I hiked in a medium to light snow year (low in the southern Sierras, normal in central, high in northern Sierras) - but we started a week or so early, so had heavier snow conditions that folks a week or so behind me. Sometimes it’s not just a matter of El Nino year vs. normal year, but early start vs. late start. I’ve talked to people who hiked in very high snow years and people who hiked in very low snow years or later in the season. Each has a different experience.
Hiking constantly in snow can be beautiful and challenging - but it can also be physically very demanding, especially if you are postholing at all. That will slow you down and you run a risk of twisting your knee/back. In a low snow year, you can set up the Sierra passes so you go over the top, in the snow, in the late morning. If snow is constant, you are more likely to have to deal with ice in the morning and soft snow in the afternoon. We never felt the need for crampons, but in a high snow year, if you want to make miles, they may be necessary for the morning climbs.
We went through the Sierras at a time of maximum melt. Every stream was in flood. River crossings that were terrifying for me were a piece of cake for someone a week behind me. People who hiked in high snow years had snow bridges at some of the river crossings – but ones that were easy for me (i.e. Tyndall Creek) swept them away.
In a high snow year, navigation is a constant issue. In a normal/light/late year - it is a total non-issue. The trail is obvious almost all the time. For me, there was snow at all the passes from Forester to Sonora - but usually only for a couple of miles on each side. (Muir Pass had snow for miles, but it wasn’t difficult, just constant.) In a high snow year, the snow would be constant for most of the day in the Sierras, not just at the passes. The southern California mountains in a normal year have snow patches, even some large snowy areas, but only for short distances - less than a mile, if that. In a high snow year, you would have snow for several miles. We met a friend near Wrightwood who hiked in a high snow year. He kept saying, “This looked so different when it was covered with snow.”
We didn’t pick up our ice axe until Kennedy Meadows, and didn’t need it until Forester, then dumped it in Sierra City. I have friends who hiked in high snow years who carried their ice axes the entire trail.
In some ways I really envy those who hike the PCT in a high snow year. It is such a challenge. I really wanted to go back out last year. At the same time, there were days on our hike thru the Sierras when I had such a hard time that I really wondered why I was risking my life. For me the rivers were worse than the passes - but that’s because I got swept off my feet twice and had some hairy log crossings - but I never fell at any of the passes, though a couple of those were scary too. People we were traveling with did fall and have to self-arrest, so I knew it was a real possibility. At the time I was glad we were hiking when we were. After hearing the stories of those a week behind us (knee deep rivers instead of hip deep), I almost wished that we had waited - but at the same time, facing the challenge and surviving is good too.
Ginny
