W6/NS-087 Little Round Top

It was Labor Day weekend, which meant I had a 5 day weekend to spend hiking and doing SOTA. This year I decided to go to the Sierra around Carson Pass and Lake Tahoe. I left relatively early on Friday morning to drive up to Carson Pass. I parked at the lot on the north side of the road, and paid my fee. My planned route was to take the PCT to the col, then follow the ridge to the summit.

Up the PCT.

I started up, then a quarter mile later realized I had forgotten my pole. I turned around to get it, then headed up the trail for real. It seems that the secret to quicker acclimatization is to drink plenty, and I had been drinking on the ride up, so I felt good. I made good time up to the pond at the col, where I stepped off the trail.

Little Round Top is up that ridge.

After crossing the flat area I started to climb up to the ridge. A short distance up I found a use trail, so decided to follow it. The trail follows the ridge on the east side. The ridge is open, and would be easy to follow without a trail. The trail got better as it dropped to the low col along the ridge, where another trail comes up from the meadow below.

Red Lake Peak (right) and Stevens Peak (left) across the meadow.

I started to see more people around this section of the ridge. A few ladies stopped me to get a picture. The ridge flattened out before the final climb. At the top there was a large group of kids, probably part of some camp. I looked around, then went down to some trees to set up. It was nice to have the wind break and get out of the sun.

Lake Tahoe in the distance. This part of the Sierra is very pretty.

I worked everyone on the three bands I had, then packed up. The kids had left, so I was able to take a better look around on the summit. I retraced my steps back to the PCT, however I discovered that the use trail starts in the bushes on the north side of the pond. Back at the car I had a snack then drove down to Blue Lakes Road, where I would be starting my next hike.

Caples Lake, and the peaks I did with Jamie N6JFD last year: Round Top, 9795, Thimble.

Trailhead: Carson Pass Trailhead.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the PCT up to the small pond at the top of the climb. Follow the ridge up and over to the summit. There is a use trail most of the way.
Red Tape: None. Make sure you pay the day use fee!