Page 1 of 1
Bear Creek Twin Falls conditions Sep 13th-16th
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:12 am
by ejayerik
Hello Fellows,
I'll be making the trip with my girlfriend’s father who has hiked the area since the 70's.
Specifically, we will be starting at the Bear Creek Diversion dam and up the 4X4 trail if it's clear. From there we will be going to Twin Falls, then to Kip Camp/John Muir Trail and spending some time South of the Glacial Valley at Cirque Lake.
Any trail/weather conditions as of late? I've read up here on the forum and come across anything from 90 degrees during the day to freezing at night.
Any snow left? I heard there was quite a snow pack last winter.
Thanks for any info. Great forum!
Re: Will be heading to the Bear Creek area come Tuesday. Conditi
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 4:21 pm
by ejayerik
hmm OK, Well thanks anyway.
Re: Will be heading to the Bear Creek area come Tuesday. Conditi
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 4:52 pm
by maverick
Hi Ejayerick
Welcome to HST!
When are you heading up?
The thunderstorms are supposed to die down in that area by Friday, and sunny.
Temps are supposed to be at around 57/34 at 9400 ft, and 48/35 at 10800 ft.
Crossings will be fine, snow will not be an issue.
Have you visited this area before? Would highly recommend visiting Orchid Lake, especially
if you want to stick to the western side of the JMT!
The views east back towards Seven Gables, Feather Peak, Mt. Hilgard, and beyond
is sub-lime, and an easy climb to reach from the JMT.
Re: Will be heading to the Bear Creek area come Tuesday. Conditi
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:12 pm
by bluefintu
Hi Ejayerick,
I think the boards are kind of slow for responce at this time, due too everyone went home.(The Mountains) Have fun, I'll be working and taking my kids to school. Wishing to be back. I hope to see a trail report from you.
Don
Re: Will be heading to the Bear Creek area come Tuesday. Conditi
Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:54 am
by caddis
Has anyone crossed Bear Creek in the Kip Camp area lately (TR?) It was the highest I have ever seen it a month ago.
Are you planning to head uphill towards the Bear Twins or will you cross higher up?
I do agree that Orchid is a must-visit. It's one of the prettiest views in the sierra (If you walk below the outlet to the pond)
Re: Will be heading to the Bear Creek area come Tuesday. Conditi
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:00 am
by ejayerik
Re: Will be heading to the Bear Creek area come Tuesday. Conditi
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:05 am
by ejayerik
caddis wrote:Has anyone crossed Bear Creek in the Kip Camp area lately (TR?) It was the highest I have ever seen it a month ago.
Are you planning to head uphill towards the Bear Twins or will you cross higher up?
I do agree that Orchid is a must-visit. It's one of the prettiest views in the sierra (If you walk below the outlet to the pond)
We made it to Kip Camp but only looking for more fishing. Didn't stay. Crossing the creek was a pain. The water was high and lots of the old points were no good from what I was told. We crossed a few spots and had to trek the fishermans trail. Found some strawberries on that side as well as blue berries that were nice and ripe.
Crossing for the most part has to be done by fallen logs which are few and far between and pretty hairy.
BTW some of the trails were a hard pass. We had to trek through some thick brush where it was obvious there had been a trail at some point but it had not been traveled all summer clearing it along the way. These were just north of the twin falls along the creek but not along the main path toward Kip Camp. Looking for good spots to fish for the most part. And in case anyone was wondering there was no snow at 10,000'.
Anyone lose a sock? We found a walmart brand sock on a really steep rock face that took us quite a while to get to on the way up the mountain past the falls.
Re: Bear Creek Twin Falls conditions Sep 13th-16th
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:18 pm
by Troutdog 59
Hey Ejayeric.
I think my son and I saw you guys Thursday afternoon (~2:00 pm) at the Bear Diversion TH. We were in the white PU just below you sitting out the storm when you guys showed up. We had intended to start hiking by about 1:00, but it began raining about 12:45 so we sat it out. We finally got going about 3:00 pm and got to Twin Falls by 5:00. It remained cloudy on the trail, but we made it to Twin Falls, set up the tent, and were instantly driven into the tent by more thundershowers. It stopped right before sundown.
The next day we fished around Twin Falls catching mostly brookies and bows, but we also got some hybrids and a few goldens
. No brownies though, so no slam
. All smallish, except one 12 " bow and 2 brookies just over 10". The weather was clear, but began clouding up at about 11:00. After lunch we hiked to Kip Camp and had cloud cover and cool temps the whole way. By the looks of the clouds and their direction, i was cerain we would get more rain, but it never materialized. We made camp and spent the afternoon hours fishing the pools in that area. All brooks and goldens up that way, but all less than 10". We slept in on Saturday, fished upstream in the morning, then out to the truck in the afternoon.
The flow in Bear Creek was incredible for this time of year, being much higher than years past. The high water made crossing the creek ( a big creek by Sierra Standards) more difficult than in years past. I in fact took a plunge on Friday morning, and is why I have no pics to share as my camera went with me
. Crossing near Kip Camp was easier, but we had to scout around a bit to find some easy fords. Alas, the cameras still dead, but it was still a great trip!!
Re: Bear Creek Twin Falls conditions Sep 13th-16th
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:26 pm
by ejayerik
Troutdog 59 wrote:Hey Ejayeric.
I think my son and I saw you guys Thursday afternoon (~2:00 pm) at the Bear Diversion TH. We were in the white PU just below you sitting out the storm when you guys showed up. We had intended to start hiking by about 1:00, but it began raining about 12:45 so we sat it out. We finally got going about 3:00 pm and got to Twin Falls by 5:00. It remained cloudy on the trail, but we made it to Twin Falls, set up the tent, and were instantly driven into the tent by more thundershowers. It stopped right before sundown.
The next day we fished around Twin Falls catching mostly brookies and bows, but we also got some hybrids and a few goldens
. No brownies though, so no slam
. All smallish, except one 12 " bow and 2 brookies just over 10". The weather was clear, but began clouding up at about 11:00. After lunch we hiked to Kip Camp and had cloud cover and cool temps the whole way. By the looks of the clouds and their direction, i was cerain we would get more rain, but it never materialized. We made camp and spent the afternoon hours fishing the pools in that area. All brooks and goldens up that way, but all less than 10". We slept in on Saturday, fished upstream in the morning, then out to the truck in the afternoon.
The flow in Bear Creek was incredible for this time of year, being much higher than years past. The high water made crossing the creek ( a big creek by Sierra Standards) more difficult than in years past. I in fact took a plunge on Friday morning, and is why I have no pics to share as my camera went with me
. Crossing near Kip Camp was easier, but we had to scout around a bit to find some easy fords. Alas, the cameras still dead, but it was still a great trip!!
Oh yeah I remember. We waved at you when we got to the truck. You had your packs under the bed of your truck.
Yeah, the water was pretty high and made for bad crossing to get to some of the good spots to fish though we did find some prime locations for larger fish; just didn't catch many. We saw several campers on the last day there try to cross at the falls but it was risky. I hope you were able to make use of some of the dry wood we left at the site we used. I think the only other campers we saw there were camping near the "beach" at the bottom of the falls.
Sorry about your camera.
BTW what were you using on your lines? We had the most hits on Adams mosquitoes. Near Edison we used salmon eggs on a triple hook with no success.
Small world....LOL