High Sierra Topix

Hello, I am contemplating a 4 day trip, June 17-20, and I came across Trail Pass. I was thinking that would be a good access point to get into Golden Trout Wilderness, to explore Golden Trout, Volcano Creek and other areas. Having never been to the Southern Sierra, going over that pass, what snow conditions can I expect, and is there even snow below 10,000 feet. I called one of the local numbers for Lone Pine ranger station and they had no trail reports for Trail Pass and they said Cottonwood was free of snow.

thank you,
Michael

Hi Michael-

I went over Trail Pass a few years back to access Mulkey Creek in order to fish for Golden Trout. I accessed a website which shows current snow depth and it looks like there is still a foot or so of snow going over Trail Pass. (The big plus sign is where trail pass is). The rangers are correct in saying that the trailhead at Horseshoe Meadows is snow free, but the pass itself isn't. It looks like the pass is the only place with snow and it looks to be around a kilometer wide and not that deep, so I would wager that you could get through without much (if any) postholing.

The image is here:


Have fun!

--F.G. Dave

Michael, even if Trail Pass has some lingering snow it is one of the easiest passes in the Sierra. It is only 600 ft above the parking lot at Horseshoe Meadow and you have 2.3 mi to gain that altitude from the north. On the south side it is slightly more steep, but you definitely don't need crampons or an ice axe. I hiked over Trail Pass in a similar (perhaps slightly lower) snowpack year on Memorial Day and had no problem. We did posthole down the north side of Kern Peak on that trip.

Thank you for the quick replies. The information is very helpful. My original plan was to go North to South Warner Wilderness, where I have been, and then this idea came to me. I have about until 6 am, after work, on 06/17/2016, to make the decision. I had read Trail Pass was accessible and these replies only re-enforce that. I am pretty sure either of my choices are good places to walk for a couple of days and fish.
thank you,
Michael

I went over Trail Pass on May 28, and there was very little snow. When I returned over Cottonwood Pass there was also no snow there.

Here's a photo during the descent on the south side looking SW.