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Sticky Re: Water Crossings in Y2023

 

I provided a detailed post to the JMT FB group that summarised all the info I had regarding alternates for the big creek crossings (basically the homework I did before my July 2017 hike, supplemented with my "on trail" experiences that year). I'll see if I can pull that info into a pdf that I can share with this group.

Andrew Skurka also published a detailed guide to difficult creek crossings, with a lot of useful info and links (which also covers a lot of the info in my summary):



Regards,
Lange


On Thursday, 16 March 2023 at 01:15:48 pm AEDT, Curt Kinchen <ptcurt@...> wrote:


I agree that this is something to pay attention to.? Safety aside, I started my trip in 2017,? August 12th and it wasn't nearly the snow year this is, but it still had a lot of snow and higher streams.? It wasn't anything too challenging, but it was enough to get your attention and I can tell you that people I met before I started that were fresh off the trail were a bit bedraggled.? It was tough for them.

Everyone should consider their own experience and skill level before jumping into any early to mid season departures.

All that said, it should be dang spectacular all season!

On Wed, Mar 15, 2023, 7:02 PM C Brown via <snookpig=[email protected]> wrote:
Pay attention everyone this is not a “average “ year.? Wanting to go.? Having the time off .? Can kill you.? Reality.? Sorry for being realistic?

On Mar 15, 2023, at 13:41, Adrian <adrianlee3@...> wrote:

?

There has been some group conversation about snow levels impacting the JMT this year, but I don't recall a lot of discussion about how water crossings will be affected.? I thought the following comments from a close friend of mine might be of interest.

From Russ Veenker, Ops Leader, Life Member, Mono County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, and 40+ year resident of June Lake.

?

"This winter has broken the record book—both in long term low temps (single digits every night; high in the upper teens daytime) AND in amounts of snow.? June Lake gets 5-7 feet in a normal winter.? That leaves a post storm settling of 3-4 feet November-April.? Currently [written February 28th, before the storms of the last two weeks hit] we have had a little over 16 feet here in town, settling down to 13 feet."

?

"And now the most important thing: ?YES…Sierra water crossings this summer!!? It gets real crazy in the back-country when we’ve had 200%+ winters.? Spring runoff will not subside until after July 4th.? A lot of the snow pack is not going to melt…and crossing inlet/outlets is EXTREMELY dangerous.? I’ve recovered a lot of dead bodies of mountaineers/backpackers who punched through the snow into the creeks/streams at flood stage—swept away downstream under ice…then drowned.? A couple of thoughts: ?Change dates…depart in mid-August if your schedule allows. ?? Outlets/inlets more defined by then.? Also, many folks get off-route/lost due to trails being covered by snow (particularly when crossing a high pass).? If you don’t have a GPS with recharge solar panel, you must have paper topo maps and compass (so you can plot/triangulate position), and know how to use them.? If we know where we are, we know the direction to head toward (applicable to both route finding and our spiritual lives!)."

There are several resources that you can get to brush up on your water crossing skills.? My "go to" has been the "NOLS WIlderness Guide."? I'm sure our group members can recommend others.
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