West Emigrant trails 6/6-6/8

[kpeter]

The lower trail and to a lesser extent the upper trail out of Crabtree had massive blowdowns of green living trees over the trails. They had sawn out the lower trail as far as Grouse lake, but shortly after Grouse Lake there was a blowdown of dozens of large trees in a brushy/swampy area that complete obliterated the trail for about half a mile. We picked a way around it but not without some falls and scratches.

Throughout the region there was evidence of a massive blowdown. Countless large, old trees were uprooted and the trail crews have not had time to saw out all of them. In places where the saws had been active it looked and smelled like a lumberyard, and we heard chain saws operating.

The upper trail had much less of this since it is much less forested in general.

Does anyone know if and when there was a windstorm that did this damage? It certainly wasn't a high snow year, but it was unsettling to see so many of the largest and oldest trees entirely uprooted. In addition, there was the usual seasonal "crop" of fallen deadfall--some of it taken down by falling livefall.

[Enigmagic]

Does anyone know if and when there was a windstorm that did this damage? It certainly wasn't a high snow year, but it was unsettling to see so many of the largest and oldest trees entirely uprooted. In addition, there was the usual seasonal "crop" of fallen deadfall--some of it taken down by falling livefall.

there was a big windstorm in late January that took down a bunch of trees. Yosemite was closed for a week or so.