Current JMT conditions (snow) Mammoth to Tuolumne 5-21-2015
Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 7:30 am
Just a quick conditions report for this trail which I trekked with two friends, one of which really struggled with conditioning and altitude.
Preface logistics: We stayed in Mammoth on Thursday night prior to Memorial Day Weekend. Drove over Tioga Road from San Francisco Thursday, as soon as we got through the pass closed due to snow. We rented a car at the Mammoth Lakes Airport that day to shuttle my car back to Tuolumne early Friday. We got a late start Friday as the pass was still closed till about noon. After we shuttled my car to Tuolumne and returned the car to the Airport, the Westin was kind enough to pick us up for free and drive us to the trailhead - the ranger almost did not let us in because the Westin does not have a permit to operate on federal lands commercially. But the shuttle to Devil's Postpile was not running so they let us in.
Since we started late, we left from Agnew Meadow instead of our intended starting point of Devil's Postpile. We linked up with the JMT at Shadow Lake. We encountered an attractive female USFS ranger about 25 years old who checked our permit about a mile in - our permit was for entry at Devil's Postpile North and we were on the Shadow Creek trail - thought there might be problems but she either did not notice or understood our logistical issues.
So we missed the JMT from Devil's Postpile to Shadow Lake. I would not anticipate any issues there besides the usual downed trees this early in the season. There was snow on the trail above 9000' in shaded and north facing spots. The places where you could encounter a difficult experience are as follows:
1. Emerald Lake: The JMT goes to the West of this lake, a small lake just before 1000 island lake. Unless you have snow shoes, the trail is impassable to the west of the lake due to deep snow. We were forced to go around the east side of the lake, still in significant snow, post-holing for about an hour. We followed the JMT up above 1000 island lake - the trail that follows the lake looked to be full of snow - the lake was 80% covered in snow and ice.
2. After passing Rush Creek on the approach to Donahue Pass, the JMT follows the West side of a creek (not sure of the name). The West side of the creek is full of deep snow banks and snow bridges across the boggy meadow features that are commonly found in the sierras at high elevations near passes (the trail is not recognizable). The snow may seem to be 4-6" deep and then you could post-hole up to your hip if you step in a spot where there is a small creek running underneath. We encountered a solo JMT hiker who was complaining that it took her several hours to get over the pass and down through this area. I quickly recognized that even though the trail followed the West side of the creek, the East side of the creek was more sun exposed so we crossed and found it much easier to walk around deep snow banks. We camped at the end of the meadow near the last stands of trees before the pass.
3. The trail is covered in snow up the south side of Donahue Pass (10,250'-11,0000) and down the north side to about 10,000'. We hiked up Donahue Pass in the early morning with crampons and hard snow. If you attempt to cross the pass on the south side in the late morning/afternoon, you will be post-holing in deep snow. You can also take a high traverse on the east side of the pass negotiating boulders and talus and avoid 70% of the snow. The snow on the North side of the pass is much deeper and uniformly exists until after you cross the Lyell Fork.
4. Deep, soft snow drifts exist below the Lyell fork down almost until the meadow. Use caution.
We hiked up and over Donahue Pass with crampons in hard snow. I would have needed them if the snow around Emerald Lake was hard - we traversed the lake in the afternoon hours so the snow was soft. For the next 7-14 days, snow shoes or crampons (with gaiters) are highly recommended for the limited areas discussed above.
Preface logistics: We stayed in Mammoth on Thursday night prior to Memorial Day Weekend. Drove over Tioga Road from San Francisco Thursday, as soon as we got through the pass closed due to snow. We rented a car at the Mammoth Lakes Airport that day to shuttle my car back to Tuolumne early Friday. We got a late start Friday as the pass was still closed till about noon. After we shuttled my car to Tuolumne and returned the car to the Airport, the Westin was kind enough to pick us up for free and drive us to the trailhead - the ranger almost did not let us in because the Westin does not have a permit to operate on federal lands commercially. But the shuttle to Devil's Postpile was not running so they let us in.
Since we started late, we left from Agnew Meadow instead of our intended starting point of Devil's Postpile. We linked up with the JMT at Shadow Lake. We encountered an attractive female USFS ranger about 25 years old who checked our permit about a mile in - our permit was for entry at Devil's Postpile North and we were on the Shadow Creek trail - thought there might be problems but she either did not notice or understood our logistical issues.
So we missed the JMT from Devil's Postpile to Shadow Lake. I would not anticipate any issues there besides the usual downed trees this early in the season. There was snow on the trail above 9000' in shaded and north facing spots. The places where you could encounter a difficult experience are as follows:
1. Emerald Lake: The JMT goes to the West of this lake, a small lake just before 1000 island lake. Unless you have snow shoes, the trail is impassable to the west of the lake due to deep snow. We were forced to go around the east side of the lake, still in significant snow, post-holing for about an hour. We followed the JMT up above 1000 island lake - the trail that follows the lake looked to be full of snow - the lake was 80% covered in snow and ice.
2. After passing Rush Creek on the approach to Donahue Pass, the JMT follows the West side of a creek (not sure of the name). The West side of the creek is full of deep snow banks and snow bridges across the boggy meadow features that are commonly found in the sierras at high elevations near passes (the trail is not recognizable). The snow may seem to be 4-6" deep and then you could post-hole up to your hip if you step in a spot where there is a small creek running underneath. We encountered a solo JMT hiker who was complaining that it took her several hours to get over the pass and down through this area. I quickly recognized that even though the trail followed the West side of the creek, the East side of the creek was more sun exposed so we crossed and found it much easier to walk around deep snow banks. We camped at the end of the meadow near the last stands of trees before the pass.
3. The trail is covered in snow up the south side of Donahue Pass (10,250'-11,0000) and down the north side to about 10,000'. We hiked up Donahue Pass in the early morning with crampons and hard snow. If you attempt to cross the pass on the south side in the late morning/afternoon, you will be post-holing in deep snow. You can also take a high traverse on the east side of the pass negotiating boulders and talus and avoid 70% of the snow. The snow on the North side of the pass is much deeper and uniformly exists until after you cross the Lyell Fork.
4. Deep, soft snow drifts exist below the Lyell fork down almost until the meadow. Use caution.
We hiked up and over Donahue Pass with crampons in hard snow. I would have needed them if the snow around Emerald Lake was hard - we traversed the lake in the afternoon hours so the snow was soft. For the next 7-14 days, snow shoes or crampons (with gaiters) are highly recommended for the limited areas discussed above.