High Sierra Topix

Has anyone been to this area (Ansel Adams) in the past few days ? Where is the snow line, possible to hike above 10,000' ? Mosquitoes at Thousand Island ? On the river camps?

Thanks for any information you can give.

According to Mammoth Ranger District, the JMT in the area has 50-70% snow coverage. Judging from recent TR's (e.g. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6282&start=75#p45541" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ), 1000 Island and Garnet are mostly frozen but thawing. Hiking is possible provided you are comfortable on steep snow. Depending on where you enter, there might be one or two sketchy water crossings. I highly doubt skeeter's are an issue at the lakes as the surrounding area is almost entirely snowbound

Hi Asbegun

Welcome to HST!

Look like you will need to ice fish out on Thousand Island Lake

By the way, are there any dry areas to camp where snow has melted up there ?

thanks all for the replies.

given the snow reports received and directed to, i am thinking of basecamping below the snow, maybe at Badger Lakes and doing day hikes to the lakes -- shadow, ediza, garnet, 1000K, etc. and summit and clark the other way, maybe island pass to Waugh. does anyone know where the bridges across the middle fork are, and if they are intact and passable ? what about the ones across outlet streams from 1000k and Garnet ? and is there a bridge over the middle fork where Garnet outlet stream comes into it? looking at various loops up to the lakes.

thanks again.

Hi Toad305

Welcome to HST!
If you look at his posted pictures Toad you'll notice dry islands where one can set
up camp, it can be a tent if enough level space, or just a ground cloth with a mattress
on a rock ledge, but you can find a way.

Before we continue please read: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4205" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, thanks.

toad305 wrote:Look like you will need to ice fish out on Thousand Island Lake
By the way, are there any dry areas to camp where snow has melted up there ?

Having been there a few days ago (Monday last), I noticed that backpackers and PCTers have been camping near the outlet, mainly because the snow seems to dry out at the outlets first, and everything else was covered in deep steep snow. Technically illegal, I did not see much impact as those hearty experienced souls are no trace backpackers, many coming in late and leaving early, sometimes not even putting up a tent or tarp. In dryer conditions, there would be many many more options, in particular to the west. Some long term campers did manage to make the challenging trek to the west with no idea of what they would find. We were going to spend an extra day there day-hiking, but by the time we got to 1,000 IL, we had had our fill of treking over endless snow, and used our time for other destinations.

Looks beautiful. Thx for the updates !

asbegun wrote:...i am thinking of basecamping below the snow, maybe at Badger Lakes and doing day hikes to the lakes -- shadow, ediza, garnet, 1000K, etc. and summit and clark the other way, maybe island pass to Waugh....what about the ones across outlet streams from 1000k and Garnet ? and is there a bridge over the middle fork where Garnet outlet stream comes into it? ...

1,000 Island Lake is the official headwater of the San Joaquin River. There is a bridge over the San Joaquin River going to Shadow Lake, and there are outlet bridges at Garnet Lake, 1,000 Island Lake and Ediza Lake, as well as an inlet bridge above Shadow Lake. Aside from a few logs spanning a stream here and there, that is it. There is no bridge over the San Joaquin River where the Garnet Lake outlet stream meets the San Joaquin River, and I suspect currently there is steep snow in places between Garnet Lake and the San Joaquin River.
Badger Lake is snow free as is the trail to it, though the camp spots are damp and wet. Ediza does not have any dry spots to camp, though not a problem to get to. The Shadow Lake area is essentially dry, as are the camps. The trails around Summit and Clark have lots of (sometimes steep) snow and is patchy around the lakes.
(OBTW, the nights have been pretty cold and the snow has been re-freezing.)