High Sierra Topix

Part 1 - intro & planning (note that if you don't care about the planning, just cut to the chase by skipping to part 2)
I had been thinking for a few years about walking from Lake Tahoe to Tuolumne. That section of the Sierra has an interesting mix of vegetation, geology and terrain. I’ve visited bits and pieces of it various times over the years, but covering the full distance on one trip was appealing. Especially since I started to do the trip over 50 years ago but bailed out. In 1973, three friends and I started from Meeks Bay to walk the Winnet route, but I had not broken my boots in properly before the trip, and suffered huge blisters on my heels the first morning of the first day. By the time we got just past Echo summit they looked bad, I figured they were infected and I bailed out and hitchhiked home, thus missing out on a legendary bushwhack in Summit City Canyon, as well as the joys of the rest of the trip. So, filling in this gap in my Sierra coverage had both a current appeal as well as an aspect of unfinished business to complete.
The first thing I had to do was decide on my route. Sticking to the PCT would be the easy way; trying to follow the old Tahoe Yosemite Trail would be the hard way; but I did not want to do either. Instead, I stared at the maps and plotted out a route that looked good to me, part PCT, part other trails, part XC. Looking at the mileage, I toyed with the idea of doing it in 16 days without a resupply, but I decided that would be pushing the miles per day beyond what I thought I could do – or enjoy - so I planned on a resupply at Kennedy Meadows, which is conveniently close to the halfway point. They will hold a package mailed to them, and they even have a shuttle service to and From Sonora Pass – catering to PCT thru-hikers.
This being a point-to-point trip, transportation would be a consideration. But I soon realized that I could get to and from the route by way of public transportation. I could take Amtrak to Truckee; then a bus to Tahoe City, and another down the west shore of the lake to Sugar Pine Point State Park, followed by a couple miles walk on a bike path to Meeks Bay. At the other end, a YARTS bus would take me from Tuolumne to Yosemite Valley, and another YARTS bus from there to Merced, where I could catch a train back to the Bay area. At first, I considered doing the Truckee/Tahoe portion all in one day to the trailhead, and starting with a short day, or spending a night at the campground at Meeks Bay. But the schedule was so tight that if the train was 15 minutes late, I would miss the last bus to Tahoe city that would arrive in time to catch the last bus going south down the west side. That seemed like tempting fate, so I started looking at lodging in Tahoe City for the night. I was surprised to find that all the hotel rooms in Tahoe City were booked for a weekend in August. Who woulda thunk? One big facepalm later, and after switching to a Monday night, I found a room in Truckee and went for that. I would also need a room in Merced on the way out, as I would get to Merced too late to catch the last train out. That was easier, I had no issues getting a room at a downtown hotel within reasonable walking distance of the bus and train stations.
Next step – permits. My first thought was to check with the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU), the National Forest entity that manages the NF lands of the Tahoe basin jointly for Eldorado, Tahoe and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. The general rule has always been that for a trip that passes through several different land jurisdictions (Wilderness areas, National Parks, etc.), you get the permit from the jurisdiction in which your trip begins. Or at least it used to be that way. And sort of still is – but. The friendly person on the line at the LTBMU said sure, I could get a permit to go south from Meeks Bay to Tuolumne – but no further – and only if I intended to stay within 300 yards of the PCT. Also, there were no quotas for such a permit, but I could not get it far ahead – only with 7-10 days of the start of my trip. Hmmm… this might be more complex than I thought.
I figured if worst came to worst I would get that permit as a backup, and trust that any ranger I encountered would not be fussed about my being off the PCT, since for most of the trip I would be in areas with no quotas anyway.
Another possibility would be a series of permits, one for each wilderness area I would pass through. The first of those would be the only one with quotas – Desolation Wilderness. So, on the proper day, I was online at 7 am and snagged a reservation on Reservation.gov. Step one complete. Next, I looked into Mokelumne Wilderness permits. Hey, online permits directly from Eldorado NF, just fill the form, email it to them, print out the permit, no quotas, no problem! Except – I was too soon. I emailed the filled-out form, and got a message back saying, in essence, “whoa there, tiger, gotta wait until 7 days before the trip”. So, I saved the file on my computer and put that on my schedule for just before I left on the trip.
Next up was Stanislaus NF for the Carson-Iceberg and Emigrant wildernesses – and hopefully to take me into Yosemite NP to Tuolumne. Wising up by now, I perused the website carefully as regards their permitting setup – which I have used for normal situations, since they have no quotas, you just stop in at the ranger station, get a permit (self service if you come through after hours) and away you go. Only – I would not be able to pick up a permit at the ranger station since I would enter the C-I wilderness on trail up near Wolf Creek Pass. I could not find any info regarding this situation. But this time, instead of calling, I went in person. In Early May I took a ski trip into the Emigrant, and on my way out I stopped at the ranger station and enquired about how I could go about getting a permit given my situation. No problem! I could just call in, 7-10 days before my trip (of course) and they would gladly issue me a permit for the C-I and Emigrant portions of my trip, and on to Tuolumne (no further) – but – only if I stayed on the PCT once I entered the park. The person at the counter said that if I could get someone at the Yosemite Wilderness office to call her, and authorize her to write me a permit to go elsewhere within the park, then and only then would she do that.
Once I was back home, I called the Yosemite Wilderness office, where I was informed that it should not be a problem for Stanislaus NF to write me the permit I wanted, and the NP rangers would have no issues with it. But getting someone there to actually contact the NF and inform them of that was not so simple. I had to work my way up the food chain a bit to get someone who would do it; then there were email address issues; then a phone call was made; and the confirming call back to me that I had been assured of did not happen; but finally I got confirmation from that person that she had indeed communicated with the proper person at the NF and they would write me the permit I desired. Of course, I would have to wait until just before I left to get that done, so I would have to cross my fingers and keep them crossed for several months – awkward and uncomfortable, but what else could I do? The best part was the young ranger at the YNP wilderness office telling me that if I had a permit that said I was only supposed to be on the PCT, and by some fluke I actually met a ranger on my off-trail route, “it would be totally cool”. Probably, yeah – but could I rely on that?
So – transportation – check. Permits – first one, check - the others – fingers crossed.
10 days before the day I would go through Echo summit, I called the LTBMU, and got the PCT only permit from Echo to Tuolumne, as essentially a backup just in case the others did not come through for some reason. Then on the last Friday before I would start, I was finally within 7 days on the Mokelumne permit, so I emailed that in; and I called Stanislaus with my fingers firmly crossed, and lo and behold they came through. A couple hours later I received the email with the permit from Stanislaus, as well as a confirmation from Eldorado, reminding me that there are no fires allowed at any time in the Mok. Finally, I had all permits in hand. What’s funny about this is that if I was planning to walk the entire PCT, it would have been much easier – you just get one permit for the whole thing, piece of cake. Even better is that in the event, nobody ever asked to see my permit until I was in Yosemite Valley wanting to stay at the backpacker's campground.
I had also mailed off my resupply box to Kennedy Meadows, as well as a package to the El Capitan Hotel in Merced containing a socks, underwear, shorts and shirt so that my fellow Amtrak passengers on the ride home would not be subject to the well-ripened aroma of my trail clothes.

Day Zero – Train to Truckee.
My wife dropped me off at the train station in the early morning. I was plenty early, wanting to play it safe, and so I had a rather chilly wait on the platform for the train to arrive. Once it did, we were herded around by Amtrak staff to the appropriate cars – the gentry to the front of the train where the private rooms and “roomettes” are, and the rest of us to coach. And then we were off, for the thrilling ride through the backyards and industrial zones of the central valley, and finally up into the mountains, arriving in Truckee only an hour or so late, pretty good for Amtrak. I walked to my motel, with a couple stops for last minute items, and settled in.
Day 1 – Meeks bay to Phipps Pass. After two bus rides, my walk began with a couple miles of bike path from Sugar Pine Point State Park to Meeks Bay. There were cars at the trailhead, but no people, as I set off under clear skies. For the first few miles it is just a gentle ascent through the woods, with the occasional hint of a view through the trees back to Lake Tahoe. Wilderness area #1

The first lake I came to was Lake Genevieve, where I stopped for my first lunch. I like to take two lunch breaks, eating half my lunch each time. I like the way that breaks up my day. I had seen some folks but not too many, and the weather was warm but not too warm, with a breeze. Leaving Genevieve, I passed by Crag Lake – very nice - then Shadow Lake – not as inviting, with a grassy shore; and then Stony Ridge Lake, also a very nice lake. Stony Ridge Lake

Nobody camped at any of them. Pretty much a steady, gradual ascent up to this point, and then a few hundred feet up a series of switchbacks to Rubicon Lake. I find it interesting that little Rubicon Lake sits over here while the Rubicon River is on the other side of the big ridge to the west. Regardless, it’s a nice lake, and with some handy sloping granite “beaches” for good entry and exit, it was very refreshing for an afternoon swim. I had my second lunch, and stayed until shortly before dinnertime, when I left and walked the last mile and 500 feet up to Phipps Pass where I intended to camp. Desolation has a zone system for the first night ; you sign up for a zone and must spend your first night in that zone , after which you may wander at will for the rest of your stay. So I needed to get up to Phipps Pass to get into Zone 12. On the way up, the trail breaks out of the forest and you get onto granite slabs and start to feel like the uphill you’ve been doing all day is finally paying off. I stopped near the high point at a spot with a nice view and ate my dinner. I don’t cook in the summer, so I don’t need much water for my dinner, and I had carried what I would need for dinner and breakfast up from Rubicon Lake. I sat on the rocks and enjoyed the evening light and the view of the surrounding peaks and the corner of Fallen Leaf Lake. It was very nice. Dinner view

After eating I walked just a bit further to fins a flat spot for the night. I had settled in without setting up my tent but then the skeeters showed up, not bad but just enough to be annoying, so in the fading light I set up the tent and moved in.

Day 2 – Phipps Pass to Heather Lake.
I like to get up early, so as soon as I could see well enough pack up, I did so, and was walking by about 6. When I reached a spot with sun and a view, I stopped for breakfast. The Velma Lakes and Dicks Peak were spread out for my enjoyment, under a clear blue sky. It was breezy, but not very cold. Soon I was on my way again, meeting up with the PCT I rolled past Middle Velma and stopped at Fontanillis Lake for water. Again, I’d seen a few people but not many. On to Dicks Lake and my first lunch. A few folks were camped at Dicks Lake, and a what looked like a school group passed by while I was eating. I decided to take the scenic route up to Dicks pass rather than the trail, and headed off southwest from the outlet of the lake past a couple of small unnamed lakes to reach the ridge west of the pass. Unnnamed lake above Dicks Lake
Dicks Lake, with Tahoe in the background

Really pretty. It had been years since I was in Desolation, and I had forgotten just how beautiful this are is. The variety of rock types and colors, the lovely lakes, the lush forests – it’s no wonder this is a very popular area. But the quota system seems to be working very well to keep it from being crowded. The only place I saw enough people to feel like it was busy was close to Echo Lakes, where you see a lot of dayhikers coming in. But even there, it’s not bad.
When I reached the ridge, the view to the south opened up, and for the first but not the last time on this trip, I had the sense of the range stretching away to the south, drawing me off into the distance. Round Top was clear, down by Carson Pass, and much more, further south and less certain. The world to the south - Susie Lake in the foreground

Dicks Lake, Fontanillis, one of the Velmas, and points north

I followed the use trail on the ridge (used by folks heading up and back to Dicks Peak) down to the trail at the saddle – which is not the pass - the “pass” is up on the shoulder to the east of the saddle. I guess since that’s the high point, that’s the pass. flowers on the way down to Gilmore

From there it was a wildflower show most of the way down to Gilmore Lake, a big lake in a beautiful bowl, where once again there were a few people but not a lot, and I had my second lunch and a swim.
Onward and downward, to the rocky shores of Susie Lake, where I had planned to stop, but didn’t see a spot I liked; and then to Heather Lake, where I knew of good camping to the south of the outlet. Hopping over a little ridge, I found a nice spot and settled in. The little ridge made a nice dining spot, though breezy. Susie Lake
View to the east at dinnertime

Day 3 – Heather Lake to near Benwood Meadow
Despite my predawn start, I was not as early as someone else who passed by on the trail as I was scrambling over my little ridge to get to the trail. There was just a bit of color off to the east. Heather Lake outlet

I walked up to Lake Aloha and stopped for breakfast. Another beautiful blue sky – but still breezy, so no glassy lake for those nice reflection shots. Lake Aloha, Pyramid Peak, Mt. Price

I passed a number of folks either just getting up or in the process of packing up as I walked along the Aloha shore. I stopped at Tamarack Lake, just off the trail on the way down to Echo Lakes, for my first lunch. There I met this little fellow, who expressed a keen interest in my foodbag. Also a family of ducks. Back on the trail Echo Lakes came into view.
The dayhikers now came in waves, or more literally, boatloads, of eight or ten, having come across the lakes via the water taxi. I took the long way around, a warm and sandy walk that day, so as to maintain the integrity of my journey. Arriving at the Echo Lakes Chalet, I met a few PCT hikers, who spoke of having to leave the trail once they got as far as Donner Summit, due to fires north of there. One hiker was finishing what he started in another year, so Donner pass would mark his completion of the entire PCT.
I partially resupplied here at Echo Lakes. They no longer accept resupply parcels, but they do have a small selection of groceries, so I had started with most of the food I would need to get me to Kennedy Meadows, and planned to get some stuff that seemed likely to be available here. I had a list of what I wanted, plus a backup list of how many calories and how much protein and carbs I needed to take the place of what I wanted, figuring that if I couldn’t get just what I wanted, I could get fuel of some sort to see me through. Mosly they had what I needed, but oddly enough, no peanuts! I would have to make do with almonds. Deprivation indeed.
With an ice cream sandwich (oreo, baby) and a bag of chips in my belly, and bear can crammed to the gills (in fact, I couldn’t get everything in despite two tries, and would have to repack it after dinner that night), I was off again, my pack now about as heavy as it would get at any time on the trip. The PCT as it goes from Echo Lakes to hwy 50 takes what seems like an unnecessarily up and down and winding around route – I guess it has to dodge private property in that area. And once you cross 50, you are in the burn area from the Caldor fire of a couple years back, so not much shade on a hot day, which it was, and mid-afternoon. It was a relief to get past the burn and into shady forest again. I stopped for the night by a nice little stream flowing into Benwood Meadow. After dinner I spent some time playing Tetris with my bear can, finally getting it all in so that I could get to bed. It had been a longish, hot day and I was tired.

Day 4 – Benwood Meadow to Meiss Meadow
The day began with a faint smell of smoke in the air. I packed up and started up the steady climb that was the start of day. Soon I got a glimpse out toward the Tahoe basin, and it looked hazy out there, probably I was smelling smoke that had drifted down from the north. By the time I stopped for breakfast, the smell of smoke was gone, which was a relief. The idea of having my trip cut short by fire and smoke so soon was not a pleasant one.
As on previous days, there were plenty of flowers along my way. Soon, I came to a milestone of sorts – Bryan Meadow. It was from here that I turned around in 1973, so this was the ceremonial point at which the journey would now continue, 51 years later. Entertainingly, the two signs in the photo have two spellings of Bryan. On the map, it is spelled with a Y. The sign in the foreground disagrees. But the sign in the background, only 20 feet away but not quite legible in this shot, has the Y. Oh, the wonders of the Forest service sign makers. Regardless of spelling, it’s a lovely meadow, with flowers in abundance.
I have to say the emotions were a little confused here. To return 51 years later to a spot where I had been required to make a big decision that was hard to make; to wonder whether I could have gone on , rather than bailing as I did (no – when I got home I couldn’t wear shoes of any kind for about a week while things healed, and even after that the new skin on my heels was thin and tender for a couple more weeks); to try to recall what I thought and felt at that time and also to pull a clear memory of the place out of the recesses of my mind – it was, all in all, a strange moment. But after standing for a while, staring at the signs and looking around at the meadow, the main thing I felt was satisfaction in being back here at long last, ready to finish what I had started so long ago. This was, in a way, the real start of the journey.
From there, the next hour or so was a stroll through the woods on gently rolling terrain along the broad top of a ridge, until I broke out of the woods with a view of the Meiss Country, as this valley is referred to. And here was a geological change, from the predominant granite to the volcanic rocks. Although you never get just one or the other, it’s more a question of what is the primary type of rock in any given stretch of trail. And along with that you get a change in vegetation as well, so the overall character of the landscape changes quite a bit. For the next week or so, this would be the theme; weaving in and out of these two different landscapes, sometimes solidly in one or the other, sometimes walking the line between the two. It makes for a great variety of beauty.
Soon I arrived at Showers Lake, the only lake along this stretch of trail, and stopped there for a swim and first lunch. Yet another beautiful lake, but the water here was not so clear as the lakes in Desolation, with a greenish tinge. I suppose some combination of the soil chemistry and the surrounding vegetation makes the difference; I was to see this at many lakes set in the same geology and vegetation. Regardless, it was a refreshing dip, and a scenic spot for lunch! From the lake, I descended to the valley floor and the expanse Of Meiss Meadows. Most of the way up the meadows I came to stand of trees near the creek with several well used campsites. This is typical along the PCT – anywhere you pass a water source, there will be campsites nearby that are well used. I stopped here for my second lunch and ended up staying the night. To go further would mean going all the way past Carson pass, and I did not want to go that far that day. Plus, I would get into the Carson Pass Management Area, where due to the heavy use, camping is tightly regulated, and you need to get a first come first served permit the day you go in, from the kiosk at Carson Pass, and If I came through there late in the afternoon, I doubt I would have gotten a spot.

Day 5 – Meiss Meadow to Lost Lakes
My usual early start was a bit darker today, being down in the valley bottom. Had a little bit of cloud off to the east, so I got a little color in the sky. As the trail neared the saddle at the head of the valley, I turned and got my last glimpse of Tahoe in the distance, while to the south, round Top dominated the skyline. I stopped for breakfast just over the top, then rolled on down to Carson Pass and kept going. wilderness #2

My plan was to leave the PCT, swing by Winnemucca Lake and Round top Lake, drop over the ridge to Fourth Of July Lake and into Summit City Canyon. At the bottom, rather than turning right and heading downstream for the epic bushwack that my buddies did back in ’73, I would turn left and go up to get to Blue Lakes. I though of this as an homage to their sufferfest, hopefully without much suffering other than the significant elevation loss and gain.
There were lots of dayhikers out; this was a Saturday and the area is heavily used.
Winnemucca Lake

I stopped briefly at Winnemucca Lake, and then kept on towards Round Top Lake. Just before I got there, I met a ranger who told me that he had just been down to Summit City Canyon and cleared the trail on the way down, so that was in great shape. BUT – the trail upstream from there was a different story, overgrown the whole way, head high and worse. We chatted a bit and I mentioned that I had been in to the western Mok at the beginning of June and found the trails in pretty rough shape. He said he had been in there recently with a crew and had cut out all the down trees I had clambered over and around, so all of that was in good shape now.
I stopped at Round Top Lake and found a spot out of the wind for my first lunch. The breeze had been my ever-present companion thus far, and I was starting the think that that would be the theme of the trip: wind. Round Top Lake

I pondered my plan. Before long I had decided to change the plan, backtrack to the PCT and skip the Summit City fun. I enjoy going without a trail in decent country, but I hate thrashing through the brush, and it sounded like a bit too much homage for my tastes. So, after lunch I retraced my steps back to where the PCT branched off, and by noon I was making actual progress again. And as it turned out I was very glad I went that way. The basin on the east side of Elephant’s back that you drop into there is very nice, and I enjoyed it a lot along with the views out to the east over the Faith, Hope, and Charity Valleys, Markleeville Peak, and more. Pond just below the Forestdale Divide

Climbing up over the Forestdale Divide, and following the ridge southeast, I ended up at Lost Lakes. A dirt road runs in there from Blue Lakes, and there were a few folks camped by the lake, but I found a decent spot and settled in. A nice plunge into the lake was refreshing and restorative.

Day 6 – Lost Lakes to near Raymond Peak
Once again, I had a little color in the early morning sky. The trail immediately climbs up onto a ridge (and into the wind), and soon I had views back to the Lost Lakes. Further along, and on the other side of the ridge, I could see out over Lower Blue Lake and a big swath of country to peaks in the Carson-Iceberg and Emigrant Wilderness area. This is an interesting are up here between Carson Pass and Ebbetts Pass, with some really nice spots, that doesn’t seem to get much attention. The folks who do know about it probably like it that way.
Once I came down off the ridge in the mid-morning, the rest of the day was mostly pleasant forest walking. It had been windy (what a surprise) up on the ridge, so it was good to be out of the wind. I ended my day fairly early, as I was coming into a stretch of trail winding around Raymond Peak where I did not expect to find much in the way of water sources. I stopped near a tributary of Pleasant Valley Creek, in the woods and out of the wind, and relaxed and read and listened to podcasts I had downloaded onto my phone. The sky had turned partly cloudy, and I had just a few drops of rain, not enough to get anything wet.

Day 7 – to Ebbetts Pass
During the night I had heard the wind howling in the trees above me, and I wondered if any weather was moving in. At a certain hour of the early morning, the light can be such that it’s hard to tell what is going on in the sky. Just enough light to wash out the stars, without it being enough to tell whether you are seeing a clear sky or one that is a uniform gray. This morning was like that, and as I packed up, I wondered what I was going to see once it got lighter. I was on the trail by 5:50, starting in thick forest. But once I broke out of the forest about 15 minutes later, I could tell it was a clear blue sky above me. Still windy, of course. I climbed up to a little saddle and found a spot on the other side where I was in the sun but out of the wind. While I was having breakfast, a hummingbird came up and hovered within a few feet of me, apparently interested in my bright red windbreaker. Had to be the color, I certainly didn’t smell like a flower at that point. The trail in this area was substantially different than what my map (Nat. Geo trails Illustrated) showed. Instead of dropping down from the first little saddle, then climbing back up to cross the next ridge, it contoured around. In fact, I could see the route of an old trail about where the map showed it. But it did not look like a recent change, and at the saddle there was no sign of the old route. Fine with me, this way was easier and it was all quite clear. Looking back to the northwest

The whole stretch of trail winding around Raymond Peak is quite something. You have views almost all the time, and the trail wraps around some fairly hairy slopes. At points it is a foot-wide, sloping to outside shelf with a long steep drop on your left that you would not stop rolling/sliding on if you got started, and even steeper terrain above. And not solid rock but sort of semi-coherent conglomerates. Earlier in the year, with snow patches and mostly wet, it might be a nightmare. I was thinking of the PCT crowd coming through her at that time. Not fun.
But for me, big fun. Until I came around the corner and began to drop into Pennsylvania Creek, and encountered some real wind. If I hadn’t been moving, I’m sure I would have been blown over by some of the gusts. I had my hat on tight, and the cord under my chin, but still I had to hold onto it with one had or it would have been flapping around my neck on the cord. I considered just taking it off, but I have only enough hair to make it impossible to get sunscreen onto my scalp, while not being enough to protect my scalp from the sun. Faced with a choice of holding the hat on or burning my scalp, I held on.
Still, beautiful country here. Grass and sage and wildflowers, beautiful trees – some particularly nice Junipers - and fantastically eroded rock shapes, made for enjoyable scenery despite the howling wind. I would cross a little ridge and view another little basin; it was nice walking. I had thought I might stop at Sherrold Lake, about a mile before Ebbetts pass. When I got there, I filled up on water and started to look for a campsite. But I couldn’t find anything decent out of the wind, so I kept on, and just a hundred yards or so short of the highway finally found a spot. So much more pleasant to have a little shelter from the wind.

This is a great report! I've hiked most of that area (on much shorter trips than yours!) and it's lovely to see it all again. That ranger you met in Mokelumne must have been Chris Sailor---he's the wilderness ranger in that area, and in charge of the trail work that gets done. It's a huge job, and he doesn't have much help!

Neat report (so far? I'd guess) both from the photos and the trip narrative as well as the administrative details to secure the permits, which I guess I never have to worry about because I've never attempted such a long trip (9 days is my max). The Mokelumne segment certainly covers some ground we don't often see photos of and I figure your C-I trek will too. It will be neat to see the combination of such varied Sierra terrain from the Desolation, through Mokelumne and Carson-Iceberg before Emigrant and then the Yosemite high country. Interesting about the Ebbetts Pass campsite. I'd guess that's just N of the road? If so I think I've used that as a "walk in" car camping spot in the past (most recently was early 2000s I as I recall).