I am going to be hiking the JMT Strating July 12-13, just wondering if an ice ax will be neccesarcy. Also wondering, if because of the dramatic snow, will more cold weather clothing be needed for a JMT thru-hike this year. Im comi all the way from chicago, so i must be prepared.
-peace
pnut
No way to know this early… but probably not is you are headed south… I will be entering (Northbound) June 19–and it will be mostly noow then of course
Keith Drury
hey there,
i say that you should bring your ice axe with you for the jmt. even if you dont end up needing it, it’s not like it will way your pack down too much(1-2 pounds). if you were thru hiking then there would be more reason to cut down your pack weight by ounces, but for the jmt i think that the little bit of extra weight is deffinately be worth the safety the ice axe could bring if you needed it.
in any case i hope that your hike is awesome this summer!!!
tyvek.(still at the saufley’s)
tyvek
Very hard to say at this point. Yes, there was a record-snowpack this year, but now that the weather has warmed up the snow is melting FAST. I would probably have one available to bring with you just in case, but would follow the updates on the snow conditions and be prepared to leave it behind if it looks like things have melted enough.
Kanga
I was in yosemite last week, and the snow was melting extremly fast. In fact I found pessimistic the previsions of the Rangers (hard to blame them, they can not go check everyday for sure). Did a lot of hiking below 8000 feet, and snow was not a major problem, except on the shady area
Good luck
Laurent
loranfrfr