Mount Lincoln seen from the Judah Loop Trail

Mt. Lincoln

Across Roller Pass: northeast-facing slopes of Mount Lincoln with a narrow band of snow (mid-August 2019)

Mount Lincoln with an elevation of 8,383 feet (2,555 meter) is a little higher than Mount Judah (8,243 feet, 2,512 meter). Both peaks are located south of Donner Summit—Mount Judah to the east and Mount Lincoln to the west of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The Mt. Judah Loop Trail is a popular hiking loop with panoramic views. Between the two peaks is Roller Pass. In the mid-19th century, for some emigrants this pass was the final hurdle to reach their destination in California. At Roller Pass the Donner Summit Historical Society informs on a trailsite board about how emigrants then made it over the pass:
The wagon trains came through Coldstream Canyon just south of the current pass (the way the Donners [Donner Party] should have gone had they not missed the turn) and then straight up Roller Pass between Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Judah. It was so steep that wagons were brought up one at a time...
Mount Lincoln is the highest peak of the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. The winter-activity installations and signs on its top can't be overlooked. Once I hiked to the top and was greated by four people enjoying the views from a swinging lift chair, asking me to take a picture of them. To get there in summer, you have two principal choices. Either take the gravel road winding up on the Sugar Bowl side—on the north-facing slope. Or come up the south slope where a short single-track trail branches off the PCT, just south of Roller Pass.
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