Starting. Long way to go.

John Ladd

JohnLadd@...

415-648-9279 (landline)

May I share this in my next backpacking/hiking newsletter? You probably have covered all the bases, but who knows...

Cheers,

Susan Alcorn

Author:
Healing Miles: Gifts from the Camino Norte and Primitivo?

Patagonia Chronicle: On Foot in Torres del Paine
Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago
We're in the Mountains Not Over the Hill: Tales and Tips from Seasoned Women Backpackers.

Member: Left Coast Writers, Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW), IBPA, American?Pilgrims on the Camino (APOC),? Pacific Crest Trail Assoc.?

Owner: Shepherd Canyon?Books, Oakland, CA

On Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 09:55:17 AM PDT, John Ladd <johnladd@...> wrote:

From Elizabeth Wenk, JMT guidebook author extraordinaire - see?

Her basic recommendation -- that most JMT hikers should avoid the damaged South Fork San Joaquin bridge via Piute and Bishop Passes -- are in agreement with the most experienced nd well-informed hikers I know: Ned Tibbits, Inga Aksamit, Andrew Skurka

I will pin this post and the discussion at the top of our home page (/g/JMT/topics)

For our prior discussion of this topic, see message thread:?/g/JMT/topic/major_bridge_outage_reported/98359250

For the discussion on Facebook, see?

As everyone knows, the middle bridge along Goddard Canyon was damaged this past winter, likely due to heavy, lopsided snow on the bridge. (37.20319?N, 118.8009?W; mile 114.8 SOBO; 107.4 NOBO)

The trees to either side of the bridge are identical to those in photos I took in 2021, so it is unlikely to have been an avalanche that caused the damage.

The bridge is still well above the water and it is too early to know exactly what it will look like, but one handrail is clearly badly damaged. Until in-person assessments are made, we have to assume bypasses will be required and lots of suggestions are swirling around the internet – including several I’ve made. I’ve pulled together and edited all the bits and pieces I’ve posted across multiple sites.

Remember as well, that you can use your permit to simply do an out-and-back trip along a piece of the JMT, avoiding the bridge altogether.

And thank you to?,?, and the John Muir Trail Wilderness Conservancy for encouraging me to post this.

A. RECOMMENDED ROUTE

Bishop Pass /Piute Pass (JMT in LeConte Canyon to JMT at Piute Bridge/Piute Pass junction)

This is the recommended route for most JMT hikers. The only option to remain entirely on a well-maintained trail is to use Bishop Pass to South Lake and North Lake to Piute Pass to bypass the JMT from LeConte Canyon to the Piute Pass junction.

As of this writing (late April 2023), your Wilderness Permit is invalidated if you leave at one trailhead and re-enter at a different trailhead. Hopefully an exemption will be made for this regulation this year, explicitly for this detour.

This detour is described (with annotated elevation profiles) on 266-269 of the??(Wilderness Press; 6th edition); there are elevation profiles on page 96-97 of the accompanying JMT Data Book (2nd edition)

Distance/elevation bypassed along JMT for this section:?26.7 trail miles and +3,000/-4,000 feet.

Distance/elevation of route: 29.2 trail miles + 12.0 road miles (easy to hitch); trail section is +6,190/-6,390 feet; road section is -1,900/+1,300 feet.

Creek crossings:

On the Bishop Pass Trail: the one water crossing of the Dusy Branch can be deep and intimidating; the higher crossing is on a bridge; on the northeast side of the pass, many small creeks need to be waded, but none should be dangerous.

On the Piute Pass Trail: those on the east side have logs/bridges;on the west side, French Canyon creek is broad with multiple channels. It will be a wade, but I don’t think ever impassable; the two Pinnacles Creeks might be tricky and should be crossed early in the day.

?

B. NON-ADVISED ROUTES THAT ARE PLAUSIBLE FOR EXPERIENCED OFF-TRAIL HIKERS

1. Lamarck Col/Piute Pass (JMT at the north end of Evolution Basin to JMT at Piute Bridge/Piute Pass jct)

For experienced cross-country hikers, this is the easiest of the off-trail routes, with a use trail along much of the distance, but this summer there will be snow cover through July – or beyond. It has the attraction that you miss much less of the JMT, but it takes you over a high pass. It has the advantage that you never leave Wilderness, if that is necessitated.

There are only two “sketchy” sections. The first is a stretch along the second highest Darwin Canyon Lake where you cross mid-large boulders right at the water’s edge; these require some delicate steps and could be scary in soft snow. The second is the first 100 feet down the east side of the pass, which is perpetually snow-covered. It is reasonably steep, but with a safe run-out.

This route is?not recommended, especially not snow-covered, if you have never hiked off-trail before.

This detour is described (with annotated elevation profiles) on 266-269 of the??(Wilderness Press; 6th edition); there are elevation profiles on page 96-97 of the accompanying JMT Data Book (2nd edition)

Distance/elevation bypassed on JMT:?11. 1 trail miles, -2,560 feet

Distance/elevation for route: 26.1 miles (6.5 off-trail; 19.6 on trail), + 5,300/-7,840 feet

Creek crossings:

On Lamarck Col route: no big crossings

On the Piute Pass Trail: those on the east side have logs/bridges; on the west side, French Canyon creek is broad with multiple channels. It will be a wade, but I don’t think ever impassable; the two Pinnacles Creeks might be tricky and should be crossed early in the day

2. Goddard Canyon junction to northern MTR cut-off junction

This option remains entirely on “trails” and allows you to see all of Evolution Basin and Evolution Valley. It is one of the longest, but least technical detours. The trails are not well defined in some places, and it will be impacted by the snowpack. One important consideration is how to manage resupply and/or pack weight with the additional mileage. There are some moderately large creeks (Boulder Creek, Post Corral Creek), but none has a large enough catchment they should be impassable (or as difficult as the difficult wades on the JMT).

Distance/elevation bypassed onJMT: 7.1 miles; +520/ -600 feet

Distance/elevation for route: 37.8 miles; approximately: +7,830/ -7,910 feet (about 1.7 miles shorter with cut-off trail from Boulder Creek to Florence Lake)

Creek crossings:?Post Corral Creek & Boulder Creek can have significant flow, but shouldn’t be impassable

I hiked this in early July 2018, as a loop out of Florence Lake. The trail up Goddard Canyon beyond the JMT was worked on in 2017/2018 and was in excellent condition up to the Hell for Sure Pass junction. It is a beautiful, showy walk! Hell for Sure Pass was in OK condition - there were a few places willows and young lodgepoles were growing on the trail tread, but I believe this has also been worked on in the past 5 years. West side of Hell for Sure Pass is steepish, sandy, but short. I then dropped down to Fleming Creek, then Post Corral Creek. The trail is built to a good standard once at Hell for Sure Lake and it is beautiful walking. Good camping at all the lakes and some spectacular junipers lower down. From Post Corral Creek I headed to Long Meadow, then up Burnt Corral Creek. The junction is indistinct, but the first mile of trail (to the northern Hobler Lake Junction) was good; thereafter the trail became less used and I'd lose it from time to time, especially between 9,400-9,600 feet, below Burnt Corral Meadow. Thompson Pass is easy, low angle on both sides with some nice views from the ridge just north of the pass. Thompson Lake has camping. The trail was decent up to Boulder Creek, but thereafter was again faint from dis-use. Someone had put pink flagging tape on branches which helped a little, but there were sections where I struggled to find a trail. I followed the northwestern fork toward Florence's outlet, while the cut-off trail parallel to Boulder Creek that leads to Florence's inlet looked even less used, but the terrain should have made for easy walking. The cut-off route was one of the historic trails through the area, so it must have been well built at some point.

Reddy's Hole option:?I've seen that route marked on some maps, but it doesn’t appear on any historic maps. I’ve looked back over old USGS maps to the 1912 Goddard map (). The line as drawn doesn’t make sense as an exact route, so I don’t know where it came from. I haven't explored that area, but there are no junctions at either end that indicate the start/end of the trail, so I'm guessing it is in even worse condition than the "low route" I took. In 2018 I climbed up Fleming Mountain, visited Rae Lake, and walked up to Mosquito Pass and searched for, but didn’t find, any obvious spurs. But I did camp in Long Meadow with a hiker who has explored this area for decades and he talked about how wonderful the area around Reddy's Hole and Red Rock Basin is - and indicated that "old" trails went through the area. If the terrain is snow covered, I'd stay high, because it is shorter and nicer snow-walking out of trees, but if dropping down got me to dry trail, I'd probably take that this year.

3.?McClure Meadow to damaged bridge, via south side Glacier Divide

This would bypass just 5 miles of the JMT, from McClure Meadow to the damaged bridge along the South Fork San Joaquin and should be a reasonable route for?EXPERIENCED CROSS-COUNTRY HIKERS ONLY.?That said, I’ve never followed part of it, so I’m basing this on staring at maps and Google Earth. Doing this also bypasses the Evolution Creek wade.

You’d climb from McClure Meadow to the 10,800-contour line below Lake 11092 (through forest, easy, but steep cross-country; I’ve done this part); then traverse at about this contour past Knob 10,809 feet, slowly climbing through forest to Knob 11,084 feet. Continue due west, continuing to the first creek gully, intersecting it at 10,200 or continue to the second creek gully. I have followed the second mapped creek up/down from Aspen Meadow and there were a few stretches of slabs, but nothing steep or sketchy – although they will be harder when snow-covered. I can’t be sure if the more southern creek can be followed down – there is one steep section between 9,000 and 9,200 feet.

Since this route is entirely south-facing or west-facing it will be slushy snow, but melt earlier in the season than other options.

C. ROUTES THAT ARE NOT ADVISABLE

1. Tyee Lakes

As a partial alternative to the South Lake to North Lake Road, you can cut over the Tyee Lakes and Table Mountain from the South Lake Road to Lake Sabrina. You still exit Wilderness, so this doesn’t solve the Wilderness Permit problem and adds +1,600 elevation gain. The distance is 7.7 trail miles (some relatively rough and steep) + 4.8 road miles, so it is a somewhat longer route. I wouldn’t suggest this – not only is it longer and harder than following the road, but it would mean entering and leaving Wilderness twice, so it wouldn’t be viewed favorably by Inyo NF rangers.

2. Crossing the Glacier Divide: the Keyhole, Alpine Col, & Snow Tongue Pass

These are all mountaineering passes for experienced back-country hikers and I don’t recommend any of them to people who don’t have significant off-trail experience on talus and snow with a full pack. For all of them it is most efficient to depart from the JMT at the Lamarck Pass junction – and regain the JMT at the Piute Pass junction.

The Keyhole is likely to be snow-filled this year. There are steep gullies on both the east and west sides that might be icy. If the snow melts, there is a third class section on the west side of the keyhole – it isn’t awful, but many people won’t like the climb and narrow ledge traverse. The lakes on the west side are quite easy walking, while the Lost Lakes on the east side can be tedious – maybe less so in the snow.

Alpine Col is relatively easy on its south side – a sandy (or snowy) slope without any cliff bands. On the north side there are some truly gigantic talus blocks. It is far more pleasant in the snow than without it – I did not enjoy clambering over many car to RV-sized boulders with a full pack. Skiing it was wonderful. If the snow is very soft, I’d worry about dropping into air pockets between boulders.

Snow Tongue Pass is easy on its south side. On the north side there is a steep section of either snow (this year) or loose rock (last year). Alpine Col is considerably less steep, but Snow Tongue doesn’t have any giant talus blocks.

3. Wanda Lake to Davis Lakes and Goddard Canyon

I don’t see the attraction in this as a bypass route – it doesn’t bypass the damaged bridge. It is a somewhat shorter route to reach the Hell for Sure Trail junction, but certainly harder than staying on the JMT to Goddard Canyon. But mainly, you’ll likely have to detour most of the way south to Martha Lake to ford the South Fork San Joaquin. In June 2000, a moderate snow year, I came down the North Fork Goddard Canyon and walked upstream for several miles before I was willing to ford the river. In July 2018 there was a log to cross on, but that may well have vanished this year.

4. Follow east side of South Fork San Joaquin once at the base of Evolution Valley / in Goddard Canyon.

I do not recommend this option until well into August this year, because it requires wading Evolution Creek just where it flows into the South Fork San Joaquin. I've looked at lots of photos in GoogleEarth and except for very late season, there is "white water" along the entire length, including in low snow years. There are crossings I balk at that are not turbulent enough to be "white" and I know this will have a lot of water. (I do think that the east side traverse from the damaged bridge to Evolution Creek will go. It is talus with aspens and manzanita, so it will be slow, but I've looked at it before and thought it looked "OK". )

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

All reactions:

109Dan DeCubellis, Tatch Muramatsu?and?107 others

?

14 comments

?

Like

?

?

?

Comment

?

?

Send

?

14 comments

?

Top comments

?

?

?

?

?

?

Write a comment…

• ?
• ?
• ?
• ?
• ?

?

?

?

?

?

?