Desolation Wilderness NF updates

[SSSdave]

Useful NF inputs today for Desolation Wilderness below on the Stanislaus NF Facebook page. I'd been planning on getting into Aloha for a couple days when the lake was about half melted out but it now looks like that won't happen until early August that will conflict with a more important week long trip I've been wanting to do to Laurel Creek and Grinnel. However still too much snow on satellite there also:

David

https://www.facebook.com/StanislausNF/? ... _XC-XIJXTA

snippet:

#GlenAlpineTrailhead
Stream crossings are still high and fast, most visitors are finding ways across, many are turning around at crossings. #GrassLake, #SusieLake and #GilmoreLake are clear of ice, but standing water and patches of snow still remain in some locations. #HalfMoonLake and #LakeLeConte are half frozen but melting fast. #HeatherLake, #AltaMorrisLake, and #LakeAloha are still largely iced over. The #PacificCrestTrail (PCT) on south side of #Dickspass has snow banks and patchy snow remaining, water on trail, but is mostly easy to follow.

#EagleTrailhead and #BayviewTrailhead
Both trails are mostly snow free, expect some standing water and a few lingering snow banks. Upper, Middle and Lower Velmas are ice free, some snow banks still exist in shaded areas, most camping areas are snow free. #Velma crossing still high and a turn around point for some hikers. #Fontanillis is still halfway covered with ice and there is plenty of snow still on the trail and camping areas around lake. #DicksLake is still frozen, but starting to break up. Most camping spots are still buried under snow. The #PCT on north side of Dick’s Pass is buried under snow. Some hikers are making it over the pass, others are turning around. Conditions are variable with steep, slick snow in places and soft, punchy snow in others.

#EchoTrailhead
#Tamarack, #Ralston and #CagwinLakes are free of ice and snow. Plenty of snow remains in the area and people are still skiing Ralston. The snow begins not far after the second junction to #TriangleLake. Many hikers are veering towards #LakeLucille rather than along the PCT towards Aloha. Frequent comment from hikers and backpackers trying to reach Aloha: "I heard about the conditions, but I didn’t think it would be this hard!" Some hikers are successfully making it to Aloha and beyond, while others are turning around and/or camping on the ridge above #LakeofWoods instead of navigating snow.
Aloha is still mostly frozen and arriving at Aloha from the PCT, almost all camping is still buried in snow.

[Wandering Daisy]

Those updates are from July 8 to July 12. A warm week has passed and I suspect conditions are really different right now. We took a guest up to Tahoe yesterday, stopped at Echo Lake, hiked to Cascade Falls, and then back over I-80 on the old Donner Pass Road. It is quite warm. There were no mosquitoes likely due to the hearty breeze. Talked to two PCT hikers at Echo Lake who had just finished the route through the Sierra. Their experience was that all along the route, condition reports were outdated, dangers exaggerated, and many reports reflected the individual hiker's lack of experience, more than the actual difficulties if you are experienced for conditions. (It still amazes me, that as competent as these two were, they were following the GPS track and asked about specific stream crossings, they could not name any of the creeks).

I still say, if you want to check out those areas, just go do it, be prepared, and turn back if needed. I think you will find that things are not as bad as reported. I really doubt you cannot find a dry campsite in Desolation, at any elevation. If the wind dies down, mosquitoes may be more of a problem.

[SSSdave]

Thanks WD for the update input. I just looked at the MODIS July 17 versus July 12 image and indeed more continues to melt out however it is a minor percentage. As the NF reported, Heather and Aloha are still mostly still iced over however at least now a bit of each lake is now visible as melted out.

For my photography interests both those lakes will take at least another couple weeks before my vision of what they need to look like will occur. May not have a way to fit Desolation in because by the second week of August, I need to be up in Oregon preparing for the eclipse. And after I come back am likely to pull the trigger on climbing over Shepherd Pass for 10 days. Same situation of making choices occurs seasonally as a photographer can only be in one place while several locations are all peaking at the same time.

The one place that is at prime aesthetics right now without snow or high stream issues is up at Styx Pass where I went a month ago but was unable to get to much because of too much snow. Since Stanislaus moved the gate up to the Eleanor Trailhead making Kibbie Ridge 3 hot miles shorter, that is something I'm considering as soon as my Forester gets out of the shop and smog/registered.

[giantbrookie]

I am glad to see Gilmore confirmed thawed as of Jul 8-12 which confirms my guess based on someone's experience at a slightly higher elevation lake (400' higher) of similar exposure (southward) this past weekend in Mokelumne--I hope to be there this Sunday. It is interesting to see the impact of the level/direction of exposure. Although Heather is 400' lower than Gilmore but it always thaws later as it is doing this year. Aloha is also lower elevation than Gilmore (200' lower) as is Alta Morris & Half Moon.

[SSSdave]

The interesting puzzle that those like you and I will wonder about is why is that so?

One significant difference with Gilmore is there are little cool sumping night breezes due to its position on the Mt Tallac slope not being below any canyon or gullies. And those Tallac slopes facing southwest tend to melt off each early summer quicker despite altitude because the forest is sparse mostly whitebark and lodgepole pine with dark igneous geology between. Half Moon is a natural catch basin for deeper winter snows with the steep east facing slopes above holding snow late that provide a source for nightly cool breezes that flow down the onto the lakes with an air dam choke point lower down the canyon above Susie. And Susie also gets that same airflow. Heather is much more the ice box due to it being in a shady pocket with steep east and north facing slopes. More importantly is much cold air sumping flow coming down from the immense Lake Aloha above fed directly off expanses of white on the Crystal Range peaks that are air dammed by the narrowing Heather outlet choke point.

[SSSdave]

Today's July 19 MODIS image is the clearest in about a week though the huge Detwiler Fire about Mariposa is creating considerable smoke in that region. Pretty much makes any notion of going into Yosemite or Emigrant Wilderness a non choice now. The new image does show more important lakes like Deer, Wood, Huckleberry, and Bucks fully melted out and even higher elevation Emigrant Lake is now partially melted out.

More of interest to this person, is Lake Aloha open water is now growing after last week's hot weather. Echo Lake is now also melted out so the ferry will offer easier access. Thus just might be able to work in my 3-day trip for the iceberg shots since it is well north of the smoke and my Forester is likely to finally get out of the shop today so I can get it smogged with registration by end of the work week. Well as long as the Check Engine light then stays off.

I've copied a set of MODIS images for 9 incremental dates between May 2 and July 19 when image clarity was better and will at some point create an image feature representing how the range melted out this winter. Thus will be a future tool to help estimate how areas melt out.

[TahoeJeff]

well north of the smoke

Not so. The entire Tahoe basin was inundated with smoke yesterday. Couldn't see the west shore from the east. NWS issued an Air Quality Alert.

[SSSdave]

Yeah winds changed yesterday to a southwesterly direction and forecast for next week plus shows that flow to continue due to a stuck low off the northwest coast. So considerable smoke will continue to plague most of the cnetral and northern Sierra and Nevada. To the south the Whittier Fire in Santa Barbara County and Schaffer in the Kern area are burning now at lower levels that is still putting modest smoke across the whole southern Sierra. So will need to stay out of the range indefinitely.

[SSSdave]

Pulled the trigger at recreation.gov and just printed out wilderness permit. Not feeling too motivated at the moment but since I just spent $20 on the reservation, will have to get my gear together today then drive up to Echo Summit tomorrow, Tuesday morning, July 25. Amused to see that quota web page showed Aloha zone was all reserved for the next 10 days. Things are picking up now that snow has been melting in that basin and more than one way to skin a cat. No problemo...as my first night is not within Aloha but rather a spot rarely camped at with one of the best all around both afternoon and morning views in the wilderness. Nicely the rec site now has a map showing all 4 dozen Desolation camping zones that is great for those like this person that often don't camp at lakes but rather best views. A few years ago only had to go by lake names on the pull down list but now they are all map zones. Maybe the feedback I left on the rec site was acted on?

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=38.86437,-120.10365&z=15&t=T

So ought be up at Echo Summit by late morning and will probably take the Echo Chalet taxi ferry ($14 one-way) instead of walking the 2.7 miles around the summer cabin surrounded lake. From there it is just a bit more than one mile to the barren broken basalt slopes of Keiths Dome in Triangle Zone 42. Today and lingering into Tuesday pm are possible cumulus build-ups and even some t-storms but then skies clear thru Friday with light winds. At least some smoke from the now only creeping Detwiler Fire in Mariposa is not likely to be a factor given windytv flows the next few days though that is possibly. Wednesday sunrise and early am will shoot from atop Keith then break camp and continue on the 1 mile or so to above Aloha to a view site well away from the PCT where I will camp 1 or 2 nights. Looking like one of the easiest semi base camp backpacks I've ever done haha.

Looking at Google Earth I can see an old trail between Lucille at 8180 and Grass Lake 7250 about 1k feet below that I've also wanted to explore for junipers. But being north facing and steep that trail probably still has too much snow? Well I also see on GE another cross country route down towards the northwest is less steep, less likely to have snow, and has a pond not on the topo at 8030 with what looks like a usable view east-northeast for a dawn sky shot. So may camp there Thursday then day hike down below after sunrise. Then later late am climb back up and hike out.

David
http://www.davidsenesac.com/2017_Trip_C ... les-0.html

[AlmostThere]

I got my permit for late September. Looks like I was psychic....