[pct-l] John Muir Trail starting June 20th

[msarahm at cox.net (Sarah)]

Even in a low-snow year, you will have snowy, icy passes on the JMT in 
June.  I went over Glen Pass in mid-July last year, and I had to cross a 
short section of snow.   No crampons or axe were needed, but that was 
mid-July.  June is another story.

There's a bulletin board at the Whitney-Portal store (URI below).  Their 
policy is to only discuss Mt. Whitney, but you can bet there will be 
many postings about the state of Trail Crest Pass.  Regulars on that 
board post every week in the spring about the conditions. I haven't 
tuned in there this year, but I think the pass is characteristic enough 
of the passes along the JMT that you can set your expectations for the 
state of the trail based on some of the reports.

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=1

Have a great trip, and don't miss the natural hot spring showers at Reds 
Meadow.  I still have fantasies about those showers.

Sarah


John Mertes wrote:

> Its been a l-o-n-g time since I've been on the JMT. Back in the 70's. 
> Then the preferred guide book/reference guide was Starr's Guide. 
> Generally a terse description of the trail, alternatives, and numerous 
> laterals (think access / bail out) trails. I don't know if it is still 
> published or how recent it is. But worth checking into.
>
> John
>
> dude wrote:
>
>> I've been on the JMT on 4 different trips, all in August or 
>> September. The winter of 1998 was very similar to the winter of 2005, 
>> so I will
>> compare this year to that year.  IMO, you will encounter a *tremendous*
>> amount of snow and it will significantly impact your trip.  I predict
>> that you will encounter significant sections of the trail that will be
>> completely covered in snow for miles on end.  I would highly recommend
>> practicing your navigation skills with a map and compass or map/GPS
>> because its really easy to lose the trail when its under 15ft of snow
>> for 5-10 miles.
>>
>> During the last week in August 1998, most of the trail was clear, but
>> the passes were still heavily covered in snow and an ice axe was
>> preferable but not necessary since there had been an entire summer of
>> hikers kicking steps over the snow laden passes.  My guess is that ths
>> year in late June will present snow covered passes that will really
>> require ice axes and may require in-step crampons.  In any event, you
>> won;t be able to kick steps in trail runners, so I would highly
>> recommend boots for this purpose.  Consider this photo that was taken
>> last weekend and posted on the list:
>> http://community.webshots.com/photo/357366143/357388712NjgHAE
>>
>> this photo is essentially the exact area in which the JMT travels, so
>> you can see how much snow there is still.  to compare, here is the same
>> area in late august 1998:
>> http://dudedesign.com/photos/jmt/large/anseladams3.jpg
>>
>> here is a photo of a stream crossing in the last week of August 1998:
>> http://dudedesign.com/photos/jmt/large/crossing.jpg
>>
>> as you can see, the crossing is fairly significant, so I would say that
>> in late june of this year, you will have some crossings that are pretty
>> dang bad.  if you can take a rope or small line to provide saftey during
>> the crossings, I would.  if you can carry some Tevas or water shoes that
>> can give you some traction during the stream crossings, this will
>> probably help.
>>
>> Since you are giving yourself 19 days to complete the hike, you might be
>> able to cmplete it, but I would thank that there is a good chance that
>> you will not be able to finish the trail because you won't be able to
>> cover as much ground as you'd like.  I'd definitely make sure that you
>> are awar of the different bail out points along the trail:  red's
>> meadow, south lake trailhead, onion valley trailhead, VVR (although they
>> are not open yet and their website says that they will not open untill
>> "late june": http://www.edisonlake.com).
>>
>> I'm not trying to scare you, but you really need to have a realistic
>> outlook on what the trip will be like.  If you have alot of
>> mountaineering experience, then you will probably be fine.  If you do
>> not, I'd be extra careful and even try to read up on mountaineering
>> skills (I suggest "Freedom of the Hiils").
>>
>> good luck.
>>
>> peace,
>> dude _________________________________________________________________
>>    http://fastmail.ca/ - Fast Secure Web Email for Canadians
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> pct-l mailing list
>> pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
>> unsubscribe or change options:
>> http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>>
>>  
>>
> _______________________________________________
> pct-l mailing list
> pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> unsubscribe or change options:
> http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>