End of May trip advice

[Love the Sierra]

Hi friends,
So I know that everyone is brain storming ideas and I appreciate all that has been said so far.
I am going to give it another try to get out end of May. Here are some of my ideas and your thoughts would be appreciated.
1) Kibbie Ridge: I have never hiked this before and I am wondering about the route finding and also the snow or runoff conditions. I realize that it may be a short trip just up to the ROARING Cherry Creek. However, I think that seeing it roar would be pretty magnificent.
2) 20 Lakes basin: When will Tioga Pass open? I know that it can be dangerous getting past some of those Avie areas on the road. Will it be safe, that time of year, to come up from Lundy?
3) This should have been number 1 since it is my top choice… I would hike the road to Agnew Meadows and follow the PCT’res to Thousand Island Lake. I have not been there for years and I am itching to get back. Maybe this high snow year will enable me to go in without the crowds? On the other hand, maybe the creek crossings and snow conditions will be too difficult? Your thoughts, please.
4] North Fork Big Pine: I read a lot of your comments in another post so no need to repeat them. This would be my “last resort” since permits will be tough and I have been their and visited everything in the area not so long ago. However, it is beautiful hiking and I have never seen it under snow.
As always,THANK YOU ALL!

[Love the Sierra]

One more thought on 20 lakes basin…
If Tioga is closed, any reason not to just come in from the west? I mean, yes, more driving, but we can do some short hikes along the road to break it up. Anyway, 20 lakes basin would be a short trip.
My real question is about coming in from Lundy. Will that be safe? I know it is steep.

[Wandering Daisy]

https://www.highsierratopix.com/communi ... eek#p31821
This is a trip I did end of may in a high snow year. I did not try to get into Minarets.

In 2011 I went into Kibby Lake end of May and it was partially frozen- walking in on snow. This year has more snow and I think Kibby Ridge will be very snowy and soggy. The road may be closed, which would add more miles. We punted and went down to the valley and day-hiked.

I think you mean going up to 20 Lakes from the EAST not west. You would have to check avalanche conditions. But it is a standard winter ski route. Someone like Harlen would have more information on that. Twenty Lakes is high elevation and will still have deep snow.

I have done several early trips into Green Lake (Hoover Wilderness). More of a weekend trip.

Yosemite North Rim should be feasible but still would have some snow- just take micro-spikes. If Yosemite Valley roads do not flood, and you can get in I think going up to Merced Lake would be possible, as long as the bridges have not washed out.

[kpeter]

Green Lake requires crossing back and forth across the West Fork of Green Creek, no?

Coming up from Lundy to 20 lakes would require crossing Mill Creek and going up a north facing slope to over 10k feet.

I've never done either, but hopefully others here will remember those crossings and that slope and can say how feasible they might be. I would guess that there will be lots of snow on north facing, 10k slopes well past the end of May.

Kibbie Ridge will probably be my go-to, but I doubt it will be ready at the end of May. There are no significant stream crossings to worry about until you get to Lords Meadow, and from there there are various directions to explore. At the end of May this year, however, you could be walking on snow quite a bit. And be prepared for one or two hundred dead fall on the trail, after last winter's storms. One good thing--there is a snow sensor on Kibbie Ridge that you can follow for accurate information.

[Wandering Daisy]

Last I looked the Kibbie Ridge snow sensor has no data this year.

Two other late May, early June trips I have done in high snow years; Kennedy Lake (the road is often plowed to Kennedy Meadows resort before Sonora Pass opens), and Piute Creek from Hetch-Hetchy (as long as the bridge over Wapama Falls is safe). I was not able to cross the creek to get down to Pate Valley. Instead I climbed Piute Mountain (all snow). I am not sure if this falls under the Vernon Lake Loop permits, which may be hard to get.

The Trinity Mountains have received less snow. I did the main canyon (cannot remember the name) early June with no snow except to climb a peak.

I think this year we just have to embrace snow if we want to get out in May or June. For me, the main concern is stream crossings, not the snow.

[c9h13no3]

The Carson Range in Tahoe melts out fast, should be good before the bikes get in there.

The Secret-Roosevelt-Lane lake trip out of Leavitt Meadow is only 7200’ and east of the Sierra Crest.

Yosemite North Rim is always a slam dunk.

Lassen has some cool lower elevation spots if you like volcanic landscapes. Tick Burney Falls on the drive in.

Trinities, Kibbie, Kennedy Lake via Kennedy Meadows get 2nd votes.

[kpeter]

Last I looked the Kibbie Ridge snow sensor has no data this year.

There are three Kibbie-related stations, and 2 of the 3 are obsolete stations that have no data. Lower Kibbie Ridge (KIB) is the automated station that is showing data. Currently, it is at 105 inches of snow. It is at 6700 feet.

The highest the Kibbie Ridge trail gets is about 7800 feet, so I generally want to see KIB get to 0 for a couple of weeks before setting out, since that will mean some snow but probably not too much at the higher parts of the trail.

KIB is the only functional automated station in that area for many miles, and is nearly visible from the trail. An old (non functional) aerial read station is visible from the trail, and looks like this:

DSC05512.jpg

This was taken on 5/24/2021. Obviously, no snow at that time. Today, at 105 inches, the snow would be to the 9th bar. Imagine that pole with only "173" sticking out the top.

How much will melt in the next 45 days? I hope a lot, but I suspect it will take a little longer to get to bare dirt. We will have to wait and see how warm the rest of April and May are.

For comparison--and to get a sense of the whopper of a year we have going--on this date in 2017 KIB showed 28 inches of snow depth, and it got to 0 by April 29. Thus it lost 28" in two weeks. Let's see where we are on April 29 to get a sense of how fast this is going.

[Wandering Daisy]

Speaking of falls, Feather Falls should be great this year. I backpacked there years ago- from the view stand you can go uphill cross-country and camp on the banks of the river before it goes over the falls. The climb is a bit steep so be careful. We took a dog up there no problem. If you day-hike to the falls it is a long day, and you miss the late evening lighting.

[Tom Perkins]

Green Lake does not require a creek crossing, and you can walk to the North to West Lake and Par Value lakes without a crossing; I would expect a lot of snow up there in May this year, but no scary crossing. You do have to cross Green Creek to get to East Lake and the Hoover Lakes to the South of Green Lake, although it may be possible to make your way up there off trail on the West side of the creek. I would avoid it in May.

[paul]

I would expect, based on the current snowpack, that all of the trips you mention would be on solid snow at the end of May this year. You might get lucky and find bare spots to camp on, but I would not count on that. If i were planning a trip for the end of May it would be a ski trip, or a trip to the Whites as WD has suggested. Trying to find lower elevation areas that night be snow free is most likely just going to mean you have impassable creeks in your way. Its a good year to embrace snow travel. If you don't have the ski skills, you can snowshoe - anybody can snowshoe, as long as you don't expect to get far.