Kern headwater basins
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 10:22 am
Looks like I'm going up and over Shepherd Pass for ten days on Friday July 29 and then come back out Sunday August 7.
Have been looking at this trip for several years and have extensively planned with my itinerary of camp spots and photography ramblings with hour to hour detail. But did not want to bother making the strenuous effort given the drought the last 4. Before then the notion of carrying my 4x5 gear over the pass had my mind me bailing each time for easier prey. So now this senior citizen seems to be signed up to go.
Checked the end of March CDEC snow data that shows the Upper Tyndall Creek remote weather site with 15 inches of water content in the snow on the ground today April 18. On March 25 nearby site show 15.0 inches of water with a depth of 43.5 inches and the nearby Bighorn Plateau was similar. In other words the depth is slowly dropping but not the water content because it is just absorbed. Thus will guess the snow on sunny exposures will last as per normal winters into mid to late June and then will take a month for green things to make an appearance. Snow pack is in any case just 80% of normal though much better than previous 4 years.
On Recreation.gov was surprised to see the July 28 and 29 dates with just 1 permit available and July 30 filled so decided to commit before that disappeared. So yeah the reservations continue to creep back earlier and earlier each spring. I have another 9 day trip planned for July 16>24 in the silver Divide but that is handled via direct mail to one of the Sierra NF offices and will do that in a couple weeks as a quota issue is unlikely.
Have been looking at this trip for several years and have extensively planned with my itinerary of camp spots and photography ramblings with hour to hour detail. But did not want to bother making the strenuous effort given the drought the last 4. Before then the notion of carrying my 4x5 gear over the pass had my mind me bailing each time for easier prey. So now this senior citizen seems to be signed up to go.
Checked the end of March CDEC snow data that shows the Upper Tyndall Creek remote weather site with 15 inches of water content in the snow on the ground today April 18. On March 25 nearby site show 15.0 inches of water with a depth of 43.5 inches and the nearby Bighorn Plateau was similar. In other words the depth is slowly dropping but not the water content because it is just absorbed. Thus will guess the snow on sunny exposures will last as per normal winters into mid to late June and then will take a month for green things to make an appearance. Snow pack is in any case just 80% of normal though much better than previous 4 years.
On Recreation.gov was surprised to see the July 28 and 29 dates with just 1 permit available and July 30 filled so decided to commit before that disappeared. So yeah the reservations continue to creep back earlier and earlier each spring. I have another 9 day trip planned for July 16>24 in the silver Divide but that is handled via direct mail to one of the Sierra NF offices and will do that in a couple weeks as a quota issue is unlikely.