[pct-l] Section I-Tuolumne to Sonora Pass

[Clif Reeder]

I left Tuolomene July 13 and got to Sonora Pass three days later. We were
expecting it to be smooth sailing but we were very wrong. There was enough
snow to lose the trail frequently and got lost following foot steps that
went way off trail, and some of the streams that didn't have log crossings
were waist high on me (6'3" tall). None of that felt dangerous though,
since it was less bad than the rest of the High Sierra.

The north side of Seavy Pass going down to Rancheria Creek was really
sketchy. Very steep descent since the trail was lost in snow and thick
woods, and then the trail was on rock scrambles and steep snow next to the
raging creek. Here is one photo from there I took
http://https//instagram.com/p/BW8chGFlnnk/ and a wider one from another
hiker https://instagram.com/p/BWqihDRnQLL/

Getting up Sonora was through a pretty large snow field, and getting down
was maybe a 150 yard glissade that I used my ice axe to break the entire
way. Tons of snow still on both sides of that pass.

All that said, a lot of snow will probably melt in a month. Creeks will be
a lot lower. It will certainly be possible - lots of people have done it
this year. Just have a GPS, microspikes and an ice axe.

On Wed, Aug 2, 2017 at 1:03 PM Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com> wrote:

> Recently two hikers have drown in creek crossings in this section.
> Everyone freaks out about snow, but the snow won't kill you. Worry
> about water. I hiked in a high snow year, and Kerrick Canyon scared
> the crap out of me. I could have just as easily been the killed there
> too.
>
> Read more here
> https://www.facebook.com/donna.saufley/posts/10155529181154785
>
> and Here
>
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/PacificCrestTrailAngels/permalink/1338927669538632/
>
> On Wed, Aug 2, 2017 at 2:58 AM, claire rdl <clairerdl at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Any trail reports for section I (Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass)? I
> just received this image of the Sonora pass trailhead saying it was taken 3
> weeks ago? Does it still look anything like this?
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-- 
Clif Reeder