[pct-l] Sierra Conditions Report

[Sir Mix-a-lot]

That's crazy. CRAZY!  We're supposed to be doing trail work there in a
couple weeks.

Sir Mix-a-lot

On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 4:57 PM, Stephen Clark <rowriver at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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