Planning Piute Pass Late July

[Matthewkphx]

Thank you for the advice.

We both hike with trekking poles year round. I'll break out the snow baskets for this trip.

Camping on a slab with using rocks for anchors works well for us. We've done that many times.

Excellent point about the UV up there. We both hike with big hats and long sleeves but I wouldn't have thought about sunscreen... We usually skip it. Is some normal SPF30 or whatever enough or do we need that white zinc stuff?

I ordered Microspikes yesterday.

It occurs to me that a sit pad might be really nice... not for the cushion as much as a dry place to sit for a minute.

[texan]

I agree with RLOWN. I like option 3. We went over Piute Pass the last week of July in the summer of 83 when we were teens and it was all snow right before and after the pass. We camped at Summit Lake and came back down the next day. Our main goal was fishing though. September will a great time to go this year. Echo Lake in mid to late July will be all snow and frozen. Good Luck.

Texan

[rlown]

Excellent point about the UV up there. We both hike with big hats and long sleeves but I wouldn't have thought about sunscreen... We usually skip it. Is some normal SPF30 or whatever enough or do we need that white zinc stuff?

I recommend Eucerin Everyday Protection Face Lotion. UVA + UVB SPF 30. It works for sensitive skin and fragrance free (Has a bit of Zinc Oxide in it as well).. When hiking or especially fishing, I get a good slather on the back of the hands and all over the face, ears, neck (any exposed areas.) One does get a lot of sun from the reflection on the water as well as from snow...

Also, If you are on any medication that makes you sensitive to sunlight (or are a vampire ), It works and is a must have..

[Matthewkphx]

Whoa! I just found this page: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/staM ... ion_id=PPS which indicates a GPS coordinate just east of Summit Lake at 11,300'.

Which leads to this page of snow depth readings: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryMonthly?PPS which indicates a manually measured snow depth of 124 inches as of May 30!

Am I missing something or is there really TEN FEET of snow still up there as of a week ago? WOW!

[rlown]

You're not reading it wrong.. 142" at the cdec station at Tioga Entry (east)

[Matthewkphx]

Dang! That seems like a lot of snow to this Phoenix, AZ native. My son and I are scared/excited! We know there will be a lot of melt in the next seven weeks before we get there but we hope some of that snow will still be there!

Is the snow survey done at the end of June as well? I'll be incredibly curious to see the revised snow depth at the end of this month!

[rlown]

There are a few places where the trail will be more like a bog to a stream at the lower end after the creek crossing when heading up.

[rlown]

I watch http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/staM ... ion_id=TES and extrapolate to other locations, or I try and find an automated station near a destination. That North lake road still has to open, which is probably about as much fun to plow as some stretches of the Tioga Road. You are probably good to go late July, but there's gonna be snow; Mostly depends on how the weather cooperates. Tioga has been melting about 1 foot a week.

[Hobbes]

Mav posted this photo of Piute pass the other day:

[Matthewkphx]

I'm so excited!