2023 Backcountry Current Conditions Reports

[TurboHike]

I crossed New Army Pass on August 14th, from east to west. I did not use traction devices and my feet never touched snow.

The trail was snow free until High Lake, where there was one short section of trail still covered in snow, but easy to walk around. Above that point, the trail was snow free until the fourth switchback from the top, where there was a 20 foot section of trail covered in snowy slush. A brief down climb followed by a class 2 up climb allowed me to regain the trail without walking on the snow. The top two switchbacks were completely covered in snow. The cornice is gone, but the snow still has a very high angle. Fortunately, there were just enough exposed and dry rocks to put together a class 2 scramble to the top of the pass.

[grampy]

Most trail sections had no issues; a few blown-down (or washed out ?) trees on one stretch of the French Canyon trail, which were easily avoided. Turned back when I reached Merriam Creek (I’ll mention in the “River/stream Crossings” forum).
Headed to the largest of Royce Lakes (WL 11,725’) from near the top of Pine Creek Pass without any difficulty, other than the effort to avoid snow fields when possible. Scouted as far as I could toward Royce Pass for my exit route from the basin, but encountered another long snow field which I tried to stay above by traversing along a steep(ish) line through boulders. Deciding this was too much work, I backed up to where I had made camp, and simply backtracked (the easy way) to Pine Creek Pass the next day.
Italy Pass trail from Honeymoon Lake to Granite Park; no issues, other than it’s more a “route” than a trail in a few sections; which I assume is always the case.

[kpeter]

My experience was that the main trunk trail--(the "low" trail) that runs from Pine Valley to Wood Lakes to Letora and beyond was generally well maintained. There were probably a dozen blowdowns over the trail and plenty of rockwork needing to be repaired--but I have seen it in much worse shape in prior years. There were a few sign posts, too, although numerous side trails are unmarked.

However, the Huckleberry Trail running from Lord Meadow to Huckleberry Lake, and the trail from SW Huckleberry Lake up to Letora, were both very old and almost unmaintained. I say "almost." There were several dozen small trees that encroached on the Huckleberry trail that were sawed down this year. What an odd kind of maintenance, given that no deadfall had been sawn out and no signs posted anywhere. But there is 0 signage on any part of these trails, and where ever the trails go through green areas they could almost be erased. There does not seem to be enough foot or hoof traffic to keep the grass from growing and the ferns and brush from over topping. However, where the trails went over rock they were obvious. There was an amazing amount of blasting done at one time to force the trail up through various granite slots on the north side of the creek between the ford at the dome and the snow cabin. Can't mistake it there. But try to find the trail from the snow cabin to the lake and it is like being trapped in a maze of Christmas trees.

As with a lot of the old trails in Emigrant, these I found to be "follow the dotted line" and not always continuous. I could not have made the trip without my GPS at the ready.

[shawnterustic]

A very wet and windy weekend made for super soggy / muddy trail...the upside being that it felt as though I had the entire northwest shore of Garnet Lake to myself! Every little streamlet, spring, and crack in the earth was flowing with water on the High Trail (and, well...everywhere). Most of the wildflowers are gone in that area, although there were some hangers-on between Thousand Island and Shadow (penstemon and paintbrush, in particular). Everything is still fairly green, with some yellowing starting to occur in the meadows and other areas. All water crossings were doable on rocks or log bridges (as you might already know, the log bridge at the Thousand Island outlet is broken - now shaped like an inverted "V," but crossable - but there's a nice, dry line of giant rocks located right next door for an easy crossing). No snow on trail, but still large patches here and there right next door and up high - for instance, Whitebark Pass still has an impressive (and imposing) draping of snow near the top. The Ritter range and Minarets had a very light fairy dusting of snow on Saturday, but looks like the rain washed it away pretty quickly.

[Love the Sierra]

Conditions could not be better!! Early season flowers and late season skeeters!
Only one wet crossing across the Buck Lake isthmus, which could easily be done barefoot or, if you are VERY well balanced even with a pack, dry. I would estimate 80% of those I saw went in wet, it was safer.
Trail is sloppy and muddy and often running with water and I was very glad I wore low gaiters. Lots of annoying blow downs but other than that, the trail is fine.
Did not need skeeter repellent at all until Whiteside Meadow, when things got quite wet all the way to Emigrant Lake.
The forest is spectacular with Hemlocks, Doug Firs and Red Firs!!
Flowers are spectacular and the place is lush and alive with moths, bees, and butterflies of all colors.
Geese are migrating and, apparently, Buck Lake is a stop over. We saw tons of them! Also, lots of ducks and bats gave a wonderful show at dawn and dusk!
The place is WET, so even on the nights when we did not have rain, we had to leave the fly on the tent. Anything left out for even a few minutes was soaked with dew and condensation.
9/10 we had a 14 hour storm so things are WET, lush and gorgeous!

[ngomaam]

after worrying about conditions (the colder forecast, the fact that bugs are still around), the weekend turned out perfect. Highs in the mid 60s I'd say (warm in the sun), clear skies, only light breezes during the day. Cold nights but not THAT cold, bare hands weren't freezing in the morning. No biting bugs, never wore repellent and wore shorts and a tee most of the time. Big Lake was frigid, but it was warm and sunny enough to easily dry off and warm up once you get out of the water. Hard to ask for better backpacking conditions.

[shampeon]

Great conditions for this loop around the Glacier Divide. Snowfield at Lamarck Col was stable and firm with a good boot track to follow. Crossing the South Fork San Joaquin near the removed bridge was straightforward. Just downstream of the removed bridge is the crossing point, and it was just at my knees at its deepest (I'm 6'0"). Piute Canyon from above Pinnacles Creek to treeline still had a lot of mosquito pressure due to the moisture, which was the only real issue we encountered. Daytime temps were fantastic, though it got cold at night.

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[paula53]

At 11:23 pm on April 15, a large rockfall occurred from the slope above the John Muir Trail between Clark Point and the top of Nevada Fall, sending hundreds of boulders onto the trail. Nearly 1,000 feet of trail are covered with boulders, trees, and other debris.
The trail will require significant repair, including drilling and blasting of large boulders. Geologists are now assessing the potential for additional rockfalls. The trail, which was already closed for the winter season, will be closed for at least several more weeks. A reopening date is not known at this time.
Gates are closed across the John Muir Trail at Clark Point and near the top of Nevada Fall. For your safety, please do not enter the closed section of the trail.