[pct-l] Snow report--Little/Big Whitney area

[jrandall at bcbsal.org (John Randall)]

What follows is an e-mail I received from Jeff Moorehead who took a group of scouts on a Memorial Day weekend hike in the Kern Canyon area.   Snow is at 9500 feet.

John,
 Great trip!-- we hiked from Lloyd Meadows Trailhead via Jerkey Meadows to the Kern Canyon (using the Willow Meadows cutoff). We also managed a 15 mile day hike up Volcanic Falls and then onto Little Whitney Meadows and onto parts of the S Fork Kern. The operative phrase: the Sierra is melting! I've seen big water before but the main Kern is awesome (it was running at 7000 cfs into L Isabella on Thursday). It's something to see. Unfortunately, the melt has adversely affected the fishing-- I had one strike at Little Whitney 
Meadows and that was it. The water is ice cold and murky and probably full of food for trout.
 Notable wildlife encountered: 2 bears (from a distance), deer herds, 
osprey, woodpeckers, beavers, racoons, kit fox, thousands of lizards, many garter snakes, and three timber rattlers.
 Snow is not a problem below 9500 ft in that drainage but certain creek 
crossings are. We ran into two hikers returning from Kern Hot Springs and they had a few stories about sketchy creek crossings. They recommended that safety lines be used on some of the upper creeks beyond Kern Ranger Station.
 Total mileage: 51 (including the day hike). Lots of 'up and overs' to get 
to where you want to go. Nothing easy about hiking that area but it sure is gorgeous.
 Thanks for all your help and advice!
 Jeff


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