View Full Version : California Section L - Hwy 80 to Hwy 49
My fiancée and I are interested in doing a short section hike this year between Highway 80 and Highway 49 (California Section L) north of Donner Lake. A couple questions we had was:
1) How long would it take to go from one highway to the next, and
2) Is there a way to hike it in a loop? Should we hike back to our original starting point? Or find a way to get a ride from the end point back to the start (about an hours drive)?
I've been trying to find some information on this section, but recent digging hasn't turned up much to my specific question.
This is my first post, so please be gentle. :)
Thank you,
David
Ok, I'll be nice. That distance is about 45 miles. As far as a loop, you may be able to loop some forest roads. Here is a good resource to help plan. http://postholer.com/gmap/gmap.php?trail_id=1#
as far as time goes, it is a fairly easily section of trail. Some can do it in a day, others will take several depending on motivation and ability, you have given no indication of either. I personally would leave a car or public transport in Truckee then hitch to Donner. I would hike, spend a night in Sierra City, one of favorites, climb to the top of Sierra Buttes and back and spend another night at Sierra City then hitch back to Truckee. Did I mention that I liked Sierra City?
You are the second post I've seen about this section. Is there something special about section L... besides Sierra City? :)
You are the second post I've seen about this section. Is there something special about section L... besides Sierra City? :)
Not really, in fact, the section immediately north is better IMHO.
Ok, I'll be nice. That distance is about 45 miles. As far as a loop, you may be able to loop some forest roads. Here is a good resource to help plan. http://postholer.com/gmap/gmap.php?trail_id=1#
as far as time goes, it is a fairly easily section of trail. Some can do it in a day, others will take several depending on motivation and ability, you have given no indication of either. I personally would leave a car or public transport in Truckee then hitch to Donner. I would hike, spend a night in Sierra City, one of favorites, climb to the top of Sierra Buttes and back and spend another night at Sierra City then hitch back to Truckee. Did I mention that I liked Sierra City?
Thank you for the quick reply and advice. Sorry for not giving much detail on our ability or motivation, but I'm not really sure how to describe it, especially with not being totally familiar with the territory. I can say that the last backpacking trip we made was a short one from Echo Lake to Halfmoon Lake in Desolation Wilderness - and that took us about 7 hours (don't laugh, I just got out of rehab for ACL surgery :) ). I'm guessing that it's about the same as some areas of Desolation Wilderness from what I can read from a topo map.
I'll look into the northern side of Highway 49 once we get through this section first. :)
Let me offer another possibility. A friend came to visit me on the PCT in that area. There is a parking lot near where the PCT crosses Hwy 50, just a mile or two south of Echo Lake (the parking lot is outside the gate of the winter recreation area) It's much easier to park there than the jam-packed Echo Lake! Then we hiked to Donner Pass, which is about 60 miles. We did it in 3 days, YMMV. Donner Pass is an easy hitch to Truckee, and from Truckee there is a bus to the South Lake Tahoe bus station. (the bus ride was actually really beautiful, with nice views of Emerald Bay) Then from the bus station we hitched back to the parking lot on Hwy 50. Also Lake of the Sky Outfitters has a list of trail angels who can give rides.
I think this worked out really well logistically, the area has a lot of transit options. North of Donner Pass there are fewer roads and it is much harder to get around by car or bus.
Here is the link to the TART bus from Truckee to Tahoe (last bus of the day leaves Truckee at 5:30pm)
http://www.placer.ca.gov/~/media/dpw/tart/transit-schedules/TART-Transit-Hwy89Truckee-to-TC-Winter.pdf