[Cdt-l] Glacier NP snow conditions

[Trekker4 at aol.com]

I talked to Kyle Johnson, the Backcountry Head -  for lack of a proper 
title, 14 days ago and yesterday. The 66% snowpack in GNP,  for the winter in 
general, made it look good for a 15 Jun Sbound start. That  snowpack is now at 
100+%! Several storm fronts over the last 3 weeks have dumped  lots of rain 
at low to middle elevations, and lots of snow at middle to high  
elevations, increasing the snowpack up high and creating lots of "rotten"/think  
posthole snow in the middle. Spring has been, and is, cooler than  normal; skies 
have stayed cloudy; and the snow has not melted much for  3 weeks, Kyle 
says. Going-to-the-Sun road is still not open either. A GNP  Ranger I met in Pie 
Town this spring also confirms that the high elevations are  still "plugged 
with snow".  
    IMHO, 1 Jul would be a better start date this year;  so, much to my 
regret, I'll wait until then to start, losing 2 of my  planned 4 weeks Sbound. 
I'll be calling Kyle back next Mon, and try to remember  to post what he 
says. I still have to go out to WA to finish the PCT in  Aug, or I'd just keep 
going in MT. According to a few posts, CO & WY still  have snow cover in 
many places, and I just never cared to play the "guess  where the trail is" 
game. Northern NM is already fairly hot, since it was 97 in  Grants on Sun - 
and yes I know that Grants is at a much lower elevation  than nearby Mt 
Taylor, but it will be 80's at 9-10,000 with that kind of heat. I  live in the 
same Chihuahuan Desert. 
    Oh well, even just 2 weeks on the MT CDT is sorta  on the way to the WA 
PCT isn't it? The other problem now is a week driving up  there & getting 
into Canada, and 2 weeks Sbound, leaves me at Benchmark  Ranch - a poor place 
to get out of and in to. Ain't no good answers for me  this year.
 
Bob  "Trekker"
Big Bend  Desert Denizen, and...
Naturalized Citizen - Republic of  Texas

"Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See,  if it 
wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' " -- Harry Browne

"If you think  health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it 
costs when its free."  -- P J O'Rourke



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