I’m holding a Rae Lakes loop permit for August 5th and just received this email, and also had my August 4th lodging reservation at Cedar Grove cancelled. Looks like Roads End may not be a viable bail out point for the JMT this year.?
The Winter of 2022-2023 produced an enormous amount of rain and snow in the Central Sierra. The storms caused significant damage to many roads both inside and outside the parks. There are numerous sections of Highway 180 between Grant Grove and Cedar Grove, and?on Mineral?King Road between Three Rivers and Mineral King that need to be rebuilt. In these areas significant portions of the pavement, supporting base and substrate have been washed away. This damage leaves the remaining roadway, often less than a lane wide, unstable and with no foundation to build?off of. Road repairs have begun but in many areas the roads will not be repaired or passable until much later this year. ??
If you have?Wilderness?Permit reservations?for?a Cedar Grove trailhead?after?August 1,?2023?or?for?a Mineral King trailhead?after?June 15, 2023, there is a strong possibility that they will be cancelled.?
As road work progresses on Highway?180?and Mineral?King Road?we will evaluate the?status. If?the repairs are not progressing as expected and the roads remain impassable, we will be forced to cancel further reservations. We will update road repair status as follows:?
????????????? Cedar Grove?trailheads?update?July?1, 2023?
????????????? Mineral King?trailheads?update?June 1, 2023?
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Wilderness Office Staff
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
debrabrownbear