a message for those who were recently on JMT.

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cakeday
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a message for those who were recently on JMT.

Post by cakeday »

this message is reaching out to those who just recently got back from their JMT excursion.
Its like, when on trail, me asking those whom i meet who are travelling from the other direction about trail conditions.

What do the passes look like, in terms of snow/ice conditions ? still debating whether i should take microspikes or not. any suggestions ?

Water crossings: i know the water crossings were really high early/mid august but what do they look like now ? from my research it seems like, they are not as violent and high (maybe no higher than 18 inches..)

I start my SOBO hike from Tuoloume Meadows to Whitney portal on the 18th of september. planning to finish around the 5th of oct.

thank you !!!
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DiamondEyedJack
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Re: a message for those who were recently on JMT.

Post by DiamondEyedJack »

Muir, Mather, and Pinchot are all easily passable. I can't speak for the other passes. I was out there last week 8/25-9/4.

Muir pass had about 18 little minor snowfields, between the pass and a half mile below Helen Lake, which were all really easy to traverse with trekking poles. "Easy" might be a relative term however. Some people were reporting I'd need an ice axe for muir pass, some said it requires serious rock climbing and bouldering. They might have been being sarcastic though, I cannot tell as I'm slightly autistic. Some people appeared quite apprehensive on these snow banks and some had spikes on. Personally I found the snowpatches to be unworthy of trepidation, actually found them to be quite safe in their late morning slushiness. The trail at the crossing of the inlet to Helen was a little vague and I saw a few people wandering off in the wrong direction, mistakenly toward the tarn below the north side of Black Giant Pass. Be careful of postholing as some of the snow conceals the inlet stream.

The South Fork King's crossing at the low point between Mather and Pinchot required switching to my lightweight sandals, as it was knee deep.

The Palisade Creek crossing, if travelling on south to Simpson Meadow, was quite raging. But that's not a crossing on the JMT, so probably not your concern.
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cakeday
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Re: a message for those who were recently on JMT.

Post by cakeday »

DiamondEyedJack, your response is to the point and very precise. thank you very much for taking the time to respond.
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Lumbergh21
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Re: a message for those who were recently on JMT.

Post by Lumbergh21 »

I can only speak to the trail from Reds Meadow to Lake Wanda between August 23 and August 29. The stream crossings were no problem at all for me. The toughest crossing was crossing the South San Joaquin River from MTR to Blayney Hotsprings, not a requirement for most people, but I really wanted a nice, long, warm soak. There was some snow on the north side of Seldon Pass that was easily avoided by scrambling up some rocks to the switch back above. Silver pass had some snow on the north side as well, but a well worn track through it.
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Paloma
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Re: a message for those who were recently on JMT.

Post by Paloma »

No problem with any of the passes (Northbound August 23-Sept 4) and I was nursing a badly sprained ankle the whole of the JMT and still no problems with any of the passes. Any lingering snow will be hard in the mornings but you can get around those few remaining patches of it by going on the rocks.

I crossed evolution creek at the alternative high water crossing. Super easy.

I agree with the assessment of the river to get to Blaney Hot springs. There is a rope that you can hang on to get across. But it was by far the fastest moving water.

I am envious of your trip Wish I could do it all over again!

Take an ace bandage. It saved my trip when I rolled my ankle with fully loaded pack on day 1 at trail crest 13,600'.
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