Rae Lakes July 1st - Advice Needed
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 8:46 am
Hi all,
We have a permit to hike the Rae Lakes Loop counterclockwise with a Bubbs Creek entry date of 6/30. Because of the snowfall this year, we are already anticipating not being able to complete the loop because of the bridge being out at South Fork. We will be staying three nights and hiking four days. I would consider us to be Level 2-3 backpackers. I have done a lot of off-trail hiking (though my wife has considerable less experience off-trail). We are content with making the best out of this trip instead of canceling it (we have booked flights anyway), so it seems as though we have a couple of options:
1) Make Rae Lakes our turnaround point. This means hiking Glen Pass twice, and also implies that there isn't much snowfall on the north side. Is it wishful thinking that on July 1st of this year this will be doable without crampons/ice axes? I'm not opposed to a more technical hike, but neither my wife or I have experience hiking on snow at high altitudes. I have a feeling I will be more comfortable than her, and while I like to see her challenge herself, I don't want her feeling too anxious, especially since we would have to do the pass twice. We've been training for this hike on the steep trails behind our home in TN, and are both fitness addicts in our 30's, so I don't think physical conditioning will be an issue. It's more of the technical aspect that concerns me.
2) Climb the south side of Glen Pass and turnaround at the top, then hike south on the JMT, turning around at some point (yet to be determined) and missing Rae Lakes. I assume we shouldn't encounter prohibitive snow on the south side of the pass, correct me if I'm wrong.
I plan on checking with the Rangers as the date gets closer. Though we both want to make it over the pass, missing Rae Lakes isn't the end of the world. We have another trip at the end of July in the Desolation Wilderness where we will see plenty of beautiful lakes.
As a side note, can anyone recommend any hotels near Road's End trailhead? Cedar Village is booked already, and ideally we don't want to tent camp the night before. We are considering Bakersfield.
Thanks in advance!
We have a permit to hike the Rae Lakes Loop counterclockwise with a Bubbs Creek entry date of 6/30. Because of the snowfall this year, we are already anticipating not being able to complete the loop because of the bridge being out at South Fork. We will be staying three nights and hiking four days. I would consider us to be Level 2-3 backpackers. I have done a lot of off-trail hiking (though my wife has considerable less experience off-trail). We are content with making the best out of this trip instead of canceling it (we have booked flights anyway), so it seems as though we have a couple of options:
1) Make Rae Lakes our turnaround point. This means hiking Glen Pass twice, and also implies that there isn't much snowfall on the north side. Is it wishful thinking that on July 1st of this year this will be doable without crampons/ice axes? I'm not opposed to a more technical hike, but neither my wife or I have experience hiking on snow at high altitudes. I have a feeling I will be more comfortable than her, and while I like to see her challenge herself, I don't want her feeling too anxious, especially since we would have to do the pass twice. We've been training for this hike on the steep trails behind our home in TN, and are both fitness addicts in our 30's, so I don't think physical conditioning will be an issue. It's more of the technical aspect that concerns me.
2) Climb the south side of Glen Pass and turnaround at the top, then hike south on the JMT, turning around at some point (yet to be determined) and missing Rae Lakes. I assume we shouldn't encounter prohibitive snow on the south side of the pass, correct me if I'm wrong.
I plan on checking with the Rangers as the date gets closer. Though we both want to make it over the pass, missing Rae Lakes isn't the end of the world. We have another trip at the end of July in the Desolation Wilderness where we will see plenty of beautiful lakes.
As a side note, can anyone recommend any hotels near Road's End trailhead? Cedar Village is booked already, and ideally we don't want to tent camp the night before. We are considering Bakersfield.
Thanks in advance!