High Sierra Topix

For anyone who has driven down the road to Cedar Grove, damage with this year's conditions is quite predictable. And fixing it is not an easy task. It easily could be closed all year. If it were the only damaged road in the Sierra, then a quicker fix, but it likely will be only one of many.

Wandering Daisy wrote: ↑Sat Apr 22, 2023 11:44 am For anyone who has driven down the road to Cedar Grove, damage with this year's conditions is quite predictable. And fixing it is not an easy task. It easily could be closed all year. If it were the only damaged road in the Sierra, then a quicker fix, but it likely will be only one of many.

Your right WD. The Mineral King road I heard has a lot of damage before the entrance of the park and who knows after that. The NP service won't even comment when the road will open. Also the road to South Lake by Bishop was just repaved a few years and has a lot of damage. They won't know all of the damage until the snow melts. At Parcher's resort there is still snow up to the roofs of the cabins. On their website the cabins are not going to open until May 25 if the snow melts enough and they won't have boat rentals on South Lake until mid-June. We won't know all the damage until the snow melts. One other item. I heard Crowley lake is still frozen too much to launch boats and from the pics l saw looked almost completely frozen. The trout opener is next week 4/29 and may still be frozen this is un heard of.

Texan

I know there have been reports of log crossings over the south fork of the Kings in the years since the bridge washed out, but those of course aren’t reliable year to year (and it will get a good flush through this spring/early summer).

Has anyone heard or read what SEKI will do about permits if you cannot get to Cedar Grove? For example, would the unavailable permits for Rae Lake Loop be re-assigned proportional to other trailheads? The quotas for all trailheads out of Cedar Grove are significant. If they do not reassign them, then that really cuts into wilderness use.

Wandering Daisy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 9:08 pm Has anyone heard or read what SEKI will do about permits if you cannot get to Cedar Grove? For example, would the unavailable permits for Rae Lake Loop be re-assigned proportional to other trailheads? The quotas for all trailheads out of Cedar Grove are significant. If they do not reassign them, then that really cuts into wilderness use.

If they are even considering an alternative arrangement to for permit holders stymied access to their designated trailheads, the simplest solution may be to honor these passes on whatever other trailhead are assessable. Of course this has its own challenges, with interagency coordination, etc. The likely alternative would be the tough luck option: informing folks to reserve whatever quotas are available, elsewhere. That will surely leave many left out, and be a cluster F for the customer service staff confronted by POed campers caught in the lurch.

Just trying to organize the efforts to restore front and backcountry assets may have the authorities so preoccupied, that they may not even bother policing who can go where/when. The last time the Sierra had such extensive weather consequences, the forest and park services were better funded, were managing less extensive infrastructure and serving fewer campers. This time around things are likely going to create a very chaotic season for all. Those with pluck may be able to skirt all the regulations and quotas, albeit available trailheads may not have sufficient parking for this demand, and once on trail campers may find the going tough, or challenged to find campsites on over crowded venues.

Ed

michaelzim wrote:

...(Hey @Harlen I presume you are venturing forth into this all yes?!). I mean, will there even be any talus this summer??? Ha, ha....

Hello Michael, sorry to say, I missed many of the short windows of opportunity between storms this winter, and have yet to get into this epic snow year--Curses!

[On a personal note, all my climbing has been in the trees, and as one can imagine, us tree workers are in high demand this year. It's been exciting, scary, but lucrative. Son Nathan nearly broke both arms wrestling 300lb rounds downslope, and this just before his summer of commercial fishing in SE Alaska. So he's done with it, and I've just finished bucking, lowering and hauling 20,000 lbs. of a giant Liveoak! Tomorrow we are off to Ketchikan-- Nathan for 4 months!]

Back to the Sierras, your Post here is timely mzim. In late June, 8 of us are slated to go from Maxon TH across first Post Corral Creek, and then toward what may be the difficult crossing of Fleming Creek on the way to Devil's Punchbowl. I would love to get some insight into that crossing of upper Fleming Creek, and to confirm my fears that a circular trip along the west side of LeConte Divide (Lucifer Saddles, to BC Basin), that would return via the trail along the North Fork Kings, might be impossible for some or all of us.

The trouble spots will be the 3 biggest creeks-- Fall Cr., Meadow Brook Cr., and the full Fleming Creek, which @Love the Sierra has already warned us about. Aura wrote that it is wonderfully beautiful by Fleming, but was impassable for them in June of 2017:

I was out near the King’s River in 2017, mid June, when Post Coral was half way up our thighs and Fleming, down by the King’s, was ROARING so hard in was completely impassable.

We will be heading out then, making long days, and it would be awful to get stuck. Plan B from an impassable creek there could only be to retrace our steps, right?
We can choose to come out either at Courtright or Wishon THs. I know how hard Woodchuck Creek can be to cross, and I wonder about avoiding the NF Kings by staying to the south of it, by crossing the creek that drains Maxon Creek and Maxon Lake, and then avoiding Woodchuck Cr. crossing by bushwhaking straight down to wishon Res. Has anyone done that bushwhack?

Any sage advice is welcome. Thanks to you Michael for the pertinent Post, Ian.


Hoping to get back up here! Red Mountain Basin from the foot of H.F.S.Pass.

Anyone have any guesses as to how getting to Upper Kern Basin will be this year? I've heard the Tyndall Creek crossing can be dangerous even in moderate snow years.

Wandering Daisy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 9:08 pm Has anyone heard or read what SEKI will do about permits if you cannot get to Cedar Grove?

WD, this was just posted on the PCT Reddit forum:

Just a heads up. I got a notification my camping reservation was being canceled and that it is very unlikely the road will be opened this year due to rain/snow damage to the road.

Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTr ... gs_canyon/

SEKI NP:

Harlen wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 10:24 am.
Back to the Sierras, your Post here is timely mzim. In late June, 8 of us are slated to go from Maxon TH across first Post Corral Creek, and then toward what may be the difficult crossing of Fleming Creek on the way to Devil's Punchbowl. I would love to get some insight into that crossing of upper Fleming Creek, and to confirm my fears that a circular trip along the west side of LeConte Divide (Lucifer Saddles, to BC Basin), that would return via the trail along the North Fork Kings, might be impossible for some or all of us.

The trouble spots will be the 3 biggest creeks-- Fall Cr., Meadow Brook Cr., and the full Fleming Creek, which @Love the Sierra has already warned us about. Aura wrote that it is wonderfully beautiful by Fleming, but was impassable for them in June of 2017:

I was out near the King’s River in 2017, mid June, when Post Coral was half way up our thighs and Fleming, down by the King’s, was ROARING so hard in was completely impassable.

We will be heading out then, making long days, and it would be awful to get stuck. Plan B from an impassable creek there could only be to retrace our steps, right? .

I have only hiked that route in August of a dry year. At the time, the Post-Coral creek crossing was trivial, and Fleming Creek didn't even register in my memory. I would presume that if you can get over Post-Coral then you can get over Fleming, but I haven't hiked it in wet conditions or early season as Aura has. A lot depends on which basin is melting at which time, but Post-Corral seems like the bigger drainage and the bigger stream bed.

You will have a ton of snow going up above Big Shot to Lucifer's. It was already a somewhat slick route in wet weather going over some sloped granite slopes. I haven't seen it or done it when snow covered, but I would guess it would be challenging. Ice axes might be a good safety device--again, I can't predict what conditions you will find.

Meadow Brook Creek has lots of slow, meandering loops through meadows going from Punchbowl Lake down to the North Fork. Reminiscent of the meadow crossing in Evolution Valley. It could be deep and marshy, but should not be swift in those areas.