No Snow in the Crystal Basin

[Vaca Russ]

This year we chose to do our annual visit to the backcountry of the Crystal Basin and were told by the forest service we didn’t need to do our normal winter hike of over 6 miles. “They” said we could drive all the way up to the gate. From there it is only a half mile hike into the bunkhouse. “They” said there was no snow, so we planned on riding our bikes.

Sport and I made it most of the way to the gate in spite of a very icy drive. Good thing we brought the 4 X 4. It turns out a tree had fallen about a mile before the gate. This obstacle required a little more hiking than we had planned…but, that’s what we do.

1 Hike In.JPG

2 Sport In.JPG

Hopefully these next pictures illustrate the difference in snow fall from 2013.

3 Crystal Range 2013.JPG

4 Crystal Range 2014.JPG

5 Flag2013.JPG

6 Flag2014.JPG

7West Meadow.JPG

8 West Meadow 2014.JPG

We enjoyed our evening together by putting together a puzzle. Unfortunately other activities kept us from finishing the puzzle.

9 Puzzle Start.JPG

10 Flag.JPG

To be continued…

[Vaca Russ]

The next morning we hiked out to meet the kids.

11 Departure.JPG

This is the first of three trees blocking access to the gate.

12 Tree Hike.JPG

The boys had a blast hiking in the snow.

13 Snow Hike.JPG

Eventually we made it back to the bunkhouse.

14 Bunkhouse.JPG

The princess elated in her discovery of a tiny house.

15 Princess.JPG

The kids helped us finish the 1000 piece puzzle.

16 Puzzle Finish.JPG

That evening we collected some wood and built a fire in the pit. We then hike about a third of a mile into the darkness to observe the stars. The boys decided we should head back to the bunkhouse when they heard the coyotes start to sing.

17 Fire Pit.JPG

We read in the Logbook that if we climbed the hill behind the bunkhouse we would observe some great views. Well, the hill is covered with trees so the view is not that great but we did do some rock climbing.

18 Rock Climb.JPG

We took one last group picture at the bunkhouse before departing.

19 Group.JPG

We had an enjoyable hike out.

20 Hike Out Group.JPG

Hopefully this recent storm is adding snow to our parched mountains. We really need precipitation.

Thanks for reading our report.

-Russ

[Jason]

Very cool! Thanks for the report. I just wish you were reporting tons and tons of snow. It's a crazy year.

[maverick]

Wow, what a contrast. Thanks for sharing your delightful pictures of the family.

[kd6swa]

Vaca Russ and Sport - nice job keeping the children engaged in activities since there were no cell phone, computers, televisions or electricity!

73
KD6SWA

[FeetFirst]

Vaca Russ,

Have you been up there lately? I'm thinking of going in this Sunday for a night or two and trying to decide where to go in Deso/Crystal Basin to avoid deep snow (I know, shouldn't be too hard right?!). Most likely I'll be entering from either Loon or Echo, but nothing is set in stone.

I've been checking out the CDEC sensors (http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/mapp ... =18&quad=4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) to get an idea, but those things can be in a hole, in a shadow, all day and don't really tell the overall story well. Anyways, any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Vaca Russ]

Vaca Russ,

Have you been up there lately? I'm thinking of going in this Sunday for a night or two and trying to decide where to go in Deso/Crystal Basin to avoid deep snow (I know, shouldn't be too hard right?!). Most likely I'll be entering from either Loon or Echo, but nothing is set in stone.

FF,

I just saw your post. No, we haven't been up there recently. We have been mostly hitting the slopes.

You are probably up there right now! Please let us know what you found regarding snow depth.

I usually rely on this web site for snow depth information:

http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/interactive/ ... &js=1&uc=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have found it pretty reliable but I have run into snow (Pinenuts) when this site said it was clear.

Thanks,

-Russ

[FeetFirst]

Thank you for the response, Russ. That modeled snow depth map looks really useful. I've used a similar one linked to the USGS website (I think), but this one appears a bit more user friendly - thanks.

I ended up doing a short overnight trip in Tahoe NF, Big Bend>Lock Levens area (http://www.hillmap.com/m/ag1zfmhpbGxtYX ... ICAk6D9CQw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Snow was sparse below 6100 and dependent on exposure above that. The north facing slope up to the lakes was a post-holing nightmare. I broke through the 1-2 foot of crusty snow to the hidden mangle of boulders and manzinita underneath multiple times and have some pretty good cuts and bruises on my shins as reminders to never do that again. The trail was only visible for the first 1/2 mile or so and after the railroad tracks (6,100 ft.) there was about a foot of snow on the ground with more as you gained elevation. The weather was gorgeous, but a bit gusty at times. It cooled off quick in the evening and felt colder than reported (30 deg. F). I pretty much took a straight line back to the road in the morning and ended up at the Rainbow lodge so I had to walk the road back to my car. Not one mosquito the entire time! If no more storms hit the area I'd guess it will be in pretty good shape by Memorial Day. I'll update my post with pictures tonight.

[FeetFirst]

Here are a couple of pictures from my trip.

At the start:


UPRR tracks:


Seasonal creek after RR tracks:


Working my way up:


...and up:








LNT: