TR: Rae Lakes Loop May 8 - May 11

[jkl123]

Completed the Rae Lakes Loop this past weekend. Conditions were okay for most of the way. The only problem we encountered was some weather and snow on Glen Pass. Day 1 we hiked up to Upper Paradise, where it rained that night

Middle Paradise Valley.jpg

. The second day we made it up to Rae Lakes, where it was clear and very cold!

Castle Meadows .jpg

The largest of the lake still has ice on it

Rae Lakes .jpg

. The third day we climbed Glen Pass. We used crampons and ice axes, but three other guys crossed it with just trekking poles (I would advise bringing an ice axe at least)

Glen Pass.jpg

. There was some patches of snow from the Pass to the junction with the trail to Junction Lake. Stream crossings are uneventful, even Bubbs Creek and Woods Creek wouldn't be too troublesome to cross. The last day we hiked out from Junction Meadow to Road's End before noon.

[Bluewater]

Thanks for your TR and photos. Very little snow at Rae Lakes and Glen Pass looked like it could be done with just microspikes and trekking pokes with some care. It's good to see the what the conditions are like after the latest storm. Thanks again!

[Hobbes]

Completed the Rae Lakes Loop this past weekend.

Wow, that is some great information on trail conditions.

Jim & I have been dancing around whether/when to do a 3-day Taboose->Kearsarge hike this month. We were curious what 10k looked like after the latest weekend storm. Another week+ of weather looks to be headed to the Sierra, but it shouldn't alter the base conditions too much from what your photos indicate. While we're taking spikes for Glen (and maybe Pinchot), we didn't want to be dealing with snow on the ground below 11k and/or completely iced over lakes.

Now we just need to wait for the weather to clear ... May 23rd?

[maverick]

Hi jkl123,

Welcome to HST! Thank you for posting this TR and pictures!

So many members have inquired about doing this loop early this year because of the
drought conditions, these photo's shows them the conditions in the most precarious
part of the route, Glen Pass.

If you have any more photo's of Glen Pass that you could post, in the "Conditions Reports
and Information" section, it would be appreciated.

Also, if you have any shots of the Bubb's Creek crossing at Junction Meadow, that to
would be very helpful.

Thanks

PS If you get the time, and intro would be great : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9329

[jkl123]

Completed the Rae Lakes Loop this past weekend.

Wow, that is some great information on trail conditions.

Jim & I have been dancing around whether/when to do a 3-day Taboose->Kearsarge hike this month. We were curious what 10k looked like after the latest weekend storm. Another week+ of weather looks to be headed to the Sierra, but it shouldn't alter the base conditions too much from what your photos indicate. While we're taking spikes for Glen (and maybe Pinchot), we didn't want to be dealing with snow on the ground below 11k and/or completely iced over lakes.

Now we just need to wait for the weather to clear ... May 23rd?

We didn't go over to Kearsarge, but Charlotte lake was clear and there was spotty snow at the JMT-Kearsarge trail junction. North Faces above 10k are holding snow, but all the new snow melted out rather quickly. Lakes above 11k were all frozen over, but appeared to be melting out.

[jkl123]

Hi jkl123,

Welcome to HST! Thank you for posting this TR and pictures!

So many members have inquired about doing this loop early this year because of the
drought conditions, these photo's shows them the conditions in the most precarious
part of the route, Glen Pass.

If you have any more photo's of Glen Pass that you could post, in the "Conditions Reports
and Information" section, it would be appreciated.

Also, if you have any shots of the Bubb's Creek crossing at Junction Meadow, that to
would be very helpful.

Thanks

PS If you get the time, and intro would be great : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9329

WIll do! Although I pumped water on Bubbs Creek at that exact spot I did not take any pictures there. The water was probably no more than knee deep at most and not as swift as you would expect this time of year.

[Hobbes]

North Faces above 10k are holding snow, but all the new snow melted out rather quickly. Lakes above 11k were all frozen over, but appeared to be melting out.

Excellent. When you said it was cold, was it cold during hiking, cold during the night and/or both? When you say cold, was it sub-32 hiking, sleeping and/or both? I've got enough to get down to 25 (20 if I push it) @ night, but I was thinking of taking an add'l poly base layer for hiking if it's difficult to stay warm while moving.

Did you use your crampons/axe to go straight up Glen, or did you traverse following the trail route? We're taking spikes/poles since we're going to traverse the basic trail route; probably take along GPS to locate/follow the trail.

[maverick]

Hobbes,

You'll be fine with poles and spikes from the picture that was posted, time your ascent/descent later
in the morning when the snow is starting to soften.

[jkl123]

North Faces above 10k are holding snow, but all the new snow melted out rather quickly. Lakes above 11k were all frozen over, but appeared to be melting out.

Excellent. When you said it was cold, was it cold during hiking, cold during the night and/or both? When you say cold, was it sub-32 hiking, sleeping and/or both? I've got enough to get down to 25 (20 if I push it) @ night, but I was thinking of taking an add'l poly base layer for hiking if it's difficult to stay warm while moving.

Did you use your crampons/axe to go straight up Glen, or did you traverse following the trail route? We're taking spikes/poles since we're going to traverse the basic trail route; probably take along GPS to locate/follow the trail.

We hiked in long pants and light fleece pullovers during the first two days (it was probably in the 50s around 8k and in the mid 40s at 10k). It warmed up a lot when the sun came through, but when the clouds came in and the wind kicked up it got cold quickly. When we slept at Rae Lakes it was cold enough that a thing layer of ice formed on the lake and in the tent it was cold enough for our water bottles to get a good layer of ice. I would guess that lows were in the upper teens. I was fine with a 15 degree down bag and I wore a pair of fleece pants and a sweater. When we camped lower it was much warmer (in the high 30s or low 40s at night) Once the sun came up it warmed up quickly and we were all sweating buckets while going up Glen Pass. When we went up the pass we kinda followed some of switch backs until we could traverse to the low point on the pass. We used crampons and an ice axe, but the crampons weren't really necessary. Micro spikes would work fine it you want the extra traction. It was warm enough to kick in steps and use trekking poles, but I like the security of being able to arrest a fall so we used an ice axe (plus we had carried it all the way there, so might as well use them!). Poles and spikes is all you need. When we got back to the car at Roads End it was 65 at noon.

[jenreyn]

NWS just hoisted Winter Storm Watch for this Thursday. Another foot of snow expected. Also, at this point, another storm to follow through after this one.....I was thinking of doing this loop here in the coming weeks however will have to see what happens with the new snow.