[pct-l] Saw a scary picture... Need some reassurance...

[Ken Murray]

This was definitely off-trail.

The trail was in the canyon below the hiker, under snow.  As some people do, this fellow probably got tired of walking in the snow all day, or may have been mid day, when one has a tendency to "punch through".  

However, I congratulate you on the prep you are doing, both physically, and research-wise.  It sound like you will be very prepared, and will run into little that you will not have anticipated.  That's the way to do this, I think.

The great variable is the snowpack, and derived from that, the best time to leave Kennedy Meadows.  This has become something of a science, and you'll know a lot about this by the time you go.  

Keep up what you are doing, and you'll do fine.