Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Yup.? Great "before" photos, Henning!
Got it. This is the second bridge.??37.20302° N, 118.80094° W
Nope.? Use the interactive map link in the PCTA announcement.
Good God, this looks like the Northernmost bridge (where Piyute trail joins).
[Edited Message Follows]
For those who haven't seen it yet:
--
anand
--
anand
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Got it. This is the second bridge.??37.20302° N, 118.80094° W
Nope.? Use the interactive map link in the PCTA announcement.
Good God, this looks like the Northernmost bridge (where Piyute trail joins).
[Edited Message Follows]
For those who haven't seen it yet:
--
anand
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
IIRC, when you cross the steel bridge, you enter Kings Canyon NP.
On Wed, 19 Apr 2023 at 10:31, Henning Rech < whrech@...> wrote:
1. This is the southern wooden bridge over South Fork San Joaquin before Evolution Creek joins:
?
2. And this is the northern, much more massive steel bridge after the two creeks have joined:
?
(1st link corrected)
?
?
Gesendet:?Mittwoch, 19. April 2023 um 19:25 Uhr
Von:?"Henning Rech" < whrech@...>
An:? [email protected]
Betreff:?Re: [JMT-groups.io] Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
1. This is the southern wooden bridge over Sououth Fork San Joaquin before Evolution Creek joins:
?
2. And this is the northern, much more massive steel bridge after the two creeks have joined:
?
(photos from Aug 2019)
?
?
?
Henning
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
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Gesendet:?Donnerstag, 20. April 2023 um 19:03 Uhr
Von:?"Peter Klein" <pklein95014@...>
An:[email protected]
Betreff:?Re: [JMT-groups.io] Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
Nope.? Use the interactive map link in the PCTA announcement.
?
Good God, this looks like the Northernmost bridge (where Piyute trail joins).
?
[Edited Message Follows]
For those who haven't seen it yet:
?
?
?
?
--
anand
?
?
--
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Nope.? Use the interactive map link in the PCTA announcement.
Good God, this looks like the Northernmost bridge (where Piyute trail joins).
[Edited Message Follows]
For those who haven't seen it yet:
--
anand
|
|
|
Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
For those who haven't seen it yet:
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Lyn, that is my route too! I hope we will see more info soon. But I pulled two other plans today just in case I will have to avoid it- truly bummer for our itinerary. Bishop pass is totally booked and I was not really looking forward to a start there neither the exit.? Karina Bezkrovnaia
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On Apr 19, 2023, at 19:20, Lyn via groups.io <jmisslyn@...> wrote:
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Thanks all for the beta. I have a permit for Piute pass and exit out Kersarge, but pretty sure i'm gonna pass on this one. We'll see what shakes out.?
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 02:29:46 PM PDT, Lange Jorstad via groups.io <langejorstad@...> wrote:
Hi Lyn, my photo isn’t the Piute Creek bridge, it’s the next one south. There is then one more (wooden) crossing back to the east bank for the climb up into Evolution Valley. I’m assuming, based on the descriptions provided, that it is one of those two bridges being discussed. But… would be nice to see photos or have a report from an official agency to corroborate this. On 20 Apr 2023, at 2:14 am, Lyn via groups.io <jmisslyn@...> wrote:
?
Is this the bridge right by the piute pass connecting trail to the JMT ??
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 05:59:55 AM PDT, Lange Jorstad via groups.io <langejorstad@...> wrote:
You would hope so, but I recall that bridge that washed out in 2017 (Middle Fork Kings? Bubbs Creek?) took quite a long time to replace. Here's the bridge in question, on July 15, 2017 - check out the river flow!! I would not attempt to cross that under any circumstances without a bridge. <DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
<DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Thanks all for the beta. I have a permit for Piute pass and exit out Kersarge, but pretty sure i'm gonna pass on this one. We'll see what shakes out.?
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 02:29:46 PM PDT, Lange Jorstad via groups.io <langejorstad@...> wrote:
Hi Lyn, my photo isn’t the Piute Creek bridge, it’s the next one south. There is then one more (wooden) crossing back to the east bank for the climb up into Evolution Valley. I’m assuming, based on the descriptions provided, that it is one of those two bridges being discussed. But… would be nice to see photos or have a report from an official agency to corroborate this.
On 20 Apr 2023, at 2:14 am, Lyn via groups.io <jmisslyn@...> wrote:
?
Is this the bridge right by the piute pass connecting trail to the JMT ??
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 05:59:55 AM PDT, Lange Jorstad via groups.io <langejorstad@...> wrote:
You would hope so, but I recall that bridge that washed out in 2017 (Middle Fork Kings? Bubbs Creek?) took quite a long time to replace. Here's the bridge in question, on July 15, 2017 - check out the river flow!! I would not attempt to cross that under any circumstances without a bridge. <DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
<DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Hi Lyn, my photo isn’t the Piute Creek bridge, it’s the next one south. There is then one more (wooden) crossing back to the east bank for the climb up into Evolution Valley. I’m assuming, based on the descriptions provided, that it is one of those two bridges being discussed. But… would be nice to see photos or have a report from an official agency to corroborate this.
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On 20 Apr 2023, at 2:14 am, Lyn via groups.io <jmisslyn@...> wrote:
?
Is this the bridge right by the piute pass connecting trail to the JMT ??
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 05:59:55 AM PDT, Lange Jorstad via groups.io <langejorstad@...> wrote:
You would hope so, but I recall that bridge that washed out in 2017 (Middle Fork Kings? Bubbs Creek?) took quite a long time to replace. Here's the bridge in question, on July 15, 2017 - check out the river flow!! I would not attempt to cross that under any circumstances without a bridge. <DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
<DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
The best FB comment was from Ned Tibbits yesterday afternoon:
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?
What is of interest to me is that there has been someone in there already this season to have discovered this washout!
The Goddard canyon/ SFSJ river bridge, right before the ascent into Evolution Valley (if going SoBo), sits at 8400 feet in elevation in the heart of the Sierra heaviest hit by all the snowstorms of this "huge" winter and that elevation has not started melting out, yet.
Tahoe at 6200 feet in elevation still has walls of snow everywhere and it is still in a freeze-thaw pattern (meaning the Thaw has not truly started at that elevation, yet), but it's about to.
Mammoth at almost 8,000 feet in elevation still has an even taller wall of snow all about town and every night is still dipping below freezing (meaning the Thaw is not in full force, there).
So, what is melting out is all the snow at elevations below 6,000 feet in the southern Sierra.
All the surrounding acreage above the bridge, all along the SFSJ river, and all the way for miles up to Goddard Peak (13,400 feet) is buried under tens of feet of snowpack and not melting, yet.
The daily temperature swings in the area of the bridge at 8400 feet run between the 20s and the 40s, which is normal for the Secret Season before the Thaw begins.
The water flows in all the creeks feeding the river upstream are barely moving and hold, maybe, inches of water depth.
If this bridge is truly "out," it wasn't because of a flood of water coming down-canyon; that hasn't happened, yet. Now, a snow avalanche could have come down from Mt Henry to the west and taken it out, but I doubt it.
Nothing is moving up there at that altitude, yet. The snow is consolidating normally, due to the regular freeze-thaw cycles at this time of year. Avalanches are infrequent, if at all. Snow bridges are solid and lakes are still completely frozen over.
So, I have to question the report.
- how did someone get in there already this season? snowmobile? Fly?
- is Kaiser Pass even open?
- was this report from snow surveyors in the area (if they go into this area at all)?
How do we know this is valid intel?
[Just for reference, I used to be a Backcountry Wilderness Ranger based out of the High Sierra Ranger Station between Edison and Florence Reservoirs and serving regular tours into the Piute drainage. I have a "clue" about the area, but "boots on the ground" trumps my "clue!"]
But I fear that the report is correct despite the valid questions that Ned raised here -- John Curran LaddSan Francisco, CA?415-648-9279
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
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Just one clarification, Anand. The bridge up Piute Creek exits the JMT a few feet from the north?end of the bridge over Piute Creek.?  Charlie ? I think this is the bridge under question.
Hi Lyn
Based on what John said (exiting to Piyute pass and North lake) - it is not that bridge. The exit to North lake is _after_ that bridge you are talking about (south bound).? As you hike towards Evolution meadow from this bridge, there is another bridge you need to cross just before you enter Evolution meadows (and cross Evolution creek).? I think it is that bridge.
Is this the bridge right by the piute pass connecting trail to the JMT ??
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 05:59:55 AM PDT, Lange Jorstad via <langejorstad= [email protected]> wrote:
You would hope so, but I recall that bridge that washed out in 2017 (Middle Fork Kings? Bubbs Creek?) took quite a long time to replace. Here's the bridge in question, on July 15, 2017 - check out the river flow!! I would not attempt to cross that under any circumstances without a bridge. <DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
--
anand
-- anand
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Just one clarification, Anand. The bridge up Piute Creek exits the JMT a few feet from the north?end of the bridge over Piute Creek.?  Charlie
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On Apr 19, 2023, at 1:06 PM, Anand Kumar Sankaran <anand.sankaran@...> wrote:
? I think this is the bridge under question.
Hi Lyn
Based on what John said (exiting to Piyute pass and North lake) - it is not that bridge. The exit to North lake is _after_ that bridge you are talking about (south bound).? As you hike towards Evolution meadow from this bridge, there is another bridge you need to cross just before you enter Evolution meadows (and cross Evolution creek).? I think it is that bridge.
Is this the bridge right by the piute pass connecting trail to the JMT ??
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 05:59:55 AM PDT, Lange Jorstad via <langejorstad= [email protected]> wrote:
You would hope so, but I recall that bridge that washed out in 2017 (Middle Fork Kings? Bubbs Creek?) took quite a long time to replace. Here's the bridge in question, on July 15, 2017 - check out the river flow!! I would not attempt to cross that under any circumstances without a bridge. <DSC00782 _2019_05_23 05_07_51 UTC_.JPG>
--
anand
-- anand
|
Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
1. This is the southern wooden bridge over South Fork San Joaquin before Evolution Creek joins:
?
2. And this is the northern, much more massive steel bridge after the two creeks have joined:
?
(1st link corrected)
?
?
Gesendet:?Mittwoch, 19. April 2023 um 19:25 Uhr
Von:?"Henning Rech" <whrech@...>
An:[email protected]
Betreff:?Re: [JMT-groups.io] Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
1. This is the southern wooden bridge over Sououth Fork San Joaquin before Evolution Creek joins:
?
2. And this is the northern, much more massive steel bridge after the two creeks have joined:
?
(photos from Aug 2019)
?
?
?
Henning
--
|
Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
1. This is the southern wooden bridge over Sououth Fork San Joaquin before Evolution Creek joins:
http://jmt2019.de/?p=862
?
2. And this is the northern, much more massive steel bridge after the two creeks have joined:
http://jmt2019.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/XT203894.jpg
?
(photos from Aug 2019)
?
?
?
Henning
?
?
?
Gesendet:?Mittwoch, 19. April 2023 um 15:06 Uhr
Von:?"Andrew Paisley" <andrew.paisley866@...>
An:[email protected]
Betreff:?Re: [JMT-groups.io] Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
?
On Tue, Apr 18, 2023 at 10:44 PM John Ladd < johnladd@...> wrote:
Facebook has what sounds like a reliable report?that the bridge crossing of the South Fork San Joaquin -- the one that spans the Fork where it carries the combined melt from Evolution Basin and Goddard Canyon -- is out according to a USFS helicopter survey.?
?
I am trying to confirm that with the USFS.
?
That is a huge watershed and it is hard to picture crossing that waterflow in a year like this.
?
John Ladd
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?
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
I think this is the bridge under question.
Hi Lyn
Based on what John said (exiting to Piyute pass and North lake) - it is not that bridge. The exit to North lake is _after_ that bridge you are talking about (south bound).? As you hike towards Evolution meadow from this bridge, there is another bridge you need to cross just before you enter Evolution meadows (and cross Evolution creek).? I think it is that bridge.
Is this the bridge right by the piute pass connecting trail to the JMT ??
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 05:59:55 AM PDT, Lange Jorstad via <langejorstad= [email protected]> wrote:
You would hope so, but I recall that bridge that washed out in 2017 (Middle Fork Kings? Bubbs Creek?) took quite a long time to replace. Here's the bridge in question, on July 15, 2017 - check out the river flow!! I would not attempt to cross that under any circumstances without a bridge. 
--
anand
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
Hi Lyn
Based on what John said (exiting to Piyute pass and North lake) - it is not that bridge. The exit to North lake is _after_ that bridge you are talking about (south bound).? As you hike towards Evolution meadow from this bridge, there is another bridge you need to cross just before you enter Evolution meadows (and cross Evolution creek).? I think it is that bridge.
Is this the bridge right by the piute pass connecting trail to the JMT ??
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 05:59:55 AM PDT, Lange Jorstad via <langejorstad= [email protected]> wrote:
You would hope so, but I recall that bridge that washed out in 2017 (Middle Fork Kings? Bubbs Creek?) took quite a long time to replace. Here's the bridge in question, on July 15, 2017 - check out the river flow!! I would not attempt to cross that under any circumstances without a bridge. 
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
The USGS seems to think Evolution Creek+ SFSJR widens out at the base of the cascades. Maybe John will volunteer to set up a ferry there. The price to cross would be to fill out a survey.
Carl Joplin
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
The PCTA will likely have a detailed report with alternatives in the coming days. ?This problem will likely create a major obstacle for early season thru hikers
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On Apr 19, 2023, at 9:25 AM, Karina Bezkrovnaia via groups.io <kbezkrovnaia@...> wrote:
? John, as of course for some of us is exactly what we wouldn’t like to do - I enter Pine creek and the plan is exit Kearsarge.? I was planning to spend some time in French cyn and resupply at MTR to continue. That stretch of S Joaquin south of MTR is one of my fav along with Goddard canyon cascades. And returning back over Piute defies the purpose of my entry trailhead :( I didn’t want to go over Bishop pass again at all and miss Evolution basin and Muir pass! Just wrote to MTR. They said they have some pics, but need to verify first. Fingers crossed ?? Karina Bezkrovnaia On Apr 19, 2023, at 08:40, John Ladd <johnladd@...> wrote:
?Reflecting further than my last post,?I recall some campsites on the east side of the usual Goddard Junction bridge and maybe Evolution flows more slowly, and less deep there to the north of those campsites.
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
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Re: Major bridge outage reported on Facebook
#Conditions
John, as of course for some of us is exactly what we wouldn’t like to do - I enter Pine creek and the plan is exit Kearsarge.? I was planning to spend some time in French cyn and resupply at MTR to continue. That stretch of S Joaquin south of MTR is one of my fav along with Goddard canyon cascades. And returning back over Piute defies the purpose of my entry trailhead :( I didn’t want to go over Bishop pass again at all and miss Evolution basin and Muir pass! Just wrote to MTR. They said they have some pics, but need to verify first.
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Show quoted text
On Apr 19, 2023, at 08:40, John Ladd <johnladd@...> wrote:
?Reflecting further than my last post,?I recall some campsites on the east side of the usual Goddard Junction bridge and maybe Evolution flows more slowly, and less deep there to the north of those campsites.
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
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Henning Rech
Karina Bezkrovnaia
Lange Jorstad
John Ladd
