Share Your Early Season Trip Plans (April thru June)

[TehipiteTom]

Doing a desert wildflower road trip next (extended) weekend. No definite plans for early season backpacking yet, but here in the Bay Area we have a lot of good spring options. I'll probably do an overnight in Coe, and possibly one at Hawk Camp in the Marin Headlands, which is kind of an unique backpacking experience--on a clear day, with binoculars, you can see the street I live on. Further afield, I'm tempted by Austin Creek or Cache Creek.

Come summer I'll probably do my main trip in August, and choose a place without any difficult stream crossings or cornice-prone passes.

[commonloon]

Trying to decide now. I have 2 trips planned. 1st one last week in May. Obviously that will be a snow trip and conditions dependent. I am considering loop around the Sawtooth ridge and likely climbing one of its peaks. 2nd one last week in June. If our current snow trajectory continues then my 2nd time window (5 days) may be big melt time. I'm trying to figure out a good loop w/o dangerous crossings. In 2017, we did a hike in later June and on a couple occasions had to hike an hr+ to find a safe crossing. I don't mind that, just like to have options to go around or alternate routes. We did a lot of ad hoc that hike, I'm trying to think ahead this time.

[dustybottoms21]

June 20-23:

Plan A: Rowell Meadow TH in SEKI. Spend 3 nights between there and Seville Lake.
Plan B: Crabtree TH in Emigrant Wilderness. 3 nights making a loop to Buck Lakes and back.

We're hoping to stick with Plan A but that will be dependent on whether we get our permits and if there isn't too much snow.

[Stanley Otter]

March 22-31 Grand Canyon NP -- Lipan Point to Escalante Route to Tonto Trail all the way to South Bass TH (I hope...)
post Memorial Day/early June -- AT through Great Smoky Mountains NP with my oldest daughter (if we bag a permit...)
mid June -- Seattle, Olympic NP & North Cascades NP with the fam
late June -- they drop me off for a North Cascades-PCT-Wonderland Trail-PCT extravaganza in WA (if I bag the NP permits...)

[SSSdave]

Nice to be retired but not old haha.

Don't like hiking or backpacking in snowy areas of the Sierra before June as the aesthetic is IMO poor versus what landscapes look like during winter after fresh snows that I see all the time while resort skiing.

Sunday returned from a week at Cottonwood Bajada at Joshua Tree working wildflowers. Likely be driving back south into our deserts again at least a couple times through April. And now have an enormous amount of image post processing to wade through on the pc over the next couple months.

Thursday will get away from the pc and drive up to Tahoe for 2 or 3 days of mostly skiing moguls. and will continue skiing into mid April when I can fit it in.

Also through April some short road trips for wildflower work possible here in Northern California interspersed with more post processing.

In May I have to work around the May 18 Rolling Stones "No Filter Tour" date I scored a ticket for so cannot do a long Utah road trip I had notions for. Some coastal wildflower work is possible. Might do some bc skiing about the Eastern Sierra. Also could spend a week up in Humboldt and Del Norte County redwood areas again when rhododendron bloom.

By May the Sierra summer backpacking possibilities given snow ought be more clear so could start cementing plans for June.

[dave54]

It's all up in the air now. Original plan of southern Utah, including applying for The Wave lottery, is off.
One week in Sedona with a wife's cousin is still on. Other than that... depends upon the snow.
Trying to take the grandkids somewhere over Easter Break. Later in the summer trying to put together an RV trip with the grandkids to the Redwoods, but that will be past June.

[AlmostThere]

Just reserved trail camps to do the full Skyline to Sea in mid-May - always a good outing for newbies who can hike 10 miles of easy trail in a day.

[c9h13no3]

That's a beautiful area, but I'd bet on encountering a lot of snow in mid-June this year. I ran into snowfields at Anna and Billy Be Damn over July 4 in 2009, which was a slightly below 'normal' year up that way. Yeah the elevation is lower, but the subalpine landscape tells the story truer than mere feet above sea level.

If you do go, I second Maia--Siligo Peak is a must.

Browsing the snow map, yeah the Siligo area is currently holding ~100 inches of snow. The trail head at Long Canyon (~3700') is only holding ~20 inches. I'm pretty comfortable on snow, and I prefer my mountain scenery snow-capped. I just want it to melt out enough to see the colorful rocks.

Siligo.PNG

[oldranger]

My early season plans are to recover from 2 spinal cord surgeries, one prostate procedure, and possibly dealing cardiac and kidney issues. other than that life is just rosy! Not negotiable is my Alaska fishing trip in July. And I am still planning on a Sierra Backpack in late August/ early September. Currently feel pretty weak but did spend an hour on the treadmill today at 3mph and 2%grade. Last year at this time this was cool down speed and slope. doing Cardio stress test tomorrow to see how cardio system is working. Getting old is not for sissies!

[rlown]

had one of those cardio stress tests. good luck!
My wife get's hers next week.