High Sierra Topix

I have a permit up Shepherd Pass 9/6 and am worried about water sources. Does anyone have current information?

I just hiked down Shepard Pass on Sunday (8/15) and plenty of water was flowing down Shepard Creek and Symmes Creek. Surprisingly high flows. Also, a smaller amount of water was flowing down the small creeks on the west side of the pass.

Thanks for the information. I also read your trip report. I agree that going UP Shepherd Pass is a pain; I have done it before. I may try to change my permit because going both up and down Shepherd Pass is not what I really want to do; just the only permit I could get earlier. I now see that "first come" permits are being released and there are other options. Nice to hear that you got above the smoke.

Yes the bottom line about Shepherd is that one has to carry a lot of water starting out because it a really long hike from leaving Symmes Creek to when the darned trail finally gets to Shepherd Creek near Anvil Camp. I could be wrong but I think that is the very longest hike before first water of any Sierran trail I'm aware of. 2nd place would be Sawmill Pass, but although the dry hike to reach first water at Sawmill Creek is a long one with lots of elevation gain, I think that is still shorter and less elevation gain then the reach on the Shepherd Pass trail from Symmes to Shepherd Creek. I guess that's one reason (along with that spirit-breaking elevation loss after the first big climb) why I think of the hike up that trail as the hardest of all of the E Sierra passes and I've avoided ascending it since 1978

There's a discussion with some references to places on topo maps here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sierrat ... 453424140/

I was concerned about water on the east side of Shepherd Pass, so I got in the habit of starting out from the bottom at 3 a.m. while it was cool. I was generally at the pass by 1-3 p.m.