[pct-l] Planning a Section Hike - Ziggy & The Bear to I-5

[Brian Watt]

Tim,

I can't answer if this is crazy talk. All I can do is tell you my story 
and you can maybe derive your own conclusions. IOW, YMMV.

I was a thru-hiker this year and started at Campo a little bit early on 
April 16th to keep ahead of the herd too. When I summitted Mt. San 
Jacinto I endured an overnight snow storm at Fuller ridge on April 26th. 
I got to Ziggy and the Bear's home on April 27th after getting a ride 
late in the day just after coming down from the mountain. From there to 
Big Bear on April 30th and beyond I didn't encounter any snow storms or 
snow on the trail until the Sierra Nevada mountain passes. On May 23rd 
around mile 700 we had two days of rain which became snow in the Sierra 
Nevada mountains. So when I arrived at Forrester Pass on May 28th there 
was relatively new snow on the approach and for miles after the pass on 
the northern exposure. This was similar for all the other passes I 
encountered too. I got into Tuolumne Meadows on June 8th and Castella & 
I-5 on July 7th. After Sonora Pass on June 13th there was almost no snow 
except for a few small (10-30 feet) snow drifts at higher elevations.

Overall I had no problems with water by following the water report. I 
used what caches I found and tried not to rely upon them however I was 
thankful they were there when I did encounter them. Once you're in the 
Sierra Nevada mountains it was overly plentiful. However, you again had 
to be conservative with water in Northern California.

Sincerely,
Tartan/Bri

On 12/16/14, 10:43 PM, Tim Gustafson wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm planning my 2015 section hike, and I intend to do the section from
> Ziggy and the Bear's to I-5.
>
> I'd like to avoid the herd this year, so I was thinking I'd go earlier
> than usual.  I did a little weather research and the averages for Big
> Bear for April 12 - April 25 seem to be reasonable - the overnights
> are a bit low, but I have a 10 degree bag:
>
> http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KL35/2015/04/12/PlannerHistory.html?dayend=25&monthend=4&yearend=2014&req_city=Big+Bear+City&req_state=CA&req_statename=California
>
> Also, looking at the NOAA National Snow Analysis page shows that there
> isn't a lot of snow cover in the area that time of year (although
> their map resolution is kinda low, so maybe there just isn't enough
> resolution to see):
>
> http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?region=Western_Coastal&year=2013&month=4&day=12&units=e
>
> My questions are as follows:
>
> 1. Is this crazy talk, or might this be a good idea?
>
> 2. I'm thinking, if this isn't crazy talk, that water might be more
> abundant at this earlier time of year, actually making the hike
> through this section somewhat easier.  Is that sound reasoning, or
> utter nonsense?
>
> 3. Does anyone know what the snow cover along the trail in the Big
> Bear area might be like that early in the season?  I know San Jacinto
> would probably have significant snow at that time, but I was wondering
> if Big Bear somehow had a different weather pattern or likelihood of
> snow?  NOAA says that there won't be much snow at that time of year,
> but I was wondering if anyone had some personal experience they might
> like to offer?
>