Shepherd Pass

[DaveDill]

Hi All,
Been a very long time since I last hiked over Shepherd Pass. I have a trip scheduled in early July and thinking about a night-one bivy at The Pothole. Given the exceptional dryness does anyone know how reliable the water supply is at this spot. Many thanks,
Dave

[shtinkypuppie]

Dave,

I've been up Shepherd in the fall and just did it a few days ago. The Pothole has always had good flowing water. You might have to move over to the main drainage (there's a smaller tributary closer to the camp spot) but I'd be shocked if there were no water to be found.

As of 6/22 it's got tons of flow.

[Atilla]

I agree with Schtinkypuppie about the water supply. I'd also expect the small stream at the low point between the Symmes saddle and Mahogany Flat to still be flowing in early July.

I think the current condition of the trail near the top of the pass is worth noting however. As you know this trail is pretty rough in the best of times. I've been over the pass 9 times since 2010 and the trail is now in the worst shape I've ever seen. In fact, I think it got a little worse between June 16 when I went up and June 23 when I came back down. Numerous rock slides have wiped out sections of the switchbacks. These sections can still be negotiated with some care ... as evidenced by the fact that even a 78-yr-old guy like me managed the climb without mishap. The greatest risk probably comes from how easy it is for hikers to kick loose rocks down onto folks in the fall line. I was solo and fortunate to have the switchbacks all to myself on both crossings, but if their had been anyone above me I would have been seriously concerned about getting rocked. In a sense this is business as usual on this route ... just be prepared for something perhaps a bit worse than what you've seen on prior trips.

The good news is that as of 6/23 the persistent snow field near the top of the switchbacks had receded to the point that it could be avoided rather than traversed.

[DaveDill]

Thanks Shtinkypuppie and Atilla! Very helpful advice.
Dave

[SSSdave]

The problem within the switchbacks in the chute to the side of the steep snowfield is during early summer that chute also has snow that climbers then avoid requiring negotiating new areas between switchback that because such is so loose, causes sliding debris down across the primary worn paths making the whole route a loose mess. There is one steep scary section where the established level path is narrowly against a rock wall that if carrying a large backpack, I would rate as class 3, as one will not want to misstep as a fall there would be bloody.

[erutan]

I was up this pass a week ago (coming from junction), then came down it a few days later. All water sources flowing well and should continue to - that said do plan ahead for the gap between symmes creek and the north fork of shepherd the trail crosses (and less so that and anvil camp, there's a spot or two where you can reasonably drop to get water from the trail near sad bailout camps).

There's a few places were talus has fallen over the trail, but it's easy to negotiate. More concerning potentially are some spots where it feels it's washed away - in these places it's sort of deer path wide and on steep terrain, but stable. If you've done the center basin side of junction it's not really any better or worse than the worse sections of that. If you're solely a trail person it'll be unnerving, but if you're used to XC in SEKI it probably won't phase you too much.

There's one snow field at the top that we bypassed - putting steps into it wasn't a great option and there was a solid little bypass below like you get on army. On our way down a few days later I was able to stay on the (edge at times of the) trail with a single long step anchored by poles.

I didn't feel any sections were class 3 - was out with a 9 day pack with some luxuries, but it's still fairly compact.

[oddtiger]

I explored the headwater of Kern River via Shepherd Pass 06/25-06/27. Shepherd Pass trail is snow free and the trail is in good condition. I started at 6:15am to beat the heat and it worked very well. Got to the pass by 12:30pm. The descend was brutal last night, as I decided to bag Mt Tyndall in the afternoon and hiked out in the dark. It felt much longer in the dark.

[erutan]

@oddtiger were you on a fishing trip? If so we chatted about Tenkara for a bit below Anvil Camp.

[oddtiger]

@oddtiger were you on a fishing trip? If so we chatted about Tenkara for a bit below Anvil Camp.

Hi~ Yes it was me! Tenkara is a lot of fun! I got success in almost all lakes, and ended up bagging both Williamson and Tyndall with the extra energy from the fish meal.

[tahoe23]

Hi! Planning on going up Sheperd on July 13. A couple questions since it looks like I found the 2021 Sheperd thread here:
1) Can any car make it to the hiker's trailhead or is high clearance needed?
2) Any water between last Symmes crossing and Mahogany Flat ? Sounds and looks like maybe?
3) Where are there options to set up camp/ along the way and which are your preferred? We had to set up very quickly on Taboose once due to storms so it's nice to know what the options are.
Not concerned about washed out switchbacks etc. We're a pretty seasoned xc bunch.
Thanks so much!