[pct-l] RE: Trail Condition in High Sierra

[amr10009 at yahoo.com (alec)]

thanks for the info, peter.
 
so we are clear that tuolumne is still rough going towards the end of june.  does anyone in this community have any idea (obviously no one can predict the future) what the status of the JMT will be in august?  i know there was a near record snowfall in the high sierra this winter.  i know that the meltoff has been normal to rapid.  i know that some snow will remain throughout the summer.  but, i'm wondering what to expect in august.  i wasn't planning on packing crampons and my gf and i surely weren't planning on carrying ice-axes.  in fact, i was even planning on leaving my vasque sundowners home for the first time and entering the world of "trail runners" :)
to be sure, we weren't planning for a snowy/muddy month.
 
obviously, i'd much prefer to take a wait and see approach, but we live in nyc.  we need to plan ahead. i.e. plane tix and food parcels to be purchased and sent ASAP.
 
can any local "experts" weigh in on the feasibility and likely scenarios of a JMT thru hike this august?
 
any info is much appreciated!
 
-alec

Peter McColgan <plumeria@earthlink.net> wrote:
>I am looking for trail reports of the Yosemite-Mt. Whitney section of 
>the PCT. Are there any updated links where information about the snow 
>and specific creek crossings can be found?
>
I just got back from doing an overnight trip from the Cathedral Lakes trailhead to Sunset High Sierra Camp. The road over Tioga Pass had just opened up and it seemed that we were the first party of the season to make it in to Sunrise. It was much, much harder than we had expected, taking about 7 hours to do the first 7 miles where we camped above Long Meadow, We then day hiked the 1.5 miles to Sunrise (resembled a ghost town!) before hiking out on Sunday.

The trail even to Cathedral lakes was buried in many, many places - often under 10-15 feet of snow. Higher up, we gave up even thinking we could find a trail and made extensive use of the GPS we had brought (which had the trail loaded in). Even with the GPS route finding was tricky and crossing the extensive sun cups clearings very tiring and tedious. You will break through :( We averaged about 1 mph on the way out and about 1.5 mph on the way back, since we knew the route.

Some of what we learned from our trip.. 
1) There is still a *lot* of snow, even at "modest" elevations of 9,500ft. I very much doubt it will all be melted by the start of the next snow year.
2) Bring gaiters, trekking poles, waterproof boots and a few changes of socks
3) A GPS is very useful If you don???t have one you should be very familiar with how to use a map and compass. Yu are hiking without a trail to follow.
4) By the time you go, you might have some footprints to follow - don???t do that blindly however, but double check that they are indeed going in the right direction
5) Stay in the trees as much as possible - the meadows are sun-sup hell. However the meadows may have melted out by the time you go, in which case they'll be very wet.
6) The softer the snow is, the more tiring to hike up or along.. when going downhill soft snow is great for standing glissading (watch the runout) but be careful to avoid falling in to holes. I managed to end up with one foot dangling a few times in space.
7) It reminded me more of a mountaineering trip than an easy backpack (which it would have been in a "normal" end of Jun)

Have fun

Peter
p.s. Some guy we met on late on Sunday afternoon was hiking in very late to Cathedral Lake with Tevas (no socks). It would be interesting step kicking up 300ft of a snow gully in these... We warned him about the large amount of snow, but his attitude was "whatever...". His female companion wasn't much better equipped in her tennis shoes.

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