Anybody know any good sites to check out snow levels for the pct. I have seen record amounts in the sierras online, levels of snow supposedly not seen since 1916. Furthur south too, mountains east of LA are having record snow.
snowScared
Record snow on the pct?
system
#2
Check out the thread titled “Snowfall” which was posted just before Christmas. You might find the information you’re looking for there.
It seems that every year we read about the “record” or “above average” snowfall in the Sierra. Sierra snow is something all prospective PCT hikers are concerned with. My suggestion is to not let Sierra snow information stop you from starting your hike. You’ve got 700 miles to walk before you get to the Kennedy Meadows, which is the last stop before the High Sierra. And in the 5-6 weeks that you are walking those 700 miles, the snow is melting. There will probably be some late spring snowstorms, too. You just don’t know. So start your hike, and while you’re on the trail you’ll learn what’s happening in the Sierra. If the snow truly is crazy, you can skip the Sierra and come back to it later.
Snow is serious, and yes it can be scary. But don’t let predictions stop you from starting your PCT hike. Everyone else on the trail will have the same concerns as you. Via internet and email, you’ll get snow information when you’re at all the trail towns.
yogi
yogi
system
#3
The big question now is, How fast will it melt? Something we won’t know til May. Go ahead and start. The consensus seems to be Kennedy Meadows as the stopping point, but why not press on through Monache Meadow to Trail Pass and retreat to Horseshoe Meadow / Lone Pine if you have to wait for the melt?
Motels in LP are a bit expensive, but the Tuttle Creek (?)campground right before the Horseshoe Meadow road T’s into the Whitney Portal road is ok.
booger
system
#4
I agree that high snow levels are not a reason not to start your hike, just be aware that you may end up deciding to jump the Sierras and come back to them later, as most of the 1997 hikers did. I think less than a dozen went straight through. Some roadwalked around the Sierras. You may also end up needing to carry an ice axe the whole way, as the 1993 and '95 hikers did. It makes for a very ‘interesting’ hike, from what I’ve heard from friends who hiked in very high snow years. But it is doable. Just don’t expect to do 30 mile days in any of the high mountain areas.
Ginny
system
#5
But why would anyone want to hike the PCT and not experience the High Sierra? The most spectacular scenery starts north from the ridgeline above Chicken Springs.
Booger
system
#7
You can still experience the High Sierra. If the snow is too bad, skip around the High Sierra and come back to it later. Maybe after you reach Manning, or maybe after you finish California. You choose.
yogi
yogi
system
#8
This was just posted on CDT-L and PCT-L. It’s pretty cool.
ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/support/water/westwide/snowpack/wy2005/snow0501.gif
yogi
yogi
system
#9
according to that site, yogi, the snow levels do appear well above normal, but again that doesnt mean much but it appears significant. Cool site though.
d
system
#11
booger has it right - if we get an early, hot spring then it doesn’t really matter what the snow looks like right now. keep on planning to hike, then worry about the snow when you get to it. make sure you know how to use that ice axe!
tarbubble
system
#12
Yup, we have snow here, lots of it but my ? is can you outhike the snowmelt? You have 700 miles to Ken. Mdws. then another 45 miles to trail pass where you might hit the wall! Lots of '98 hikers did a flipflop that year and finished the hike southbound so its something to keep in mind. Meadow Ed
Meadow Ed