Map of Area


Day 1: Met at Clair Tappaan Lodge (CTL) at 4 p.m. for orientation. Spent the night there at an elevation of 6,960 to get acclimatized.

Day 2: Drove to Sage Hen Creek, for a 4.5 mi (round trip hike) to Stampede Reservoir.

Day 3: Hiked into an area above Palisade Lake and set up camp. Took a 1.5 mile hike down the fire road toward the north fork of the American River
Topo Map.

Day 4: After breakfast, we departed camp and went back to CTL.
Most went to visit the Donner Memorial State Park Museum
Others hiked up the nature trail behind the lodge, past Litton Lake, behind Donner Ski Ranch to Donner Pass Rd. (Old Hwy 40), where we crossed the road and hiked thru the old railroad tunnel #6.
After dinner we visited local petroglyphs for a talk by a Forest Service Ranger. He also gave us a history of the Lincoln Highway thru the area.
Afterwords others in the group got a chance to hike thru tunnel #6

Day 5: After breakfast, drove to the Big Bend exit on I-80 and hiked to Loch Leven Lakes [elevation gain 1,300'] where we set up camp at the lower lake.
Topo Map.

Day 6: Layover day. Hiked to Salmon Lake in the morning and watched the catfish.
Hiked past middle Loch Leven in the afternoon and down the Cherry Point Trail toward the N. fork of the American River.

Day 7: After breakfast, break camp and backpack back to CTL where we had lunch and said our good bys.

last updated 26 July 2011