[pct-l] Sierra Conditions Report

[Stephen Clark]

RE: Sierra Conditions Report....

With regard to this section of the report, "*The road to Reds Meadow was
just starting to be plowed on June
13th (there was ten feet of snow), so Reds is unlikely to open any time
soon,*"  go to this link for a visual
http://www.nps.gov/depo/planyourvisit/hours.htm

It's almost impossible to believe that these photos were taken within the
last 2 weeks.  **

Quackers




On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 2:51 PM, Mann <bmann1 at san.rr.com> wrote:

> This is a trail report from Jack Haskel, the PCTA's Trail Information
> Specialist:
>
> Sierra Conditions Report ­ 6/14/11
> Don¹t Panic and Wing-it are likely hikers #5-6 in the northbound wave. I
> talked to them today, June 14th, from Mammoth Lakes. They have some
> interesting and potentially helpful information to pass along. As you read
> this, know that the conditions they faced are likely much different from
> those that you will face. That doesn¹t necessarily mean that it will be
> easier, but it will be different. Note that Don¹t Panic and Wing-it have
> already hike the PCT, CDT and AT (Wing-it missed some miles on the PCT so
> they¹re doing the whole trail again). They are super fit and strong hikers
> who averaged 29 miles per day from the border, often walk 30+ miles per day
> and don¹t take many days off.
>
> They left the Kennedy Meadows area on June 2nd, and arrived at VVR on the
> 10th (where they zeroed). They left VVR on the 12th and arrived at Mammoth
> Lakes on the 13th.  ³It¹s been wild. It¹s nothing I¹ve ever experienced.²
> Wing-it said.  While there were decent steps across Forester, the chute was
> ³hard snow and ice that our ice-axes couldn¹t penetrate².  They felt that
> their Microspikes were essential but wished they had real crampons. An
> impassible cornice blocked Mather Pass and they did a near vertical rock
> climb on the left side of the pass to bypass it.
>
> It seems like runoff hadn¹t peaked yet. They crossed Evolution Creek at the
> appropriate crossing, upstream of the PCT at the meadow crossing. Bear
> Creek
> was their hardest crossing. They crossed it at the PCT, in tandem
> technique,
> it was swift and reached Don¹t Panic¹s upper thigh (he¹s 6¹2¹¹).
> They never had to camp on snow, but only achieved this through a lot of
> hard
> work. Generally, it was all snow walking from south of Crabtree Meadows to
> Woods Creek. They report 8-10 feet of snow in the valleys and that it
> ³won¹t
> melt anytime soon². In a few weeks, ³it won¹t be any easier because the
> snow
> is like a series of ramps that you need to walk up and down².
>
> ³Snow makes it an incredible amount of work. It¹s discouraging to hike the
> hardest you¹ve ever hiked for only 13 miles of progress.² ³We did things
> that not a lot of average thru-hikers could do. We hiked Pinchot and Mather
> Passes in the same day to avoid camping in snow. It was about 20 miles on
> snow.²
> ³This is not hiking the trail. It¹s more a winter ice endurance event. The
> experience doesn¹t relate to thruhiking. For people who aren¹t into that,
> it
> won¹t be fun at all.² They also made sure to emphasize that the Sierra is
> ³beautiful!²
>
> Please be prepared if you¹re heading into the Sierra. A fall on snow, a
> slip
> in a creek or running out of food because of slower miles and exhaustion
> are
> all real possibilities.
>
> VVR is open. The road to Red¹s Meadow was just starting to be plowed on
> June
> 13th (there was ten feet of snow), so Red¹s is unlikely to open any time
> soon. Tuolumne Meadows is still closed and will be closed for a long time.
> Don¹t Panic and Wing-it plan to resupply at Kennedy Meadows North. The
> store
> at Echo Lakes is closed, the road has not been plowed and it is possible
> that it won¹t open until early July. The box that they sent there is being
> held in nearby Twin Bridges, CA.
>
>
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