Moderated Two warnings about any October hikes #Conditions #permits
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As an admin of this group, I think there are two warnings important to any of our members considering October hikes. While not many people hike in a "normal" October, it may be tempting to do so if you had August-September plans frustrated by the National Forest closures.
1) Any October hike of significant length is likely to involve some snowfall sufficient to obscure the trail, leading to navigation problems for those not accustomed to navigation problems. Occasionally it can be quite heavy and lead to wallowing in deep, soft snow, at least where it drifts at a location you have to hike over. Picture at link is from Oct 6, 2015 at Pinchot Pass. 2) October 1 is the start of the federal government's fiscal year. When there is gridlock about budget and debt limit issues, government shutdowns have been triggered by this date. Recent news suggests that this problem may arise this year on Oct 1 or shortly thereafter. Please do not respond with comments about politics. I will place this message thread on comment moderated status and political posts will not be approved by your admin team. John Ladd?? -- John Curran Ladd 1616 Castro Street San Francisco, CA? 94114-3707 415-648-9279 |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýGreat observation John. I have had several October hikes come
with rain and one with 8" of snow as well - I was north of Highway
80 on the PCT. I bailed then since it was the beginnings of a
storm that I just did not want to be in. I am out hiking for enjoyment and that night I was contemplating
pushing the hike for the remaining 2 two days or call it so I
would not be in a miserable situation. We all need to think about
ourselves and resources that may be employed helping one out of a
situation that could have been avoided from the beginning. As being involved with canine SAR for two decades, I have searched in miserable weather as well knowing that I was in a position to get out safely. Be safe all. Two Dogs On 9/21/2021 09:04, John Ladd wrote:
As an admin of this group, I think there are two warnings important to any of our members considering October hikes. While not many people hike in a "normal" October, it may be tempting to do so if you had August-September plans frustrated by the National Forest closures. |
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While I have not hiked in October, I have hiked in early season conditions. In 2015, we had a very low snow year leaving little snowpack by mid May and a clear path for northbound PCTers. But a few late season storms left unconsolidated snow making travel difficult and similar to what I¡¯d expect the first snows of the fall would be like. The new snow made my Whitney summit attempt difficult and had to abort it. And I judged Forester Pass too dangerous to cross and bailed out over what turned out to be a hazardous descent over Shepherd Pass. I took a week off before resuming my hike. I definitely agree that great caution should be used hiking at times of the year when new snow could obscure the trail. I was not prepared for the conditions, as would be the case for most summer season hikers with lightweight gear.?
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Thanks to Kim Fishburn and Tom Clark, I found these pictures from an early October snowfall in 2011. So we had snow accumulation in early October in 2015 and 2011. May happen again this weekend judging from recent weather warnings.
This is October 5, 2011 Tuolumne Meadows from the YNP page on Facebook. The accompanying text read "Our Tuolumne Meadows wilderness rangers are still up in Tuolumne Meadows and are reporting about 12 to 18 inches of snow. (Yes, this picture is from today!)?The Tioga and Glacier Point Roads remain *temporarily* closed; we're not sure how long it will take to reopen them." To see directly on FB see? -- John Curran Ladd 1616 Castro Street San Francisco, CA? 94114-3707 415-648-9279 |
John Ladd
Derek Koonce
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