[pct-l] Section hikers need advice re: starting north of Sonora Pass in early- or mid-May

[ned at mountaineducation.org]

Just keep in the back of your mind that the sierra is about two months ahead 
of season, at least with regards to the amount of snow covering trails, so 
don't be too surprised if Sonora Pass (and Tioga?) open up two months 
earlier than after a "normal" winter!



Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education, Inc.
www.mountaineducation.org
ned at mountaineducation.org


Mission:
"To minimize wilderness accidents, injury, and illness in order to maximize 
wilderness enjoyment, safety, and personal growth, all through experiential 
education and risk awareness training."
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jay Bruins
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2015 6:46 PM
To: PCT MailingList
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Section hikers need advice re: starting north of Sonora 
Pass in early- or mid-May

Food for thought:
http://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/fri-03132015-1130-snowcover-carson-pass-area?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 11:33 AM, Hank Magnuski <hankm at mtinet.com> wrote:

> Hello Brian,
>
> Sonora Pass Highway 108 closes for the winter and to even get to the Pass
> you need to wait for Caltrans to re-open the highway, which normally 
> occurs
> around the third week in May. But this year is low snow so the open date
> will probably be earlier.
>
> The Sonora Peak saddle is your last 10,000 ft pass and is likely to have
> significant snow in early May.
>
> Carson Pass (Highway 88) is open all year and is at a lower elevation, so
> you might want to consider that as an alternative.
>
> Hank
>
>
> On 3/12/15 5:24 PM, Brian Westlander wrote:
>
>> Hi All, my wife and I hiked from Campo to Sonora Pass in 2008, and we're
>> now planning to do another long section this year. We only have a few
>> months available to hike: May - July. We'd like to start as close to
>> Sonora
>> Pass as possible and continue hiking north.
>>
>> (1) Do any of you experienced folks know what we'll likely encounter if 
>> we
>> start in early- to mid-May at Sonora Pass, considering the fairly dry
>> winter we've had?
>>
>> (2) To avoid more snow and ice, should we instead start further north?
>> E.g., start at Sierra City or Belden, and then come back down south later
>> in the season to hike the section just north of Sonora Pass.
>>
>> Thanks for your help!
>>
>> - Bling and Strog
>>
>
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