2019's Big Winter: What's better during a big snow year?

[kpeter]

One answer is simply to take a look at 2017 and see what worked and when it worked.

While conditions will vary a lot depending on location, and while the summer could be warmer or cooler and thus affect the speed of the melt differently than in 2017, overall the April 1 Sierra snowpack compares:
2017 159% normal
2019 161% normal
That is very, very close. Reading trip reports from 2017 will give you an excellent idea of what will be good and when.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/04/02/ ... of-normal/

[Wandering Daisy]

Late Fall may be spectacular this year, unless we get huge wildfires and smoke. I look back at photos of Sept-Oct trips and in dry years the terrain just looks tired and dried out. The McGee-Corridor Pass-Convict Lake semi-loop could be very spectacular this year with Fall colors. The lakes east of Bishop Pass also have great fall colors. In a similar year in October we did the "395 Tour" with a week of driving from one trailhead to the next, day-hiking and fishing.

[brianA]

old ranger wrote, " A seldom visited falls is huge cascade on the upper Merced at the confluence of the Merced peak fork."

We did the Ottoway Lake Loop, and hiked down this waterfall on our way to Washburn Lake. It has no name on any map I've seen. We were thinking of calling it Triple Divide Falls. Maybe DeGrazio Falls. The fun thing about the falls is that you can go off trail a bit, and safely sit right next to it. Not to mention it has several lovely little pools below for soaking tired feet, and cooling off.