[pct-l] Snowshoes and the JMT (long)

[Marion Davison]

It seems like most thru hikers hit Kennedy Meadows south on 
or about June 15, and head into the high sierras in late 
June. They stand a chance, like the hikers of 1977, of being 
caught in a storm cycle that dumps a bunch of fresh snow. 
At best, in a normal snow year they will encounter a whole 
lot of snow in late June and it will be melting out in early 
July.  By mid July you will find old crusty snow patches on 
the high passes and nothing elsewhere.  The highest part of 
the PCT is in the Sierras from Olancha Peak to Donohue Pass. 
So, the whole JMT is the highest part of the PCT, and 
unfortunately most thru hikers must do it pretty early in 
the year when it is full of high water and bugs and snowy 
sections, and while it is a spectacular adventure, it is not 
a very comfortable place.
I am a section hiker.  I injured my back some years ago, so 
I am also a llama packer.  We do about 500 miles of hiking a 
year, with one long trip in the Sierras every summer, 
primarily on the JMT/PCT and connecting trails.  We have 
been doing long summer Sierra trips annually since 1992.  We 
prefer to leave home when there is some assurance that the 
vast majority of the snow is gone and the ground is drying 
out, much alleviating the problems with snow, mosquitoes and 
high water.  We most enjoy the Sierras in August.  At that 
time it is paradise.  We have had trips on the JMT in 
August, 24 straight days of sunshine, no rain.
In a low snow year you can start out pretty confidently in 
mid-July.  One very low snow year we had a great trip in 
Yosemite, crossing several high passes without snow, in late 
June.  But that is very rare.  In a normal snow year, late 
July is a safe bet for starting your trip and encountering 
little snow.  In a high snow year, wait until August, and 
you will still see snow patches on the high passes.  In the 
heaviest snow year on record since we started hiking, we 
actually had to turn back and walk an extra 20 miles because 
of snow lingering at the top of New Army Pass on Labor Day, 
in September.
Since you can't put snowshoes or crampons on llama feet, we 
carry a shovel. There have been a few occasions on Forester 
or New Army Pass where we dug a path thru hard crusty snow 
for them to walk on.  It was just a big patch of snow in a 
dicey place.  Most of the time they can walk around snow 
patches.  They aren't bothered by steep slopes.
The summer snow patches in the Sierras from Mid July thru 
August are hard and crusty or suncupped.  The Sierras get a 
lot of sunshine during the day in the summer and while it 
may not be enough to melt the snow at 12,000 feet, it is 
enough to thaw and refreeze it every  sunny 24 hour cycle. 
I think you would find snowshoes quite useless in such 
conditions.  You would be safer with crampons and an ice ax 
if you had to do a prolonged section of trail covered with 
crusty snow.  I can't think of a high pass that doesn't have 
areas with high exposure to falling.
Big snowstorms in the JMT Sierras during mid-July thru 
August are extremely rare.  But the area can get a lot of 
rain.  Some years we had 18 days of rain in 25 days.  Good 
raingear is very desirable and you may or may not need to 
use it. You may walk thru snow flurries on Forester or the 
other 12,000 foot passes, but once you reach the camping 
areas below it will be raining instead.  If you get caught 
in a snow flurry on a high pass, it is best to walk thru it 
down to about the 10,500 foot elevation, where it will be 
raining and you will find plenty of places to camp.
Daytime temps in the 80's, nighttime temps in the 20's along 
the JMT in mid July thru August.
I know your recent experience has made you extra cautious, 
but I think snowshoes would be a waste of weight on the JMT 
during the time period you specified.  We have done it for 
years with naught but hiking shoes, trekking poles, and a 
shovel for the llamas.  The snow levels for the year would 
help you decide whether or not you want crampons/ice ax/and 
or heavy boots for kicking steps.
One of the tricks we have discovered--the commercial horse 
packers know alternate routes over the high passes, because 
they want to get into the Sierras as early as they can while 
minimizing their risk.  So when I approach a high pass that 
has a lot of snow, I start looking for horse tracks and 
follow them when they leave the established trail.  Every 
time, these tracks have led us over the pass while dodging 
all the snow patches.  Yes, you may say we are contributing 
to the damage started by the horse packers, but actually 
boot prints and llama feet can flatten out a lot of the 
ground torn up by the horseshoes.  You can observe that 
phenomenon on muddy parts of the JMT, especially in Lyell 
Canyon.
Another consideration, is to consider hiking the JMT north 
to south.  That puts the highest part of the trail into the 
later part of your trip, when the snow has had more time to 
melt.  Your first big pass will be Donohue, where it is 
pretty easy to walk on granite slabs around snow patches, 
and such meandering does no damage.
Marion





cvano at tmail.com wrote:
> So, having had a 'close encounter of the cold kind' I'm seriously 
> considering the need for snowshoes.  I like winter hiking and am still 
> planing a JMT in late July.  Doc says the frostbite should be all better 
> by then.  What are your thoughts for carrying 4 lbs of snowshoes for the 
> JMT in late July-early August?  Also, I walked out 2 weeks ago on black 
> MSR shoes, this being my only experience with any snowshoes, I guess 
> they worked pretty well.  I don't know what kind they were other than 
> MSR.  I'm around 250 lbs with gear.  I looked at about a zillion kinds 
> the other day at REI and am more confused now than ever.  What are you 
> thoughts about brands, styles, price etc?  Thanks
> It's not the Mountain that we conquer,
> but Ourselves.  Anon.
> 
> Chris ~ S/V Drifter
> Anacortes, WA. ~~~_/) ~~~
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