October 6-8 2001 - Sonora Pass north and south:
I delayed my start to wait for the Summit Ranger Station to open at 8:00, in order to get a wilderness permit, but I probably needn't have bothered; I saw only one other person inside the wilderness area in the next two days, a hunter; summer being over, wilderness rangers had all gone home for the winter. But the delay was fortuitous because while I was getting ready at the trailhead, a woman asked if I was hiking the PCT to Ebbetts Pass. I said yes, and she asked if I would be interested in a car shuttle. Of course I was. She was looking for somebody to accompany her husband Boris on a one-way hike. Boris has some 900+ Sierra summits under his belt and hardly needed any help, but it's always safer to avoid hiking alone when the opportunity arises. So Camille accompanied us to the first saddle between Sonora Pass and Wolf Creek Lake, then returned to their car for a leisurely two-day drive to Ebbetts Pass, stopping at the Walker community park for the annual Hunter's Barbecue. At the first saddle we encountered two day hikers; we didn't see any more of those. Water was plentiful from Sonora Pass through the East Carson canyon.
The four-mile dirt road from 108 to Leavitt Lake is probably barely passable to passenger cars that are not too expensive, but 4WD or at least a truck is probably a better idea. Once at Leavitt Lake, one is two miles and 1000' below the PCT, along the Montezuma Mine road which is now closed just as it starts to climb south from Leavitt Lake.
My hike began rather anxiously with snow flurries that started to turn serious for about half an hour, beginning to stick to the ground, but as I reached the PCT the snow stopped and patches of blue sky became apparent, though the wind remained fierce. So I was encouraged to extend my hike beyond the ten mile minimum from Leavitt Lake back to Sonora Pass along the PCT.
The PCT south follows the mine road for a couple of miles. It starts by splitting into "hiker" and "stock" routes; the hiker route is preferable perhaps for going uphill, or for going downhill lightly laden, but is steep and loose. This area above timberline has many use trails that, once developed, never go away.
The southbound PCT heads east down Kennedy Canyon from a saddle with the canyon of Kennedy Creek heading west. The mine road heads around toward a much higher saddle leading toward Emigrant Pass. The mine road toward Bond Pass is a much truer crest route, but the PCT heads down below timberline to find water and camping, I suppose. I followed another use path from the Kennedy/Kennedy saddle up to the 10000' level on the road where I rested in a bowl, somewhat protected from the wind; there was a little water still running in the sources of Kennedy Creek.
Then I returned to the PCT at the saddle by following the road. By now the clouds were broken and it was sunny at least half the time.
The wind was still blowing, however, as I pushed along the rocky trail along the spectacular exposed crest. I rested again where the trail reaches a high point above Latopie Lake, the highest point on the trail north of Donahue Pass. Another use trail heads down to austere camping at Latopie Lake. From there the PCT finds a keyhole to breach a wall looking much like a part of the Grand Canyon, and then continues along the crest to finally descend very circuitously to Sonora Pass. The circuitousness comes about because the trail is routed to pass through upper branches of Sardine Creek which were still running. At Sonora Pass itself I found interesting historical markers and the only PCT emblems I saw in three days. The trail passes near a nice trailhead parking area.