2023 Backcountry Current Conditions Reports

[giarcpnw]

Had to start at Horseshoe Lake in Mammoth as Devil's PP Monument is still closed.
Mammoth Pass/Reds Meadow trails - 4-8 feet at trail head 8900 feet.
Mammoth pass is under 8ft plus with deep sun cupping or you're navigating deep tree wells in shade. No trail markers. Use GPS
It's a slog. We were slowed to about 1 mph. Did not take snow shoes or spikes. Not sure they would have helped much. Snow is slushy by noon

Devil's is a mess. Lots of damage in the park. Fences down. Signs down. Structures have some damage. Flooding from river through the NPS HQs.
Metal picnic tables bent from snow weight, wood tables and benches broken. Devils PP trail is a disaster. Pretty sure we were the first to see it this year. No one else was out there but us. This park is damaged and the road still closed. I can't see it opening for a good while if at all this season.

JMT NB from Devil's has heavy trail damage. Trees down. Washouts, lots of erosion as this is mostly pumice. New creeks to cross. Total mess.
Snow kicks back in hard about 8500 feet. We were stopped at Minaret Creek. Log Bridge is 3 feet under and swift water. It's a river. Walked 1/2 mile upstream and 1/4 down to the falls. Maybe could have crossed at one spot but one in our party could not swim so we did not chance it.

In any case, going further would have been pointless, we were slowed so much by the conditions, as temps rise the water crossings are going to get worse and we would not have made it to Yosemite in the allotted time we had. PLUS: SR120 is still closed so not sure how we would have made it back to Mammoth anyway.

Truly a historical year to be out there but please plan accordingly. This is not a typical trekking year.

Cheers!

[maverick]

Please, Conditions Reports only in this thread. Everything else has been and will be deleted. Thank you.

[michaelzim]

This is about snow and weather conditions as have given info on mosquitoes and creeks in those sections.

Firstly weather…
The forecast for the week was blue skies and no clouds. This did not stop the recently long-standing (week after week) mid afternoon sleet and snowstorm from happening at Loch Leven (10,750 ft.) on Wednesday!
Daytime temperatures were warm at 55 to 65 degrees at that altitude, and overnight lows 35 and 28 degrees.

Snow levels…
~ Lamarck Lakes trail. Patchy snow around 10,000 ft. in the forest. Much fuller snow cover at 10,600 ft.
~ Piute Pass trail. Patchy snow around 9,800 ft. with lot more snow cover after 10,250 ft. Suncups starting on bigger snow areas in the open. Suncups and snow channels on most snow above 10,750 ft. Humphreys Basin basically a sea of endless suncups. In all snow areas there are still viable snow bridges to be found.
~ South Lake – Bishop Pass trail. Snow in the forest almost at the parking lot. Open trail for 15 minutes then increasing snow patches in the forest. By 25 minutes out had completely lost the trail and snow getting slushy (mid-afternoon) around 10,200 ft. Some day hikers reported a big snow field going up to Long Lake.
Note…PCT hikers have been doing this trail for re-supply for the past 2 months in increasing numbers but the boot track can ‘dissolve’ in 30 minutes.

[oddtiger]

I went out with my daughters over the weekend. There were only patches of snow up to 2nd lake, and also to Black lake. Black lake was 1/3 covered with thin ice and should be clear in a few days. No traction tools were needed until 3rd lake. Beyond that one would need carry crampons. Mosquitos went out but didn't bit, but it could change very soon.

[rayfound]

Trail is relatively clear with only minor puddles until fork after cottonwood Creek crossing.

Creek is flowing vigorously, especially in afternoon, requiring crossing using the large upper log.

Trail quickly gets difficult to follow as it disappears under snow, runoff, etc... But travel is still fine. More of a cross country experience though.

The higher up, the more intermittent it becomes.

Meadows are extremely saturated and marshy.

Our destination for the day was the lowest of the south fork lakes, 11012. Inlet and outlet streams were both covered by snow fields.

[maiathebee]

Tunnel View --> Crocker / Taft via Pohono Trail --> Glacier Point --> Illilouette Creek --> LYV via Panorama --> Echo Creek --> Happy Isles

Minor snow patches on the Pohono Trail between Dewey and Bridalveil Creek. Plenty of water along the south rim generally. No bugs where I camped (Crocker) so I cowboy camped. About 20 down trees between Tunnel View and Bridalveil Creek.

Bridalveil to Glacier Point there are like 80ish downed trees, some super annoying but many just step overs.

Illilouette Creek is RAGING. I didn't go as far as the crossing (just far enough to legally camp), but word on the street is it's impassible. Bugs were out in the woods where I camped but they weren't biting yet. I saw 2 bears!

Panorama Trail to top of Nevada Fall is uneventful.

After LYV campground there are some minor puddles on the trail. The first half of the burn scar is sandy, dry, hot as usual. Trail crew came through so it's clear (no deadfall). Flooded trail from Sugarloaf Dome all the way to Bunnell Cascade. One section was thigh deep for about 10 yards, but mostly it's below the knees. Some areas have this wild effect of dead tree bark / wood chips floating on top that makes it look like ground, but it's water! Be careful. Very bad bugs in the wooded section after the granite section after Bunnell, but I continued on and cowboy camped on a ledge above the river.

Trail is flooded again from the footbridge crossing until Echo Creek. I just wore my Tevas the whole way. Not as deep as below Bunnell, but WAY colder. I hiked up Echo Creek to take the higher trail back over to the JMT. A few downed trees in there but nothing too bad. I saw a rattlesnake at 8k elevation up there! I have seen them down in the trail by the river but never that high before.

The JMT is closed between the top of Nevada Fall and Clark Point, so you have to take the Mist Trail down. A good test to my torn MCL 2 months into recovery if there ever was one!

Rivers & creeks raging, it's an amazing time to visit Yosemite.

[YosemiteW]

I hiked on Goodale Pass Trail toward Goodale Pass from Mono Creek trailhead at Vermilion on July 8th.

At 8700 ft, I started to see the trail covered with snow patches. At 8860 ft, most of the trail in shade were fully covered with snow. It was time consuming to find the trail. The snow was firm on the surface in the morning, but by 1pm snow patches started to break because of the warm temperature, making it difficult to step on top of the snow.

There were multiple places on the trail with blocking trees. Not many people seem to have hiked this trail yet. Creek crossings were challenging and I stopped at one mile before the junction with Graveyard Lakes and returned.

The pictures are (1) snow on trail at 8865 ft (37.41, -118.97), and (2) trees on trail at 8813 ft (37.40, -118.96).

GoodalePassTrail_Snow1.jpg

GoodalePassTrail_Trees1.jpg

[grampy]

7/10 - I did Hilton Creek Lakes trail as a day hike. Trail conditions were pretty good up to the second lake; trickles/standing puddles of water across the trail, as well as small piles of snow; all easy to walk around or over. Zero dangerous (or even inconvenient) creek crossings.
Heading toward Davis Lake, it is still extremely swampy, so I didn’t go all the way to the lake. Turning around, I made it to the junction for the Third Lake and went aways toward it, but lots of water/snow across the trail, as well as deadfall blockages. As i was scouting conditions for a backpack trip with a couple of grandkids, I decided this portion of the trail isn’t appropriate in the near term for their first trip,(just a couple of weeks from now).

[robguz]

Update from my previous conditions report for Sawmill pass: I led a group up to Sawmill lake for a few nights and then up to the pass / some peaks on the ridge northeast of the pass as a day hike.

Since the previous trip (2 weeks), all snow has melted on the trail up to right below Mule lake. There is still snow between Mule lake and Sawmill lake but it is easy to traverse. Most of the snow has melted from Sawmill lake (10k) to ~10.6k, making travel much easier than 2 weeks ago, though there was a large avalanche that came down into the upper small lake which took out a lot of trees over the trail. From 10.9k up to the pass it is still solid snow, though the pass is melted out and the ridge northeast of the pass is snow-free all the way to colosseum mountain. We summited the class 3 ~12.1k peak just south of colosseum and saw a big-horn sheep!

The lakes in Woods lake basin are finally starting to thaw.

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[grampy]

Lamarck Lakes Trail - July 12,13:
I did a quick one-nighter, to scout for a family trip with grandkids a couple weeks from now. Trail is in great shape; some mud and puddles at the start, but improves greatly after passing the bridge. Snow patches across the trail still lingering (intermittently) above 10,640’ but easily negotiated.
Reaching Lower Lamarck Lake, there are snow patches mixed with lots of perfectly dry ground. The lake outlet is raging right now; hikers heading down from L. Col are (presumably) crossing it on a large log jam right at the lake. It didn’t look horrible, but I didn’t want to cross on it. I also hiked to the lowest of the Wonder Lakes; proceeding further (at least to the next one up) looks very do-able.