High Sierra Trail Snowpack

[walterfredo]

I realize it's hard to say with any certainty, but curious what the experts think the snow conditions may be like on the HST in mid July this year. We leave Crescent Meadow on 7/13, plan to take 7-8 days. Unfortunately our dates are not flexible.

Could we have issues making it across? If so, which areas would likely be the problematic ones?

[balzaccom]

Yosemite is now suggesting they won't have the Tioga Road upen before the 4th of July....and that's below 10,000 feet.

[AlmostThere]

It's not hard to say at all. There are a couple different ways to look at the snowpack over time. NOAA has one, the forest service has the other.
https://www.fs.fed.us/r5/webmaps/SierraSnowDepth/
There are still 96-197 inches of snow up there in the high country.
You will still see some of that in mid July. Like everyone, you go until you can't, decide if you want to risk your life, and make a decision if it looks dangerous to you. Turning around doesn't mean failure. It means getting to go again later.
I am sure some people who lack winter mountaineering skills will take the risk, and some of those people already are -- already had a couple of people come off Mt Whitney in body bags. RIP.

High water and steep snowfields wherever they are -- those are the challenges. You start to have water crossings of significance below Hamilton Lake.

[walterfredo]

Thank you. I will keep an eye on those sites and for trail reports on here.

[wildhiker]

And don't forget - even though your dates are not flexible, your itinerary can be. There are lots of great trails in the Sierra.

[walterfredo]

...anyone care to state an educated opinion on this though? Passability of the HST in mid July this year?

[kjmayer4]

The trail is currently passable, people have already completed it this season. Whether or not YOU can finish it depends on your experience level and determination. There will likely still be some snow left on the trail in July and stream crossings will still be difficult. Those are by no means insurmountable challenges, but you need to be prepared for them. I am hiking the HST 6/17-6/23, I will post a detailed trip report when I get off the trail. Look for it on this site, or you can PM me after the 23rd.

In terms of snow, the biggest challenge is obviously Whitney, but there is also significant snowpack on other parts of the trail (Big Arroyo, for example). We are currently expecting to hike through snow for several miles (~20-25 miles) and camp on snow for at least one night. We are bringing crampons and ice axes primarily for Whitney, although they might come in handy at other points on the trail. The snow is melting rapidly and conditions may be drastically different by mid-July, snow gear might be completely unnecessary, or you may be able to get by with just microspikes and trekking poles. NOAA publishes a daily snow map (based on satellite data) that you can download for google earth here: https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/earth/ You can download a kml of the HST and overlay it to get a good idea of where there is still snowpack on the trail. I will note that this is a satellite product, not direct measurement. It's not perfect and it doesn't do a good job on steep slopes. The depth measurements are approximate. Keep checking the message boards for trail conditions as you get closer to your hike dates, they will be the most helpful resource.

The other challenge is stream crossings. Right now, they are very swollen with snow melt and will likely stay that way into July. They can all be crossed safely if you are willing to spend time finding a safe location to cross (which could involve leaving the trail and following the stream for several miles). Stream flow is at a minimum in the morning and increases throughout the day as temperatures rise, so you can always camp and wait until morning to cross if it seems too dangerous. Do not cross barefoot. Either bring an extra pair of shoes or cross in your boots (remove socks, liners, insoles first). Do not attempt to cross water more than waist deep, or that is moving extremely fast. If you are travelling with a group, there are different techniques you can use to make the crossing easier such as linking arms or setting up a rope handrail. Trekking poles can also help you keep your balance.

In summary, the HST will certainly be hikeable in mid-July, but there may encounter some additional challenges. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you decide to attempt the hike! Once I get back, I can fill you in with more details on trail conditions.

[AlmostThere]

I hope that you stay solidly within your limits and come back alive. Whether that means you finish the hike, turn around, or not go at all.

I refuse to recommend using ropes in stream crossings, having seen how disastrous that can be.

There are plenty of educated opinions. That some of them don't agree with the others is irrelevant. In the end, we take the risks we are willing to take and do well, get really really really really really lucky, or....

[walterfredo]

The trail is currently passable, people have already completed it this season. Whether or not YOU can finish it depends on your experience level and determination. There will likely still be some snow left on the trail in July and stream crossings will still be difficult. Those are by no means insurmountable challenges, but you need to be prepared for them. I am hiking the HST 6/17-6/23, I will post a detailed trip report when I get off the trail. Look for it on this site, or you can PM me after the 23rd.

In terms of snow, the biggest challenge is obviously Whitney, but there is also significant snowpack on other parts of the trail (Big Arroyo, for example). We are currently expecting to hike through snow for several miles (~20-25 miles) and camp on snow for at least one night. We are bringing crampons and ice axes primarily for Whitney, although they might come in handy at other points on the trail. The snow is melting rapidly and conditions may be drastically different by mid-July, snow gear might be completely unnecessary, or you may be able to get by with just microspikes and trekking poles. NOAA publishes a daily snow map (based on satellite data) that you can download for google earth here: https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/earth/ You can download a kml of the HST and overlay it to get a good idea of where there is still snowpack on the trail. I will note that this is a satellite product, not direct measurement. It's not perfect and it doesn't do a good job on steep slopes. The depth measurements are approximate. Keep checking the message boards for trail conditions as you get closer to your hike dates, they will be the most helpful resource.

The other challenge is stream crossings. Right now, they are very swollen with snow melt and will likely stay that way into July. They can all be crossed safely if you are willing to spend time finding a safe location to cross (which could involve leaving the trail and following the stream for several miles). Stream flow is at a minimum in the morning and increases throughout the day as temperatures rise, so you can always camp and wait until morning to cross if it seems too dangerous. Do not cross barefoot. Either bring an extra pair of shoes or cross in your boots (remove socks, liners, insoles first). Do not attempt to cross water more than waist deep, or that is moving extremely fast. If you are travelling with a group, there are different techniques you can use to make the crossing easier such as linking arms or setting up a rope handrail. Trekking poles can also help you keep your balance.

In summary, the HST will certainly be hikeable in mid-July, but there may encounter some additional challenges. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you decide to attempt the hike! Once I get back, I can fill you in with more details on trail conditions.

would love an update on your hike!

[kjmayer4]

Sorry for the late response, I haven't had access to a computer (been road tripping around California). The HST was amazing! Absolutely beautiful. We stayed on schedule, completing the trail in 7 days (6/17-6/23). We had originally planned on doing it in 6, but due to the snow conditions we added in an extra day. The snow wasn't too bad, but the creek crossings were pretty tough. Very high water. We chose to carry ice axes and were glad to have them. The snow is melting fast, but the axes were critical for the snow after the Hamilton Gorge tunnel and glissading down the Whitney Chute. I carried full crampons, but my two hiking partners only had Hillsound Trail Crampons (aggressive microspikes) and they were fine.

Day 1- Crescent Meadow to 9 mile creek: We didn't get on the trail until after lunch, but we made it to the campsite at 9MC in about 5 hours. Good hiking, weather was sunny with highs in the upper 70s. We saw lots of people on the trail. The Mehrten creek crossing was a little tricky, but we got across fine. You will encounter worse in the Kern. The campsite at 9MC was ok, bear boxes and a good water source. Pretty crowded though, I think a lot of people doing weekend out-and-backs were camping there.

Day 2- 9MC to Hamilton Lakes: Another great day of hiking. We stopped for lunch at bearpaw meadow, definitely would have been a nice place to camp on the first night, if we had gotten an earlier start. Very pretty. The only serious creek crossing was Hamilton Creek, but we got 90% of the way across on a log bridge. Keep an eye out for angel wings, 3000ft wall of towering granite. Hamilton lakes has a few nice campsites with bear boxes and pit toilet. If there were other people camping up there, we didn't see them.

Day 3- Hamilton lakes to Big Arroyo Junction: We only covered about 6 miles this day, but it was still a tough day. We hit a few snow patches on the switchbacks above Big Hamilton Lake, but they were clear for the most part. The snow after the Hamilton Gorge Tunnel was the sketchiest part of the day. It is very steep and leads all the way back down to the lake, hundreds of feet below. This isn't my video, but its from this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oQBQ26KJrY . Failing to self-arrest a fall there would be catastrophic. We ran into a ranger who was cutting snow steps across, but he decided to turn back. I finished cutting steps the rest of the way, then went back for my pack. The rest of my party didn't have any trouble getting across. Another hiker came through without an ax, just crampons and poles. He got across fine on the steps we had cut, but I'm not sure what he would have done if we weren't there. Pretty risky, in my opinion. Kaweah gap was covered in snow, but not too steep. It was slushy by the afternoon, so travel was slow-going. The trail is completely obscured, so a GPS of some sort is highly recommended unless you're experienced with using paper maps in the snow. I used the Gaia GPS app on my phone, which worked great. Precipice lake was still frozen, very pretty sight. We glissaded down into Big Arroyo, which also had a lot of snow cover. The snow became patchy once we got into the pine forest. Due to a navigation error (we turned of the GPS to save battery...whoops), we missed the actual creek crossing and ended up on the wrong side of Big Arroyo creek. Although this was a mistake, I doubt it would have been possible to safely cross up there anyway. The creek was raging and had deep snow on the banks. Another hiker we ran into the next day said the only way to cross it there was on a snow bridge, which I wasn't comfortable doing that late in the season and in the day (it was mid afternoon, temps in the 40s/50s), so our mistake probably worked out for the best. We ended up travelling cross country, following the creek, for a few miles and camped the night on the opposite side of the creek from Big Arroyo Junction. It was pretty marshy in some places, snow-covered in others, but we managed to find a patch of dry ground big enough to fit the tents in. Lots of bear scat and prints in the area, some were pretty fresh. We didn't actually run into any bears, but we were glad we brought along canisters instead of relying on the boxes and hanging bear bags. It was pretty cold that night, maybe in the 20s.

Day 4- Big Arroyo Junction to Upper Funston Meadow: We were able to cross Big Arroyo creek at the junction the next morning. The water was freezing. The creek widens there and it wasn't too deep, mostly knee-deep with a few thigh-high sections. The water was swift-moving, but not raging. Once we started climbing out of Big Arroyo, the trail was mostly snow free, just a few patches here and there. We hit patchy snow again up on the the plateau, which slowed our travel, as we kept losing the trail and having to spend time searching for it. Would have been easier with GPS, but we were trying to conserve the battery. The creek crossings up there weren't too bad. We took the main trail, but the other hiker we ran into had gone by Moraine Lake and said the trail conditions sounded about the same. On the switchbacks down into Kern Canyon, the trail crosses over Funston creek briefly, then crosses back. Crossing the creek there didn't look possible to us, it was basically a waterfall, so we scrambled down the hillside until we met back up with the trail after it crossed back over. The mosquitoes at Upper Funston Meadow were horrible. They bit me through a fleece jacket and didn't seem affected by bug spray. We ended up putting on our rain shells and building a smoky fire to keep them at bay. The campsite was otherwise pretty nice, it has bear boxes, fire pits, and a toilet, but I would avoid staying there, if possible. The bugs made it miserable.

Day 5- Upper Funston Meadow to Junction Meadow: Watch out for rattlesnakes! We got rattled at by several, they were right on the trail too. The creek crossings slowed us down significantly, several of them were raging. Rock, Whitney, and Wallace creeks were the three biggest. Fortunately we crossed Wallace and most of Whitney on log bridges. They would have been very sketchy otherwise. The log over Wallace was right on the trail, but we had to walk upstream a couple hundred yards to reach the log jam on Whitney. Rock creek was the worst, we scrambled upstream quite a ways until we found a half-way decent place to cross, where the creek was broken up with lots of little islands. Just a note, I am a medium sized woman but my two hiking partners are big guys, about 6 inches taller and 50lbs heavier than me. They had a much easier time crossing the creek than I did. It was actually so deep at one point I dunked the bottom of my pack (thankfully my sleeping bag was in a waterproof dry bag), while theirs weren't even close to getting wet. There was also a spot where the current was a little too strong for me and they basically had to pull me across with a piece of webbing (fortunately that section was only a few feet wide). I'm not sure I could have gotten across there on my own, and I'm not even that small. Junction meadow was nice, it has bear boxes and fire pits. Be careful where you set up your tent, a dead tree fell near us while we were cooking dinner.

Day 6- Junction Meadow to near Guitar Lake: Steep but beautiful trail climbing out of the Kern. Wright creek stopped us in our tracks. It was impassable at the trail, raging whitewater that threatened to sweep you into Wallace creek, which was even crazier. We scrambled up the steep, rocky hillside next to the creek, hoping to eventually reach a flat meadow area shown on our topo map, which suggested an easier crossing. It was very unpleasant, steep with loose rock and dense bushes in some places. We eventually reached the meadow and were able to cross the creek near where it forks (detour shown here: http://i.imgur.com/k3m8l9D.jpg ). We decided to push straight east from there until we intersected the PCT (sorry, the map I posted is cut off, but it's not very far past there), as it seemed easier than scrambling down the other bank of Wright creek. We ran into lots of other hikers after reaching the PCT junction (after Bearpaw meadow on day 2, we had only seen one other hiker and a ranger). There was some patchy snow after that the junction,but nothing too bad. We received some bad advice from the Crabtree Ranger station that there was lots of good camping at Guitar Lake. There was lots of camping, but it wasn't good. The area is still completely snow covered, except for a couple rocky outcrops and the lake is frozen over. While we were starting to set up camp, a storm rolled in over the mountains. Guitar lake is above the tree line, so we packed up and got out of there as fast as we could, fleeing back down to the trees for cover. It actually wasn't a bad storm, hail and lightning followed by light rain that lasted about an hour, but it was getting dark and we were in wet clothes, so we weren't keen on hiking several miles back to Crabtree meadow and there were still lingering storm clouds, so there was no way we were going back up above the tree line to guitar lake. We ended up camping near timberline lake, right next to a "no camping" sign..... I feel really bad about staying there, but it was dark and we were very cold. If guitar lake is still covered in snow, it's probably best to just stay at Crabtree with all the PCT hikers. Adds a few miles on to your Whitney day, but probably worth the trade off.

Day 7- Mount Whitney: The snow conditions were better than expected. Although there is a lot of snow on the ground near Guitar Lake, all the PCT traffic has worn a pretty nice path into it. Easy to follow. The switchbacks were mostly free from snow, and the largest patch can be avoided with a little scrambling. We stowed our packs at trail crest, if you choose to do this be sure to put all your food into bear canisters and leave them outside your pack. Our packs were fine, but we ran into a guy who's pack had been completely destroyed by hungry marmots. They chewed right through it. The summit trail has been blown completely clear of snow, except for the very end, but an alternate route has been marked with cairns that avoids it. The summit hut was full of snow and the door has been blown off, but we passed a group of 5-6 rangers on the way down. Based on the amount of gear they had and their lack of interest in checking permits, my guess is that they were one their way up to start clearing it out and repairing the door. The glissade down the chute was awesome. We were glad to have our ice axes though, you get going pretty fast down it. There was snow past trail camp, but it cleared up before outpost camp. Day hikers were warning us about the creek crossings on our way down....it was cute. We reached the portal by 6pm, putting our hiking time at just over 12 hours, including the time we spent chilling on the summit. Pretty good, considering all the climbing and the snow. The portal store has amazing burgers, by the way.

Hope you enjoy your hike! If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.