Distance: 8.25 Miles
Vertical Gain: 1000'
Group Size: 2
Hike Rating: Easy Moderate Hard Strenuous
GPX
for
this trip 
| Start Coordinates: | N 38 38.427 W 119 54.957 |
End Coordinates: | Same as Start Coordinates | ||
| Car Shuttle Req'd: | No | Parking Directions: | Take
Highway 88 to the Blue Lakes Road turn south, just to the west of
Pickett's Junction. Go south on Blue Lakes road 10 miles to
the parking area listed at the GPS coordinates. There is a
small
pull-out on the west side of the road that can accomodate 4-5 vehicles
at this location. |
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| Hazards of Note: | Route-finding skills
necessary. Do not attempt without orientation experience and
good navigational skills. This hike has been rated as "Hard"
rather than "Moderate" due to this factor. |
Crowd Factor: | None.
The Thornburg Canyon trail has not been maintained to any
degree
in more than a decade, and while listed in a number of publications,
they mostly describe the hike coming from the east near Markleeville.
The only person encountered on the day we hiked it was on his
way
to Jeff Davis Peak along the use/social trail we took near the end of
the journey. |
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| General
Notes: From the parking area, carefully walk across Blue Lakes road to the trailhead which begins between two large rocks on that side of the road. There was a "no snowmobiles" sign which was down on the ground behind these rocks, and about 100 feet up the trail is a 4x4" post which has been broken off about 10 inches up which probably used to have a sign of some type. Follow this obvious trail (and undoubtedly former jeep trail given the dual track nature of the path) up to an early crest with fantastic views of the Blue Lakes mountain area to your west. You will also see Jeff Davis dominating your view to the east, as well as Raymond, Reynolds and other peaks far beyond. At this point the trail will bend to the north, toward Markleeville Peak for a short time before it bends back to the east and drops down into the beginning of the canyon. There is another rise in less than a mile with more fantastic views all around, especially back behind from the way you came. Once you reach this second rise the trail really becomes spotty and often difficult to follow, with some areas requiring GPS tracks or luck to continue on along the actual intended trail. There were a significant number of trees down on the trail, some of which had use trails winding around them, indicating that there has been some visitation along this trail from time to time. After about 3 miles the trail begins to drop down into the canyon in earnest, with rock cairns (ducks) often marking the path. After four miles there is a rocky overlook of the continuation of the trail with a clear view of Thornburg Peak to the Southeast. This was where we decided to turn around and navigate back toward Blue Lakes road, deciding to visit Jeff Davis Peak on the return. The use/social trail from the Thornburg Canyon trail toward Jeff Davis to the south is obvious at about 3/4 of a mile from the start. Follow this trail across open area filled with incredible displays of wildflowers in the summer, especially through the largest display of Mariposa Lillies I have come across to this point. After the trail climbs a couple of rises it veers directly to the east toward the base of the basalt plug that is the true peak of Jeff Davis. |
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