| Description: | Snowshoe from Brockway Summit to Martis Peak Lookout
The access road is about 0.3 miles north of Brockway Summit on California state highway 267. Park off the highway, there is usually a plowed area. Lots of snowmobile trails in this area and lots of roads can make for difficult navigation. About 1.3 miles from the highway, where the main road straight ahead starts downhill, the ski route to the lookout makes a very sharp left. Look for blue diamonds trail markers, small brown plastic squares with engraved arrows, and older large painted dotted-triangle lookout symbols on trees. The brown arrows signs don't go all the way to the lookout, however, that trail heads left to an unknown destination about a mile from the top. Another 0.6 miles beyond the sharp left turn, after a gentle downhill run, is a clearing where at least five roads meet; the lookout route is marked by blue diamonds and heads "straight" ahead, uphill. There may be several other forks farther on, but these depend on snowmobile or skier/snowshoe tracks; usually you can follow the "main" snowmobile tracks, but it helps to have a GPS to stay on the road--we didn't always manage that. About a mile from the top, the road reaches the top of a ridge, with a left turn for the road to the lookout. Or you can proceed a bit farther where a clearing affords a view of Lake Tahoe (on a clearer day than today) and follow the ridge cross-country up to Martis Peak proper. The lookout, which is not at the very top of the peak but rather down a bit to the west of the peak, has been restored recently, and is very nice for a sheltered resting point. The door was blocked by a snow drift, but there was access through a window. |
