.
PART 1: SOUTH AGNEW MEADOWS TO CA HIGHWAY 50
| 1 | Agnew Meadows to Thousand Island Lake [Day hike/1 night, Loop, 14.8 miles] |
| 2 | Tuolumne Meadows to Ireland Lake [1 night, Loop, 22.3 miles] |
| 3 | Tuolumne Meadows to Waterwheel Falls [Day hike/1 night, Out-and-back, 16 miles] |
| 4 | Sonora Pass to Leavitt Lake [Day hike/1 night, Loop, 16 miles] |
| 5 | Sonora Pass to Sonora Peak [Day hike, Out-and-back, 7 miles] |
| 6 | Clark Fork to Disaster Creek [Day hike/1 night, Loop, 15.5 miles] |
| 7 | Wolf Creek [Day hike, Loop, 13 miles] |
| 8 | Ebbetts Pass to Upper Kinney Lake [Day hike, Out-and-back, 4.8 miles] |
| 9 | Carson Pass to Fourth of July Lake [Day hike/1 night, Loop, 14.5 miles] |
| 10 | Carson Pass to Winnemucca Lake [Day hike, Loop, 7.7 miles] |
| 11 | Carson Pass to Showers Lake [Day hike, Out-and-back, 10.2 miles] |
PART 2: LAKE TAHOE AREA CA HIGHWAY 50 TO INTERSTATE 80
| 12 | Echo Summit to Meiss Meadows Overlook [Day hike, Out-and-back, 4.3 miles] |
| 13 | Echo Lake to Lake Aloha [Day hike/overnight, Out-and-back, 6 or 12 miles] |
| 14 | Emerald Bay to Lake Aloha [Overnight, Loop, 21 miles] |
| 15 | Barker Pass to Twin Peaks [Day hike, Out-and-back, 10.5 miles] |
| 16 | Alpine Meadows Road to Squaw Valley [Day hike, Out-and-back, 8.25 miles] |
| 17 | Sugar Bowl to Squaw Valley [Day hike, Point-to-point, 11.9 miles] |
| 18 | Glacier Meadows Trail to Donner Pass Road [Day hike, Out-and-back, 7 miles] |
PART 3: NORTH INTERSTATE 80 TO PARADISE LAKE
| 19 | Warren Lake [Overnight hike, Loop, 16 miles] |
| 20 | Loves Falls [Day hike, Out-and-back, 1 or 5 miles] |
| 21 | Sierra Buttes Lookout [Day hike, Out-and-back, 5.2 miles] |
| 22 | Warner Valley Road to Terminal Geyser [Day hike, Loop, 5.4 miles] |
| 23 | Cluster Lakes [Day hike/overnight option, Loop, 12.8 miles] |
| 24 | Burney Falls [Day hike, Loop, 2.7 miles] |
| 25 | Soda Creek Road to Castle Dome [Day hike, Out-and-back, 8 miles] |
| 26 | Middle Deadfall Lake and Mount Eddy [Day hike/overnight, Out-and-back, 13.4 miles] |
| 27 | Statue Lake [Day hike, Out-and-back, 7 miles] |
| 28 | Paynes and Big Blue Lakes [Day hike/overnight, Loop, 5 or 12.7 miles] |
| 29 | Little Elk Lake [Day hike/overnight, Loop, 19.7 miles] |
| 30 | Shadow Lake [Day hike/overnight, Out-and-back, 15.2 miles] |
| 31 | Paradise Lake [Day hike, Loop, 8 miles] |
Appendix A: Park Contacts
Appendix B: Managing Agencies
About the Author
Map Legend
To everyone—veteran hikers and newbies alike— who wishes to explore this beautiful place we call the Pacific Crest Trail in Northern California
To Greg Speicher, without whose love and support writing this book would not have been possible
Acknowledgments
I MUST BEGIN BY ACKNOWLEDGING my first editor at Menasha Ridge Press, Russell Helms, who offered me the amazing opportunity to spend the better part of the past year hiking around Northern California and call it work. Russell, I can’t thank you enough for offering me such an incredible “job.” I must also thank my second editor at Menasha Ridge, Molly Merkle, whose editing expertise, thoughtful questions, and perspective greatly improved the content of my hike descriptions. Her friendliness and positive attitude helped ease the stress associated with finishing a book. I am deeply grateful as well to author Jeffrey Schaffer, whose books on the Pacific Crest Trail helped me immensely with my research.
While hiking and writing are second nature to me, mapping is not (despite that geography degree from Humboldt State University). I owe the accuracy and detail of these maps to Menasha Ridge cartography guru Scott McGrew and also to my father, Ben Lautner, who spent one very long day with me at the computer working out the bugs of my GPS unit and mapping software. My dad’s curiosity about and interest in all that I do have been a driving force in helping me complete this book, and to him I am forever grateful. My mom, Carol Lautner, has also been an enormous fountain of inspiration; without her creative license on life and the dreams she instilled in me as a child (while we took long walks on the beaches of Lake Michigan), I may never have realized this dream.
In addition, I’d like to thank the following hiking and trail-running gurus who shared their expertise: Rachael Woods, who works at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort and spends her summers running around on the trails near Lake Tahoe; “Squarrel,” who gave me advice on packing light; Kate Reid, who recommended that I add Clark Fork to the Disaster Creek hike; Alejandro Salazar, who recommended the Warren Lake hike; Joe Bosquin, who suggested that I include the trail into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne; and all the helpful rangers I met along the way.
Finally, I’d like to thank my trail partners: my sister, Sandra Parkhurst; Kelly Boire; Mali; Carson; and, most of all, my right-hand man and the love of my life, Greg Speicher. Not only did he join me on almost every step of my journey in researching this book, but his curiosity, undying support, and zest for life made this project one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Thank you so much, Greg.
Preface
THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL WAS DESIGNATED as one of the first National Scenic Trails way back in 1968. As it traverses the “high road” from Mexico to Canada, incredible views are not only commonplace but also uniquely diverse, because the trail connects six of North America’s seven eco-zones. The PCT’s familiar, well-worn path is a special place for hikers from all walks of life on walks of all lengths and for all reasons.
In my travels on the PCT and surrounding connector trails