[pct-l] Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass Report - "Soul Crushing", but hikers are getting through

[Hank Magnuski]

On Saturday and Sunday (July 9th and 10th) I was running some trail magic at 
Sonora Pass and met about 30 thru hikers in two days.

Hikers found this section to be extremely hard, e.g., "the most intense and 
challenging of the hike" as described in Molly Barths's recent email.

The ground conditions for the day before arriving at Sonora Pass were described 
as "Soul Crushing", a series of snow drifts to be climbed again and again.

Some hikers arrived at Sonora Pass by doing a road walk (TM-->395-->108-->SP). 
Others took the jeep trail down to Leavitt Meadows and then up to Sonora Pass. 
The majority headed straight for the Sonora Pass snow bowl and did a glissade 
straight down the chutes ("scary", but the snow was soft enough to be 
manageable).

Expecting to greet only a few hikers, I was really surprised by the numbers that 
came through over the weekend. And, I was told, more were on their way.

This segment is difficult, still dangerous, but the hikers are getting through.

A few pics of those who made it:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Hank.Magnuski/SonoraPassCafeJuly2011

Conditions going north look more favorable. I didn't see much snow until I was 
very close to the Pass, and temps in the nearby Central Valley were in the 90's, 
which will cause pretty rapid melting of what's left at these altitudes.

Hank - The Owl