Share Your Worst October Weather Experience

[oldranger]

Getting back on topic my worst October trip wasn't in the Sierra and wasn't half bad, in fact it was downright enjoyable--I just couldn't do what I planned to do.

Almost 3 years ago I was up in Holden Village in the North Cascades. To get there you take a boat up Lake Chelan then ride a school bus up the old (but very well maintained) mining road to the Village which is located at the 3200 ft. level of the Railroad Creek Valley (some time in the past it was considered for about 15 minutes a possible route through the Cascades for a railroad). After sawing rounds for firewood for 5 days I had a day off before returning home. It had been raining intermittently during my stay and one day we even had a few snow flurries. My plan was to hike up to Holden Lake at about 5.400 ft and try and catch some rb and cuts and hybrids.

It was cool and overcast, actually great conditions for the hike up primarily s. slopes. About 1.5 miles from the lake I began to encounter fresh snow. By the time I got to the lake there were 3"or so of snow any place that had substantial shade during the day and the lake was mostly frozen.

Holden Lake 2008.jpg

I noted some open water about 1/2 around the lake at a place where I had caught nice trout before and I started to work my way over. Then reality struck. My route required working my way over pole sized downed trees interlaced like jackstraws and covered with snow. I was alone. I decided no fish was worth the risk of negotiating that slippery maze and turned around and returned to the village for a hot shower and a celabratory feast for all the volunteers that helped convert the village from summer to winter operations.

Mike

[lostcoyote]

this one:
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[Tom]

Quite a few years ago I couldn't get away from work until the last week of September. I had 3 weeks and went in through Piute Pass and was headed towards the Middle Fork of the Kings for some very late season fishing.

After 2 weeks of wandering I met 2 guys that had skis strapped to their packs. I thought that this was humorus and since I hadn't seen anyone in a week I decided to chat. My first question was to find out where they could find enough snow to use the skis. They stared for a second and then asked how long that I had been in the backcountry. When I answered they told me that a huge system was headed into the area and snow was expected.

It took me 2 days to get to one of my bail out points. Florence Lake almost always had people so I was shocked to see the place deserted. I was standing near the exit of the car camping area when a woman in a Jeep pulled out. She rolled down her window and said that I could ride out with her husband. He was in an RV behind her and they had been the CG hosts all summer. They were the last ones out and we had snow all the way to Shaver Lake.

[pork50]

Every year, just as we approach the Sonora pass, just ascending past kennedy meadows, my dad always tells us this story:

There was about 7 or 8 people stuffed in the '69 Vista Cruiser station wagon, and the year was about 1972.This was opening day, and about 10:30 at night. They stopped at KFC in sonora. There were slight chances of rain, and suddenly at the first gate, it started snowing. within twenty minutes, it was a complete blizzard. Right when they got to the split rock, they found the gate closed. The temperature was around 10 degrees farenheit, and my grampa forced everyone (but him) to lift open the gate, and push the car up the hill. This was just at the end of october, near halloween. Everytime, I crack myself up, but think, what if I was forced, by my sicilian grandfather, to push open those gates?
Crazy stuff.....
Heres the hill, photo by Alfred Mueller on Panoramio.


http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/phot ... 271595.jpg



Pork50

[Cross Country]

For pork 50:I really like those kinds of stories. Thanks.

For Tom - were you ever lucky! I was at Florence a few weeks ago and had an experience with the type of consequences (or worse) that you had, so your story had particular interest (because of the place) for me.

For FeetFirst - I think you were luckier that you probably know.

[giantbrookie]

As many trips as I've taken, I really haven't had too many bad weather experiences, for I tended to call off trips, particularly in the late season, if the weather report didn't sound good.

I recall some cold trips, including having a lake freeze over before my eyes in the middle of the day, but nothing overly unpleasant, let alone adventurous. In fact the worst hardships of the cold trips I can recall involve taking care of alcohol. The lake-freeze-over trip kicked off with me dropping and breaking my 151 bottle--not one of my better starts to a trip. Another 4WD car camping trip was so cold (recall having an icicle beard on the bumper of my Pathfinder) I remember having to keep the red wine very close to the fire to keep it from getting ice cold.