Sierra Snow Strategy

imported
#1

This thread was created in order to help '06 PCT thru-hikers get a better idea of what they will be dealing with in respect to Snow Pack in the Sierra.

'O5 thru-hikers: please give your departure date from Kennedy Meadows and the snow conditions that you encountered. Specific info. like Postholing vs. Consolidated Snowpack; River Fording; Mosquito Issues; Sunburn; Route Finding issues etc. would be helpful for the '06 hikers. Also, your estimate of the total miles of snow pack that you walked.

Also, if you can think of any advantages or dissadvantages of leaving Kennedy Meadows when you did, this would be helpful too - in other words, if you did it again in the same snowpack, would you start earlier or later?

I think that if enough of us respond here, the “Class of '06” will get a better idea of what they will have to deal with.

(Remember to start off your post with the date you left Kennedy Meadows)

Happy Trails, freebird

freebird

#2

While not an 05 hiker I am a Sierra Nv resident and have been for the last 3 winters. While 05 & 06 winters have record snowfall they are very different. Most of the 05 snowfall was through Dec/Jan allowing it to freeze pretty solid so the melt off was slow. Most of this years snowfall has happened in Mar without the extreme cold temps to create a solid pack. Even though more snow is forcast for the weekend and early next week this snow melts off pretty fast.
This is NOT to say that there wont be snow in the high country in June, but it may not be nearly as deep as in 05. I would be more worried about stream crossings early on, as we are already having flood warnings in the foothills due to run off. Best of luck but BE PREPARED!

Sierra88

#3

Scott & Sierra 88:

Thanks for the great insight - those are crucial points that you both made. I should have made it clear in that first post, that its impossible to compare two different year’s snowpack according to dates.

Every year is obviously different, and even a difference in a single week during a particular year can make a dramatic difference in conditions. Even the time of a particular day makes a huge difference in terms of snow condition and stream run-off.

I flipped from Whitney last year on June 5th. (I thru-hiked NOBO in '97 in another heavy snow year and wanted a different experience) Last year, I talked with many of the NOBO’s as they streamed by in Oregon and NoCal. It was incredible to hear about the conditions that they faced, according to the time they went through the Sierra - it was a very rapid melt-off as Scott pointed out and the conditions changed dramatically from week to week.

The idea here is to show the various difficulties that hikers faced last year - to give the '06 hikers at least an idea of what type of challenges they might need to deal with.

Everybody that is hiking this year should consider their own abilities and the best information that they can get regarding the conditions.

Even with the latest forecasts and current snowpack info. the unexpected can happen. On June 13th of '97 i was caught in a heavy snow-storm just south of Forester Pass, near Tyndal Creek. Over a 18 hour period, the storm dumped about a foot of new snow. I was above tree-line on a snow field with no visibility. (white-out) My compass and maps were of no use, b/c i could pin-point my location on the maps without a landmark or some frame of reference. (this was the era before cheap hand held GPS’s were available) I ended up walking a compass bearing for an hour or so hoping to somehow hit the notch in the cliff where Forester Pass is located. At one point, when i was losing the use of my hands, i took a couple “death shot” pics - the ones with the fake smile in case the body is recovered - to try to comfort family and friends - to show that i was where i wanted to be…

Fortunately, the storm briefly let up for about 15 minutes in the afternoon and i was able to see Forester Pass. Thank God i made it, and it turned out to be an incredible experience.

This story is not meant to scare anybody - i related it just to show that weather conditions can change dramatically even in June in the Sierra.

In anycase, if other thru-hikers relate the challenges that they faced, it might help this year’s crew in deciding when to head north from Kennedy Meadows.

Happy Trails!

freebird

#4

I agree that this info can be helpful, any reference is good. I just mean to point out that what worked last year may not work this year. Not that it relates to the trail, last year I keep my road open with a snowplow, this year it required a tractor.

Sierra88

#5

Scott said: “'05 saw a rapid melt-off with normal snow levels on June 15th before most went through.”

Whoa, what? “Normal” snow levels on June 15th? I wasn’t out on the trail last summer but that statement seems highly suspect. Last year was a huge snow year and I wasn’t hiking in the Tahoe sierra until well after normal. I didn’t think that any of the thruhikers thought it was a normal year either…

Check out pct2005.com Metrognome entered the Sierra well after June 15th and had TONS of snow to walk on. I don’t have anything to reference but 2005 looked anything but normal on June 15th.

Forester Pass, July 1, 2005: http://www.pct2005.com/photos/forester/
http://www.pct2005.com/dispatches/20050701/

Muir Pass, July 6, 2005:
http://www.pct2005.com/dispatches/20050706/
"Today, we spent seven hours hiking on snow to get up and over Muir Pass. "

Sierra88, good points. I wonder how the old snow of last year will be different from the “new snow” of this year. I know from avalanche classes that snowpacks can consolidate very quickly with warm events, rain events and whatnot. It’s all going to depend on what the temperatures are like this spring and whether or not there are any warm rain storms (Pinnaple Expresses) or early season thunder storms to melt the pack quickly. What interests me is that these new dumps have had unusually high water contents. That has brought the water content of the snowpack up to about equal with last years in the southern sierra and greater than last year in the Tahoe area. I don’t know the comparisons in feet though. So i can’t compare between snowpack density from this year to last, which would be the variable that we’d care about in attempting to compare future melt rates I think.

I wish there were some ski bums or water rats adding to the conversation. They seem to be much more in tune with snowpacks than hikers are.

Great thread freebird!

My thoughts are that this year I will be hiking on snow in the Sierra. I’m a cautious person so I’ll have instep crampons and an ice ax with me unless the snow melts a ton beforehand. We’ll probably also have some huge stream crossings. What I have no idea about is what types of conditions we’ll face on Badden Powell and Fuller Ridge…

JackH

#6

on june 15th the snow level in the sierras was anything BUT at normal levels! or is that why we hiked through MILES UPON MILES of continous snow??? there was hardly any bare trail to be hiked upon. i think it is good to prepare yourself for lots of snow, but dont get all hyped out by people saying that there is to much snow. just BE CAREFUL and know your own limits and when to much is to much! thats all there is to it. if you know your own limits and when to turn around instead of going forward you will be ok.

be safe out there everbody and have a great hike!

TYVEK.

TYVEK

#7

I’m with Jack & Tyvek here - the experience of what people actually encounter on the trail can be very different from what someone internet hiking on their PC gets from the snow sensors. I was in the Sierra in the runup to and on 15th June, and the rivers only started getting bad for us AFTER 15th June. I was intrigued by the level of similarity between what hikers actually found in different high snow years - '98 and in '05 - we even took exactly the same routes on some passes. That doesn’t mean '06 will be the same, but if it is, then reading '98 and '05 journals and photos could be very useful prep.

My understanding is that 99 was an average snow year. Comparing photos of 99 on exactly the same dates with 05 photos (eg henry shire’s journal from 99) shows the real difference on the ground. Bighorn plateau 6/5 99 - no snow. 6/5/05 - 8ft+ of snow. Also, Tioga pass ‘average’ opening date: May 29th, Tioga pass opening 2005: Jun 24th. Mammoth closed 7/4/05 vs mid June normally.

My suggestion would be to go an investigate conditions for yourself. Nobody really knows what they will be like for you - we had the same conditions interpreted by hikers who had seen them as everything from ‘easy’ to ‘impassable’. Even the rangers’ information was completely (in fact, dangerously) incorrect. If its too bad for you, in many places there are opportunities to come down again as long as you’re prepared to turn back and don’t get sucked into just pressing on a bit further in case it eases. Lost time going up to saddle junction and turning back= 3 hrs. Similarly on Baden Powell - if the snow is bad, turn back and walk the highway - lost time, 1-3hrs. Repeat for the Sierra- even in late May 05 there wasn’t much snow before Trail Pass, so you can put 40 miles in and see what you think. Clearly this requires you to have a feel for your own limits and what is comfortable for you.

In many conditions, I find continuous stable well consolidated snow much easier to travel than patchy, melting snowpack. For me, the irony of the ‘advised’ dates of when you should enter the Sierra is that they seem to represent the worst possible time for me (others may differ). Early = consistent snow, many creeks low or snow-bridged, and easier navigation because you don’t worry about following a trail. Late = minimal snow, low creeks because melt is over, and a clear trail etc. Advised dates often seem to fall between these, and hit peak high altitude meltoff (which differs substantially from the reported peak flow that the internet sensors give, and is what really matters for me when crossing creeks).

Camping and waiting till morning at big creeks is good advice - this is the only way we could get across Kerrick. All the other big deep creeks were slow and swimmable, but Kerrick had too much white water. My fording strategy is to a) avoid white water (the turbulence really throws me off) b) look for consistent water, even if its deep.
c) use a drybag inside my pack (1 big drybag is lighter than 2 trashbags and 2 stuffsacs)
d) keep my pack attached (waist done up, sternum undone)- with a drybag, it’s extremely buoyant, floats me across, and protects me in the event of being swept away, like a lifejacket.
e) use a stick found beside the river for fording - my ice axe and hiking poles aren’t long enough for big rivers, and when I have to swim I’d rather not end up dropping gear that I’ll need later like an ice axe.

Little is made of the advantages of a high snow year. Lots of water in the desert. No people in the sierra (if you’re early). Amazing scenery rarely experienced by others. No bugs in the Sierra. Your choice of desolate camping spots. Outnumbered by staff at VVR.

Best of luck to the '06ers. An amazing experience awaits…

Dave

#8

I can’t speak from experience, and I hope it stays that way but I’ve got to disagree with:

d) keep my pack attached (waist done up, sternum undone)- with a drybag,
it’s extremely buoyant, floats me across, and protects me in the event of
being swept away, like a lifejacket.

Everything I’ve ever read about this situation says to undo your waist belt before fording (e.g., Wilderness First Responder by Buck Tilton). The problem is that if you fall the buoyancy of your pack will put you in a face down position in the water. You may have a hard time righting yourself without getting out of the pack and you don’t want to have to be fighting with your hip belt.

Radar

#9

Radar -

With much smaller packs these days, it may in fact be easier to keep your hip-belt attached - IF it has a quick release buckle. I have experimented with both techniques in nasty fording situations, and prefer to keep my hipbelt attached (again, i can easily unbuckle it in an emergency).

RC hiked back in '95 and it appears that his pack was over 50lbs according to his figures. Dave’s pack was considerably smaller (except maybe when he was carrying Michele’s food for a while there!) & this size/weight difference might make all the difference.

freebird

#10

Well, I’ll keep this short, or try to anyway. Remy and I hiked in 05. We left KM on June 15th and it took us 14 days to get to VVR. This was going straight through without going out to Independence or Lone Pine and climbing Whitney. Previous and post Sierra’s we did 25-30 miles per day. The Sierra’s were buried with snow, not normal snow levels at all and our mileage dropped to 9 miles (over mather) to 13 or so. Be prepared for a BIG mileage drop in the snow. Remy and I hiked from daylight to dark and sometimes didn’t even stop to eat. The snow was heavy melting and sloggy in the afternoons. I would not have wanted to go through later than we did. I would have rather went through about 1 week earlier.

First of all, don’t freak out. Remy had never walked on snow. Saddle Junction was the first time. I had very little snow and navigation skills. We went in with the intention of going through, but we would have turned back if we had to. We stretched our limits, but we were also cautious. You CAN do the Sierra’s in high snow even with little or no snow experience. Hook up with someone who does. Prepare ahead of time as much as possible. Take the right maps and gear and know how to use them. Anything can happen to anyone anywhere. Even the most expereinced hikers can be injured in the wilderness. As much as it would suck to turn around and walk back to trail pass from Forrester you can. Push yourself, but don’t take unecessary risks. Know if you’re in over your head. But you should definitely try.

Have map and compass skills. Be good friends with both. We recommend the Tom Harrison maps. By Glen we forgot all about where the trail was and just navigated as directly as possible across the snow-a huge advantage to heavy snow!! You do’t have to follow switchbacks and meanders…just go for the Rae Lakes!! (or whatever your next landmark is)

Fords were sketchy, high and fast. We camped before every major ford and were amazed at the water level drop by morning. Like someone already said it can be signifigant. There is always a good place to ford. We usually stopped a little early and scoped out a place to ford the night before. We walked 1/4 upstream sometimes, other people went even further. We forded Evolution in the meadow on the old PCT, it was our easiest ford. I highly recommend doing it there since I know several people who were swept into Evolution…and there is one heck of a falls not far downstream.

Ice axes. We had them. We also had crampons. We used the crampons in the morning on Muir and to descend the steepest parts of Glen. I was glad we had them in both cases. We didn’t self-arrest with our axes in the Sierra’s proper, however, I did have to do one coming down to Sonora to avoid a nasty encounter with some boulders. We did have our ice axes out for every pass though. Especially the ice chute on Forrester. Know how to do an arrest, don’t make it more complicated than necessary, just know how to do it. Practice sometime. Slide down a hill headfirst, feet first, on your stomach, on your back. Have fun when you’re learning. If it’s a natural reaction and you actually trust your axe to stop you you’ll be way more confident on the snow.

The Sierra’s last year (for us) were scary, hard, slow and absolutely amazing! Very few people and starkly gorgeous. Remy and I couldn’t stop talking about town near the end, but the night before…we didn’t want to leave. And you know what, I’d do the Sierra’s in that snowpack all over again.

Have a blast!

heather

#11

This site – http://www.riversafe.org.nz/facts/rivercrossing.shtml – is a good one for river crossing techniques, especially when combined as a group. River crossings are the number one cause of death in the New Zealand outdoors so we’ve had to get good at it. Crossing, that is, not drowning :wink: I think the method of facing upstream, as espoused in Yogi’s guide, is much more hazardous than the ones we use here.

JH

#12

Dear All,

thanks a lot for the good advices given in the last contributions. Especially concerning river fording.

rita

#13

So far, there is a common thread developing that is contrary to the normal trail advice given out by the ‘experts.’

RC mentions that the thought crossed his mind a few times that it may have been easier (the fording) with an earlier entry into the High Sierra.

Dave mentions that in his experience, it was easier (snow, route finding & fording) until mid June and much harder afterwards. (He left KM on June 1st) He also mentions that ‘early’ or ‘late’ would have been better than the advised time-frame of Sierra entry (mid-June).

Heather mentions that she would have preferred to leave KM about a week earlier. (she left on June 15th, classic “Ray Day” departure)

(as mentioned above, these dates are not a guide for '06 planning; i think its usefull to compare the actual trail experience in a single year to show the different conditions encountered. As Scott has already mentioned, there was a rapid melt-off of snow occuring during this time period in '05)

BUT, how many total miles of snowpack did you guys traverse? Squeaky’s estimate in his CA/OR register entry was that he had traversed 600 (or was it 700?) miles of snow in CA. (!) Granted, few if any hikers will go as fast as he did or enter the Sierra’s as early as he did. How many PCT hikers are willing to put up with over a hundred miles of snow?

I think that eventually, there may be two logical strategies in a HEAVY snow year. (on a light to medium snowpack year, mid June seems appropriate) For those that have mountaineering experience, good navigational skills, and who don’t mind walking on over hundreds miles of snow, a late May Sierra Entry might work best. But, the earlier entry, the higher the risk of storms - which can really be challenging. (I don’t like using the word “dangerous” because, what seems dangerous to one person can be a walk in the park to another or vice-versa)

For those with less experience, perhaps a late June/early July entry would work best. This option would clearly be considerably safer; however, it would also mean that PCT thru-hikers would have to hike high mileage days for the remainder of their hike before the snow starts falling in Northern WA.

Any thoughts on this idea?

I think the best advice that i have read so far (besides the EXCELLENT fording advice) is to be willing to turn around if necessary. There are many options to bypass sections of trail if necessary: Fuller Ridge (Black mountain road); Baden Powell (Angeles Crest Highway); ‘testing the waters’ so-to-speak in the Sierra and bailing out @ Cottonwood Pass if necessary, as Dave mentioned. Better Maps that cover more ground would be crucial in a storm situation. If i had known that i had another option in '97 i would not have almost frozen to death trying to get over Forester Pass in that storm - the PCT Guidebook maps that i had were insufficient.

BTW: Mammoth Mountain broke their alltime snow-fall record this week. The current seasonal snowfall total: 638" (over 53 feet!) They have a great historical snowfall page on their website showing detailed info. dating back to 1968.

1995 - RC’s year - looks particularly interesting - the resort closed on August 13th!!!

Go to mammothmountain.com & click on “snowfall history” and then click on “past year’s totals.”

freebird

#14

PS: That technique of grabbing the far pack strap is a winner. Three of us managed to cross a river at 300cumecs (cubic metres per second) using that – the top person had no real contact with the riverbed but acted as a breakwater for the person next to him. It’s why you always have the strongest person one down from the most-upstream one.

jh

#15

when Heather and I hiked last year, we encountered snow before, during and after every pass between KM and Sonora- 400 miles. The longest stretch of CONTINUOS snow travel was approximately 16 miles- over Muir pass, with many other stretches of 5 to 10 miles. probably about 150 miles altogether of snow travel.
freebird- good point you made there. The most concise and interesting summation of advice on Sierra entry that i’ve heard so far.
P.S.- we entered the Sierras on june 19th, not 15th :wink:

Remy

#16

ALL this advice concerning river fords is great. Knowing your options and what to expect is half the battle. But knowing when to apply this advice is equally important and playing it safe and conservative is the way to go if you are inexperienced. It would be helpful if we all preface our advice with what type of fords we are talking about. Most of the rivers I encountered were simply not fordable. I could hear rocks and boulders grinding away underneath the water. A snow bridge or log was the ONLY way across. This is a the way I approach any river now that I am unsure about as far as fording. Falling into or loosing your footing is not an option. Period. If you are unsure, then make up your mind right then and there not to ford the river, and find a log or another way to the other side, or simply turn back (which is easier said than done - given the amount of food you have left and re-crossing the rivers you just crossed). Setting steadfast rules to play it safe can also give you peace of mind and relieve alot of anxiety when you know you have difficult fords awaiting you. Making sure all the members of your party are in agreement as to how river fords are to be approached and handled is equally important. I took too many risks in the Sierras (probably because I was solo - all but one were necessary to continue heading north. There is always a safe way across and just be stubbornly determined to find that safe crossing!

And on the topic of enduring the snow travel. Timing is important but conditions for passes, fording are so unpredictable that there are only general rules as discussed here in this thread. Personally, I loved the snow travel. And I don’t recall even seeing the John Muir trail in the High Sierras. So I guess I didn’t really hike the trail:) It was easy but very interesting deciding your own route based on studying the contours of the map. The peaks and valleys are so prominent in the high country that navigation is straight forward. I actually never carried a compass - but I was also fortunate to have excellent weather and visibility the whole way - zero days of rain between Mt Whitney and the Columbia River Gorge. But needless to say - carry a compass.

The snow travel was the most rewarding part of the entire hike. All the anxieties of river fords and traversing icy slopes was definitely worth it. I think anyone that goes through the Sierras in the snow will agree. Hiking ‘cross-country’ vs. following the exact trail can be so much fun. Hiking up to the passes might be more effort, but the reward at the top is to be able to sled down the other side. Actually, it was quite a let-down to be on dry ground again in northern CA. The thrill and challenges were just not there.

As Freebird mentions, getting to Canada before the weather turns foul in October is a concern. In 95, it would not have made any difference if I had gone through any earlier or later (except for the snow bridges). There was no avoiding the snow. And I do not know if the creek levels were higher or lower weeks after I went through. I suspect they were just as high considering the amount of snow still up there. In hindsight with respects to getting the Canadian border, I would have started maybe a week or two earlier and try to reach WA a few weeks earlier. I hiked WA into late October. NOT recommended!!

Interestly, all the logistical concerns for the rest of the trail were so trivial when I was going thru the Sierras. The Sierras made my hike (it was my Mt Everest), and all that followed - good or bad - was just an icing on the cake. Enjoy the snow travel and accept the realities of lower mileage (and a heavier pack). You can make it up in Oregon.

RC

#17

Nice summary freebird.

The key thing I’d add to it is resupply - the only place that would guarantee being open was VVR (where I think the road opened c. 18th June vs late May of an average year). In early '05, Muir trail ranch was shut, Reds was shut, the road to Horseshoe meadows only just before we got there (so couldn’t rely on it), Tuolumne was shut etc. This meant the ‘guaranteed’ resupply options were: Whitney Portal, VVR, Mammoth, Sonora Pass (Bridgeport) and Echo Lake/SLT. At the point when you’re sending resupply parcels/bounce box, you’re unlikely to know where you can resupply beyond these. At least 2 boxes other people sent to Tuolumne were lost for ever.

We started June 1st from KM and had significant snow from just after KM till just after Sierra City, i.e. 500 miles. We sent our crampons and axes home from Sierra City and didn’t regret it despite the bit of snow round mt Gibraltar after SC.

Like Heather & Remy, the longest section of snow was from just after Bishop Pass trail to the Evolution Creek ford - 18 miles I think, over Muir. In total, I estimated that we had about 250-300 miles on continuous snow, and about 100 on patchy snow, where the trail could often be seen poing through thus navigation was easier, and maybe 100 miles on fairly clear trail including 23 miles through Lyell Canyon to Glen Aulin. We had snow above 9-10k ft in the high sierra, dropping to 8k ft in Yosemite/Northern Sierra, although s-facing exposed slopes and ridges were often melted.

I thought it would probably be worth identifying the section where we got ‘temporarily mislocated’ (lost isn’t really a concept that works when the trail is buried under snow anyway!). I’ve used the mileages from the old databook, although its quite easy to work out the new databook miles from them. THe starting mileage reference point is mile 699.4 for KM campground.

About 0.5 before Mi 718.9 - saddle - there was a false (snowbound) saddle above Brush Meadow that we thought was
718.9/10,540 alt. We eventually realised it wasn’t 718.9; on this false saddle the trail carries on contouring NE whereas on 10540 it goes NW - if you went NW on the earlier one you’d end up a bit lost.

748.4 -Siberia/Rock Creek jn- featureless plateau with tree, difficult to see any features. We ended up to far N and got ‘sucked’ down the slope till we hit rock ck, where we picked up the rock ck trail heading W and eventually rejoined the PCT.

754.5 -Rock Ck - crossed too early (on good log just after the waterfalls) then bushwhacked for a while till we realised the PCT headed c.0.75mi downcreek on the other side and crossed later.

830.8 - Helen Lake - on the way up to Muir Pass, the valley headed up to what looked like a classic Sierra Pass (map H11, by the ‘O’ of Canyon’) but actually Muir pass was due S of here (compass & GPS rescued us from this).
c. 870 - Bear Ridge - switchbacks down ridge buried in snow, got sucked too far L which gets progressively steeper to cliffs - had to traverse back R to eventually find clear trail down to Mono Ck.

878.3 -Silver Pass- deceptive pass, climb up to something that looks and feels just like a pass, with a small, round lake just after it. Actual pass was 90degrees R and at the top of a slope, c.200ft higher. Without altimeter we’d never have realised this.

1008.8 - bowl with ‘notch on a steep wall’- lots of notches, we had to traverse quite a long way round the bowl, and the actual notch was the second-last one.

c. 1010 - fatal snowfields - we glissaded these…

1016.1 -sierra crest at a saddle- unlike every other pass, don’t descend the other side to the beautiful snowless valley (which deceptively looked like the right route), but traverse the snowfields round the mountain to the L, holding altitude, till you get above Wolf Lake.

c. 1080 to 1084 - just before benwood meadow - heavily treed, lots of snow, no sign of trail, cliffs, gullies etc. All the early hikers got very lost here. We picked up a x-country ski trail (large blue diamond shaped blazes) which re-joined the PCT, there’s only 1 way off the ridge that you have to find.

We had problems with Piute & Return creeks (swam both), Kerrick (swept in once, eventually just made it 200yrs upstream of trail), Stubblefield (swam) and Falls looked deep but was just OK, heading diagonally downstream from the trail.

Dave

#18

oops -my Muir pass thing has come out wrong - the actual pass is due W of the ‘O’ rather than due S!

Dave

#19

One option that has not been raised here in the thread so far is a “flip-flop” thru-hike.

This option was particularly attractive last year for hikers who didn’t want to deal with the snow b/c of the incredibly LOW snow pack levels in the North Cascades. Thru-hikers generally flipped from Walker Pass, Kennedy Meadows, Trail Pass, or Whitney. Not all flipped to Canada - some went to NoCal, some to Ashland, while the majority flipped to Manning.

Many hikers last year decided to flip before they even saw the snow in the High Sierra. (some felt that they had already experienced plenty of snow @ San Jacinto, parts of the San Bernadino Range, and Baden Powell!)

The complicated logistics of a flip often determined where hikers flipped from - many felt that Walker Pass was the most logical point, due to its relative proximity to Bakersfield.

So far, a flip-flop hike looks less enticing this year - snow is pervasive all the way to Canada, but this, of course, can change due to melt-off rates.

If hikers enter the high Sierra this year and find that it is more than they want to deal with, they basically have two logical options, besides “getting off the trail” (quitting).

One option is to wait until conditions improve. This might take a while. Even in an interesting town, like Lone Pine, things might get old quickly. In this case it might be a good idea to go on a side trip, like to the Grand Canyon or somewhere else that’s interesting. (I went to Newport Beach last year for a long weekend with a buddy to go surfing. Glory (‘03) flew to Hawaii for a two week vacation during her thru-hike!)

The other option is to flip to somewhere along the trail with better conditions. If you choose this option, be careful in determining where you flip to. Unfortunately, some hikers last year ran into difficult, snow-bound conditions in Oregon - the very conditions that they were trying to escape from!

Getting a glimpse of the snow-bound high Sierra and “testing the waters” by hiking as far as Trail Pass or Cottonwood Pass (both leading to Horse-Shoe Meadows and eventually to Lone Pine) might be a rewarding experience.

Flipping from Whitney is amazing, for fairly obvious reasons - ending your thru-hike on the “lower 48’s” highest peak, but it can be challenging. If you decide to flip @ Whitney, especially in early June, you should be prepared for a somewhat technical descent towards Whitney Portal on the East face of Muir. When the standard route (which traverses South from Trail Crest to a huge number of switch backs dynamited out of a cliff) is snowbound, the preferred route (according to the experienced German Mountaineers that i ran into) becomes “mountaineer’s chute” which is a nearly vertical headwall. The challenge here is a very steep drop with a poor run-out into rocks directly above Trail Camp. (At least two climbers died on this chute last year)

If you flip-flop, you can normally expect good weather in the High Sierra until mid October. I made a point of asking every local from Tahoe south to Whitney specifically about when the first major snowstorms start arriving, on average. The response was almost unbelievable: every single person said “You’re good to go until October 15th.” (could the weather really be that predictable in the Sierra???) Last year we had just one minor storm on Sept 26th (3-8” depending on elevation). Beautiful weather lasted (daytime highs in the 60’s, lows below freezing at night) through mid-October.

Sierra88, Scott, JackH, TYVEK, RC, Dave, Radar, heather, JH, Remy: thanks a lot for contributing the useful tips for the ‘06 hikers - i’m not sure how many of them actually read this thread, but at least rita appreciated it!

If anyone has any other suggestions or corrections, please feel free to post them.

Happy Trails Class of ‘06!

freebird

#20

I’ve certainly been following this topic. Not becuase I’m hiking this year, just for education purposes; lots of good info!

Judging from the activity, it was a sorely needed topic.

Thanks for starting it Freebird!

www.postholer.com

Scott Parks