High Sierra Topix

Anyone heard anything about this? A thread on BPL indicates that its about to close or already has.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... d_id=92909" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When I picked up my permit this past Saturday, the ranger said the ferry wasn't running due to lack of water - the number quoted to me was that Edison is at 20%. Ferry at Florence was running.

Thanks for the info Greg. Looks like I won't be returning to the west side this year. More Mammoth in my future.

This is interesting indeed and something I'll need to think about in terms of trip planning in future dry years. Until a recent change-of-plans I was planning an Edison-Florence shuttle trip whose day 1 was very much dependent on having the little help from the Edison ferry. This makes me feel better about having cancelled that trip.

That is exactly what the trip I had planned in about a week entailed. Oh well.

Fortunately access via the east side is not that different and offers some nice stuff to make up for what I'd be missing.

I was also reading that there was a 2 mile walk in the lakebed on the eastern shore of the lake while it was running, so maybe a bullet dodged anyways. Sounds terrible.

schmalz wrote:I was also reading that there was a 2 mile walk in the lakebed on the eastern shore of the lake while it was running, so maybe a bullet dodged anyways. Sounds terrible.

Yes, that too is food for thought, both regarding the cancellation of planned trips this year or future ones because it appears there is a tricky balance here for those who might plan an ambitious day 1 out of Edison. I had planned to camp right at Upper Mills Lake on day 1, for example. That would be beyond my tolerance for a day 1 hike without the shuttle and near the limits with 2 miles of extra hiking in the muck. The problem is that if the water is high enough for the ferry to take you all the way to the end, this would be early season in after a pretty good snowfall year. This would mean that Mono Creek would be flowing pretty good which would make for a difficult crossing (if it is even feasible). I may need to revise my 2015 plan by eliminating Upper Mills and Bear Basin from my route and executing a Bear Creek Diversion Dam-Florence shuttle instead.

FWIW, VVR's Twitter account is pretty good about posting current ferry conditions for Edison.

giantbrookie wrote:The problem is that if the water is high enough for the ferry to take you all the way to the end, this would be early season in after a pretty good snowfall year. This would mean that Mono Creek would be flowing pretty good which would make for a difficult crossing (if it is even feasible).

I wouldn't completely abandon that itinerary GB, but we need a couple good water years for Edison to catch up. In my experience in the past good water years, the Edison ferry was able to take us all the way to the backside boat landing in mid August. Edison's current problems were compounded by it being drawn down in early 2012 to refill Shaver Lake. The thought was it would refill (especially following the wet winter of 2011), but we haven't had anywhere near an average water year since 2011.

VVR posted this to their facebook page tonight.


Vermilion Valley Resort

19 mins · .


Oh, and YES THE WATER TAXI IS RUNNING!!!! Mornings only - leaving the resort at 8 am, 9 am, and 10 am. Please spread the word and thanks!