Spring Sierra Backpacking Suggestions?!

[balance]

Greetings

During the late 40's and 50's the Howdy Doody show had a character called Princess Summer Fall Winter Spring. She was one person whose name was comprised of all four seasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVOgXiFAfGI

Nevertheless, I'm sure we can all agree that, meteorologically speaking, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring are separate seasons, with distinct weather conditions all their own.

Peace

[Hobbes]

I love May. The days are long (hard to believe May 21 is as long as July 21), crowds are absent, the weather (can be) warm & beautiful.

As others like Daisy have noted, the trick to May is dealing with the 'Goldilocks' conundrum: you want the (consolidated) snow to be firm, but not icy. It needs to be hard enough to walk on without post-holing, but not so slick as to slip & fall.

The spring window is only a few hours long in the morning (if sunny/warm - which is when you want to be out) between the extremes of icy and slush. IMO, this creates a situation where you really need to be on your game as far as day & route planning.

I think first & foremost, you have to be dedicated to the idea that there may be **no** relaxing around the campsite - either in the morning or afternoon/evening. In fact, you have to accept that you may be hiking as early as 3-4-5am or as late as 7-8-9pm in order to be properly positioned for the next day.

Secondly, you have to be really cognizant of where you're going to be hiking at each major part of the day within the 3am to 9pm time frame. For example, you need to be crossing passes around 6-9am; however, when you start, you may have to wait a tiny bit if it's still icy. OTOH, if you're still miles away, then you need to break camp and depart in the cold early morning before dawn.

The reverse is true for afternoon/evening. Depending how on early/far you're willing to hike in the pre-dawn hours, you may find yourself needing to hike late into the day/early evening in order to be properly positioned for the next day.

If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. Days are at least 2x as strenuous/tiring as regular hiking. You need to be in great shape to deal with both conditions and carrying/wearing extra, heavier gear (axe, spikes/crampons, low temp bag, etc). To some/many, it simply isn't worth it - hiking is supposed to be a relatively care-free, enjoyable experience, not some hell challenge.

That's all true. But this is also true:

[oldranger]

While everyone responding to spring travel issues has brought forth great point and reinforced each others points I like Hobbes response the best. I'd like to make one addendum which may be too obvious but is critical. Travel early over south facing slopes! You can be a little later on north slopes. A couple of years ago I did a trip from Agnew Meadows to Silver lake in late May nand when crossing Island Pass the snow was firm due to my early travel time. But there were lots of post holes where the early season PCT hikers broke thru due to traveling the pass later in the day. Which brings up another point when you have a choice plan a northbound route as much as possible in early season trips. Finally to reiterate what most everyone else has said be prepared for a late storm and really cold temperatures.

[Hobbes]

plan a northbound route

That's a good point for two reasons: The first, that you touched upon, which is to hit the sunny south sides first (around 6am). Doing so, you might have enough time to traverse down the cold(er) north sides while they too are still relatively firm.

The other reason is to deal with the harder passes first when you still have energy. For newcomers to the Sierra, the range peaks around the SEKI border, as it tapers & falls away to the north and even faster to the south. (As the saying goes @ Whitney, it's all downhill from here.) Early season PCTers have to first tackle Forester & Glen, the two hardest passes in the snow by far (with Mather being a close 3rd). But thereafter, it quickly becomes much easier in succession with Muir, Selden, Silver, Island & Donohue.

[tim]

What about Hetch Hetchy to Rancheria Falls (assuming the Wapama Falls bridge is OK)? Use that as a snow free base camp for day hikes to LeConte Point and Tiltill Valley and you could have a nice relaxing 4 day trip

[AlmostThere]

What about Hetch Hetchy to Rancheria Falls (assuming the Wapama Falls bridge is OK)? Use that as a snow free base camp for day hikes to LeConte Point and Tiltill Valley and you could have a nice relaxing 4 day trip

If you are okay with possibly turning around and going back if the falls is too dangerous. The bridge is rebuilt, but people have died in high snowmelt conditions when the falls was blasting the bridge and swept them off it.

[Hobbes]

As has been oft remarked, the other spring challenge besides snow are water hazards. It's interesting how people react to (high) water crossings - everyone is different.

Andy & I met these two NOBO PCT hikers last year about a mile above the S Kings ford. We had come over Mather earlier that day, and had just finished taking a post-lunch break below snow line. As is typical (also true for everyone I've met @ the HST meet-ups), we were both pretty jazzed and happy to be out hiking: chatty & talkative. However, they seemed a bit subdued - I figured they were probably just tired or maybe had a fight. We gave them some input about Mather (suggested camping below and tackling it the next morning), but didn't get any information of note in return.

Shortly afterward we came across the S fork ford, and discovered a raging torrent. We had to hike downstream a little bit to where the river split into 3 ribbons. Each ribbon in its own right would count as a major water obstacle. As such, we poked around until we spotted a route that wasn't completely cascading rapids. As we were crossing, we saw another NOBO couple crossing upstream - the girl had gotten to a point where the water was over her hips and moving at a very rapid rush. I thought for sure she would get swept, but she made it at the very end.

Anyway, the original couple we had met were blogging about their PCT hike. It wasn't until I read this entry that I realized why they had been so subdued:

https://andyandlaurie.com/2016/06/10/da ... n-anymore/

Addendum

Now, not to be overly critical, but this image shows exactly how NOT to cross water hazards. Can you spot the error(s)? As a PSA for anyone contemplating a hike during high water season, when you need to cross a significant ford, always, Always, ALWAYS (a) unbuckle your hip belt; (b) unhook your sternum strap; and (c) loosen your pack straps. In other words, be ready to jettison your pack if you slip and fall in fast water. Nothing will cause you to drown faster than a heavy, water soaked backpack tightly attached to your person.

[mountainpegasus]

Sorry for the late response... Thank you all for the great info! We still don't know where we're going. The Hetch Hetchy loop to Lake Vernon is our top option at the moment. Another option is the desolation wilderness to the area around Aloha Lake, its under 6 miles and "accessible year round"... Was thinking we might need to rent snow shoes are at least crampons but they don't allow campfires in Desolation which is almost a deal breaker.

[mountainpegasus]

Greetings

During the late 40's and 50's the Howdy Doody show had a character called Princess Summer Fall Winter Spring. She was one person whose name was comprised of all four seasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVOgXiFAfGI

Nevertheless, I'm sure we can all agree that, meteorologically speaking, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring are separate seasons, with distinct weather conditions all their own.

Peace

Thanks?

[longri]

I am contemplating doing a 5 day sierra backpacking trip in the first week of May and looking for suggestions/advice as I have never done a trip that early in the season.

This year the first week in May is looking likely to still be prime time for ski touring in the High Sierra.

Hetch Hetchy will probably still have a lot of snow in early May. In the last big snow year (2011) I day hiked the low elevation loop of Yosemite Falls to Snow Creek. That loop reaches a peak elevation just a few hundred feet higher than the Lake Vernon loop in Hetch Hetchy (which, by the way, had a lot of snow on Memorial Day in 2011). The trail disappeared somewhere beyond Indian Rock. There was so much snow after that I could barely believe it. Oh yeah, that was in mid-June.

My advice is to learn to backcountry ski, even if it's at a very rudimentary level where you are mostly just walking with "long skinny snow shoes". Go backpacking in the High Sierra that way.