Took a detour on the Pacific Crest Trail near Donner Pass and found a hidden lake

I was doing a solo stretch of the PCT last weekend and decided to take a side trail I spotted on my map. About 2 miles off the main route, I stumbled onto this small alpine lake named Round Lake that wasn't marked on my phone's GPS. The water was so clear I could see rocks at the bottom 15 feet down. Made me think about how easy it is to skip side routes when you're focused on making miles. Anyone else got a favorite offshoot trail that surprised them?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan_wood2h ago

Isn't that just like life, always finding the best things when we take the lesser path?

the_viola11h agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you're saying the lake wasn't on your GPS at all? That's wild. I've hiked all over the Sierra and I always figured those maps had everything covered. How deep did you go into those rocks you saw, like 15 feet is pretty incredible for a mountain lake that small. Makes me wonder what else is out there that's completely off the grid. I'd love to know what side trail you took to get there if you remember the name or anything.

daniel_cooper3410h agoTop Commenter

Whoa hold on, I gotta push back on that a little. I mean, don't get me wrong it sounds like a cool spot, but is it really that big a deal if it wasn't on the GPS? Those things are full of errors and outdated info. Honestly if you're relying on a digital map for every single rock and puddle you're gonna miss half the fun anyway. And 15 feet deep? That's barely a swimming pool dude, not exactly some uncharted abyss. There's probably dozens of little ponds like that all over the place that nobody bothers to note down. I just think people get way too obsessed with finding "secret" spots when really they're just regular lakes nobody got around to adding.