadow, where you begin a gentle climb up to the Carson Gap, where the Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails diverge.

Location                        Elevation              Mileage

Start: Echo Summit                7377               0

                                             +143                    .91

Duck Lake trail junction            7520             .91

                                             +1000             2.58

Sayles Canyon/Bryan Meadow jnct  8520         3.49

                                                  +440               2.12

Schneider's Camp junction      8960               5.61

                                                  -160              1.19

1st Showers Lake junction      8800               6.80

                                                   -120               .41

2nd Showers Lake junction      8680              7.21

                                                   +280            1.88

Round Lake trail/Meiss Cabin   8400              9.09

                                                   +400            1.52

Carson Gap Pond                    8800            10.61

The Tahoe to Yosemite and Pacific Crest Trails Part Company

PCT/TY trail junction looking South towards Round Top

Just South of the Carson Gap is the 1st Southbound Junction between the Pacific Crest Trail, which continues East to Carson Pass, and the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail, which turns right, and straight down to Highway 88, off an unmarked trail junction just South of the Carson Gap.

The Pacific Crest Trail continues to follow the main trail towards Carson Pass:

Carson Gap Pond                    8800            10.61

                                            -200                  1.39

PCT to Carson Pass                8600           12.00

...

Tahoe to Yosemite Trail Junction #1

Shortly South of the Carson Gap, an unmarked trail junction appears on our right, and heads almost straight down to Highway 88 towards Woods Lake.

Carson Gap                          8800            10.61

                                            -400                 .6

to Hwy 88                            8400             11.2

The Second Tahoe to Yosemite trail junction lays just South of Carson Pass, where the trail branches off to join the trail down from the upper junction towards Round Top Lake via Woods Lake.

 

Previous Trail Segment: Meeks to Echo Miles and Elevations
Next Trail Segment

 

Tahoe to Alpine
Trail Guide
Index

Meeks Bay trail head

4 Maps
NW
Echo Lake,
USGS 1992 7.5 Topographic Map

NE
Freel Peak, USGS 1992 7.5 Topographic Map

SW
Caples Lake, USGS 1992 7.5 Topographic Map

SE
Carson Pass, USGS 1992 7.5 Topographic Map

 

Compass Offset
Magnetic North is  
15 1/2 degrees East
of True North

 

scale
1: 24 000

Contours
40 feet

 

Backpacking Permitting Authority

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

TahoeWhitney
Contact Information

Feds Website
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

 

National Forest

LTBMU

Wilderness Area

Meiss Country Roadless Area, TahoeWhitney

Meiss Roadless Area, feds

 

Physical location:
The Meiss Country Roadless Area is bounded by Highway 50 on North, Highway 89 on East, and Highway 88 to the South

 

* * *

 

Download Free USGS Topo Maps

USGS Map Locator

INSTRUCTIONS

1>Locate the position you need a map for on the google map.

2>CLICK the MARK POINTS mode.

3>Select the size of MAP FOOTPRINTS you wish to see.

4>CLICK the Map Footprint you want to down load. This will leave a red marker on that map footprint.

5>CLICK the red marker, and the maps available for you to download will appear.

6>Select and download the map you need.

NOTE: These are "GEO Maps" that load in Adobe Reader with many cool functions. If you want to manipulate and print custom sections, you must first load the map into MS Paint before it can be manipulated in PhotoShop.

* * *

 

map North: Echo Lake to Echo Summit                             map South: THE CARSON PASS

Elevations   More Information

Lake Tahoe
6226 feet

Echo Summit Trail head
7377 feet

Upper South Truckee Trailhead
6520 feet

Carson Gap, Exiting Tahoe Basin
8800 feet

Trail Guide, Section
Meeks Bay to The Carson Gap

Trail Guide, Segment
Echo Summit Trailhead

Trail Guide, Segment
South Upper Truckee Trailhead

Google Map
All Lake Tahoe Trailheads

 

Map Credit

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior

The USGS

Download free USGS topo maps:

USGS MAP LOCATOR

Move the Map to the Sierras. Select size of Maps you wish to download. Click "Mark Point" on map to see the USGS map grid of the selected map scale.

USGS Topographic Maps

Map Information

Map Symbols

Trail Guide
Echo Summit Trailhead
Trail Guide
South Upper Truckee Trailhead
Website 
Trailhead
Comments: on this
Contact
Alex Wierbinski

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Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney:

Your guide to backpacking the Sierra Crest, including the Pacific Crest and John Muir Trails

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