Eastern sierra in late May

[Solace-seeker]

I'm thinking of backpacking to Kearsarge Pass or Humphreys basin in late May if it is allowed. What kind of conditions would I be backpacking through? Would the trail be covered in snow? I'm not interested backpacking in snow since I have no experience. When would you guess the Kearsarge Pass trail or the Piute Pass Trail would be Snow free? Also how cold would it get in late May?
Thank You Solace Seeker

[c9h13no3]

Yes, there will be snow in May. June too.

Nights probably just below freezing, days pretty comfortable.

[Solace-seeker]

Thanks so much for your response. It was helpful.

[GGC23]

If you're determined to backpack in late May while also avoiding snow, check out the Golden Trout Wilderness. It's lower elevation than the Kearsarge or Paiute Pass areas and it gets less precipitation than those areas, so it tends to melt out much sooner. It also has lots of nice meadows, which will hopefully be nice and green in late May this year. The caveat, however, is that the GTW sees a lot less traffic than the more popular areas to the north, so trails other than the "main arteries" can be faint. Make sure you're comfortable navigating for when the trail inevitably peters out!

[Solace-seeker]

Thank you GGC23,
I appreciate the information and I will research the area.

[SSSdave]

For snow, look at the caltopo Daily satellites" "Daily low-res" view. Looks like great corn snow skiing for miles.

[Solace-seeker]

Thank you SSSDave, for the great info.
I had to look up corn snow skiing. Lol.

[richlong8]

I recently hiked into Monache Meadow from Kennedy Meadows Campground. No snow issues worth mentioning. In the distance, you can see that the higher elevations of the High Sierra have not begun snowmelt yet. With high temps coming this week,we may begin to get some melt.

[Solace-seeker]

Thank you for the suggestion Richlong8.
I will look into that area.

[bobby49]

Just to make it absolutely clear, there are two places named Kennedy Meadows in the Sierra Nevada.

There is Kennedy Meadows (South) and Kennedy Meadows (North).