High Sierra Topix

Rkfiske and I have been planning a 3 night trip over piute pass. Plan was to hit mesa/tomahawk first, then head over puppet pass/carol col, visit puppet and neighbors, then head down to french creek, through Hutchinson Meadows, and back out piute.

We are planning on going July 9th... Are we nuts? I I haven't seen any reports from the area yet this year.

Should we be looking for something lower or further south? Gtw?

Thanks all,
Ray

personally, i think you're 3 weeks to a month early. I think if there's snow on the Col, you're gonna hate it bigtime. Piute still had some snow when we went over it last Sept, but I have to believe there's way, WAY more up there right now.

All reports indicate you will see lots of snow. That's no reason not to go, so long as you are prepared for it (and the extra work the snow entails). Steelhead Pass is probably a better alternative than Puppett Pass this early in the season -- it is not as steep on the north side and there is likely to be sufficient snow to make your descent easier (there is a short steep section just below the top of the pass, then you travel through otherwise easy terrain).

Mike

if the lakes are frozen, what's the point? obvious he's fishing..

Russ is right, this is largely intended as a fishing trip. We're not hikers who carry crampons/ice axes, so if the snow becomes treacherous, we about face and find a different route/destination.

I guess part of it is that I've not experienced these places at all possible times of year, and I don't have a good feel for how deep the snow was this season.

I think I've seen snow at Piute pass from June-september. in 2009, I went over on June 28th, and there was a lot of snow to the west, up on the shelf where Muriel lake, Goethe, lost lakes (which caused a significant rerouting for our trip that year) - but even then, the snow looked less intense to the east towards desolation lake.

If this doesn't seem like a decent plan we will probably shoot for something in the GTW - but I am somewhat nervous about how marshy and skeetery the meadows might be.

Ah -- I see, you're after the fish. That was not obvious to me. I am not a fisherman, just assumed you were headed out to see the sights, which is what I do. Russ always assumes people are fishing. I was there last year, visited most of the lakes, but I wasn't fishing, just taking pictures and enjoying nature.

If it's fish you want, you'll have to look at lower elevations this early in the year -- particularly this year, when the total snowfall was high and the melt delayed by a cool spring.

For this trip, you would not need crampons or an ice axe. But most of the lakes would be frozen.

Best of luck --

Mike

My family went over Piute Pass into Humphreys Basin in mid July in 1998, which is close to this year in terms of snow. The snow coverage was 80% from the approach to Piute Pass. Muriel Lake, Tomahawk and Mesa were still partially or totally frozen. My opinion is that planning on going to a lower elevation would be a good idea if you want to fish.