[pct-l] Sierras twice

[Stephen Adams]

It's all good.  I've been exploring the Sierra range for quite a while now and have even skied and snow shoed some.  I think it depends on what a person likes, but you don't have a whole lot of choices for a border to border thru.  You get there when you get there and the conditions are what they are.  As far as the high country, there wont be the beautiful grasses, green meadows, and fields of shooting stars like there is by the second week of July.  Sky Pilot on the high passes like Forester and Pinchot for example was really good right before the alpine hulsea came in, and sometimes both pop at the same time, and forester pass can have so much skypilot blooming there is a pungent musky aroma that can be a little overwhelming.  But of course peak season for high country flowers and green meadows coincides with peak skeeter season.  ALso by July it is starting to get crowded along the JMT.  August gets out of control.  But mid elevation flora and ease of hiking and stream fording by August is getting pretty good, and the bugs are starting to wane.  By Sept things are browning up, the crowds are thinning, and the days are getting a little shorter.  Oct is another animal entirely, but I just had one of the best hikes ever in mid-Oct but you bet I was keeping an eye on the weather.  The days are much shorter, and it gets cold like below freezing every night, especially up high.  It was in the teens all but one night I was out.  Not like summer at all.  I saw a lot more bear tracks than human boot prints, and most of those had been overprinted with bear tracks.  I saw one person in 6-1/2 days when I junctioned with the JMT at Palisade Creek ford coming up from the Middle Fork Kings.  But along with the cold and shorter days, the light in the Sierra in the fall is spectacular. I didn't have even one mosquitoe to bother me, and crossing creeks I would normally have to ford were dry crossings on rocks though there was plenty of water flowing everywhere.  The cold is a problem.  Water bottle lids and the water inside freeze, water filters freeze up, shoes or boots freeze up over night, canister fuel doesn't burn very efficiently, and depending where you camp, it can be a long wait for sunshine in the morning, and along those lines, you can be in the shade long before sunset especially if in a canyon or behind a big ridge or peak.  Any wind makes it all the more cold.  But like I said, I just had one of the best hikes ever.  I carried a bit warmer clothing, zip off pants etc, and an extra pair of socks and wool gloves, a warmer sleeping bag, and used a gortex bivy, a lexan bottle to make hot water bottles, extra fuel, food, and a good headlamp.  Lets just say I was quite comfortable so long as I could keep my feet and hands warm.  But it was beautiful, beautiful , and more beautiful everyday I was out, and I'll be looking forward to doing it again.     

          
On Nov 29, 2009, at 8:24 PM, <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com> wrote:

> Obviously, I love the sierras covered in Spring snow as we teach how to be 
> safe in it. However, when I hiked the Crest, I went through in the months of 
> April and May, although I enjoyed it immensely, I wanted to see what it 
> looked like under "summer" conditions, so I returned from Manning to Tioga 
> to head southbound to Whitney. Both are incredible, never forgotten, and 
> worth a return visit!
> 
> Mtnned
>