High Sierra Topix

Hey Aura, What a great trip! You made a nice survey of some great areas for us all. I haven't read your conditions report yet, but I was wondering what gear your took, and how that worked out? Snowshoes, skis? Crampons or microspikes-- or just your good boot? Dogs, no dogs? Sled-pulling dog? We hope you had a great time out there, Lizzie and Ian.

Is the first photo Cottonwood Creek or Rock Creek? The next photo is Cottonwood.

Thanks for the details!

Hi,
Sorry to be so late to reply, it was a busy work week.
Daisy, the first one with white water is Rock Creek. It looks the same at the inlet and outlet of Heart Lake. The second picture was Horseshoe Meadow. Right now, Horseshoe Lake.

Ian, yes had Jasmine Rose. No mushing, it was too hot for that and too many melted out patches in which the trail was a creek. We carried snow shoes and never used them. Really not much postholing unless you weren’t paying attention and fell through a thin snow bridge. We met pa. Group of mountaineers who had come down from mount Abot, they said the same, they carried snow shoes and never used them. Crampons helped a lot. They helped the backslide in the slush and we could move faster with less fatigue. They did not, of course, prevent sliding in steeper areas with soft snow. We tried the micro spikes and they were useless whereas the crampons really helped. Just boots, in the soft snow, was possible, but exhausting.

I guess the question should have been Miter Basin's Rock Creek or Little Lakes Valley's Rock Creek.

Daisy, LLV Rock Crrek.

Thanks for sharing that info. Were you able to get up to Hilton lakes? I was thinking there's too much snow?

Hi,
I do not think there would have been more snow than we already encountered and we could have gone up there. We did not since we were running out of daylight.

C-level -
I hiked the Hilton Lakes trail 7/10 as a day hike. See my comments posted in the “2023 Backcountry Current Conditions” thread of the Conditions Reports sub-forum.

Hi Aura,
Thanks too for your early insights into the evolving conditions up there; great photos! A pal who lives in small meadows was up in Little Lakes Valley last weekend and I'll add a couple photos he sent me. Still a lot of white stuff up there! Cheerrs, Cameron