[pct-l] Latest Kennedy Meadows Date SOBO?

[Austin Williams]

Hi,

Yes, the Oct 1st date is mainly about getting out of the high sierras before
the first fall snow.  It also keeps you on track to be able to finish the
desert section before the forest service turns off the water pipes.

Banking on the first fall snows melting off is, I think, very unsafe.  It
may dump a foot of snow overnight.  And it may not melt off.  And even if it
does start melting, it may take several days to melt off.  And as you
indicated, soft, fresh snow is much more dangerous than old packed snow.

For this reason, it's best to aim for around October 1st.  If you'll be in
much later than that, I'd *highly* recommend bringing a GPS (which would at
least help you navigate through the snow when you'd otherwise be "blind"),
and maybe even a SPOT messenger (in case you do get caught in a early
blizzard).  Better safe than sorry - as many a newspaper article can tell
you.

If you are going to be "late", just come prepared for a blizzard -  just in
case.

Have fun!

-Austin

On Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 2:02 PM, Dick Pattee <dpattee at olypen.com> wrote:

>  Hi Austin,
>
> Yes, I've been to your website a number of times--very helpful, thanks for
> putting it together.
>
> Does your October 1st date mainly come from a concern about early season
> snowstorms?  Is it common for the first couple of storms to dump and then
> pretty much melt off before the snowpack begins to build for the winter?
>
> Thanks for your advice,
> Dick Pattee
>



-- 
Austin Williams

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