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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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Pay attention everyone this is not a “average “ year. ?Wanting to go. ?Having the time off . ?Can kill you. ?Reality. ?Sorry for being realistic?
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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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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!
Pay attention everyone this is not a “average “ year.? Wanting to go.? Having the time off .? Can kill you.? Reality.? Sorry for being realistic? ? 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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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):
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!
Pay attention everyone this is not a “average “ year.? Wanting to go.? Having the time off .? Can kill you.? Reality.? Sorry for being realistic? ? 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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Hi Lange
That would be great.? Thanks for the link to Andrew Skurka's post.
On Wed, 15 Mar 2023 at 23:37, Lange Jorstad via <langejorstad= [email protected]> wrote: 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):
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! Pay attention everyone this is not a “average “ year.? Wanting to go.? Having the time off .? Can kill you.? Reality.? Sorry for being realistic? ? 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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Just hope the bridges are still there once the snow melts. The first time I was on the JMT in Kings Canyon we went downstream along the Middle Fork of the Kings River. The bridge had just been replaced about a year earlier leaving the PCT, and it washed out again a few years later. Once we started down the Middle Fork the trail disappeared into the river not far downstream. Climbed up higher and found where they were constructing a new trail. I think they gave up on the bridge in Simpson Meadow which had a small fire that year.?
Kim
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I too hiked for 7 weeks 2017.Start date July 20th. Water was the biggest problem. Feet wet everyday and every crossing knee deep or more. ( I am 5'4"). Had two dry days in August and a heat wave came and the water rose more than when we started. Be safe. Be prepared to backtrack, go upstream, wait for other people. Hike shorterdays. The snow is exhausting and makes it take longer. You do not want to slip. Consider boots with nonslip tred. Personally I like dry years much more when I can just Saunter along.?
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On Mar 16, 2023, at 8:36 AM, Anand Kumar Sankaran <anand.sankaran@...> wrote:
? Hi Lange
That would be great.? Thanks for the link to Andrew Skurka's post. On Wed, 15 Mar 2023 at 23:37, Lange Jorstad via <langejorstad= [email protected]> wrote: 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):
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! Pay attention everyone this is not a “average “ year.? Wanting to go.? Having the time off .? Can kill you.? Reality.? Sorry for being realistic? ? 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.
-- anand
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"...the water rose? more than when we started."?
The "SCS" that I think most of us follow in the back country:? Sleep low (warmer), Cross early (avoid high water), Summit early (avoid thunderstorms).
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Lange,
That would be sincerely appreciated if you could post the pdf.?
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On Mar 15, 2023, at 11:37 PM, Lange Jorstad via groups.io <langejorstad@...> wrote:
? 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):
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! Pay attention everyone this is not a “average “ year.? Wanting to go.? Having the time off .? Can kill you.? Reality.? Sorry for being realistic? ? 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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Bearing in mind that sleeping low in a valley is actually colder due to temperature inversion as the dense colder air sinks and settles there…
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On 17 Mar 2023, at 4:24 am, Adrian <adrianlee3@...> wrote:
?"...the water rose? more than when we started."?
The "SCS" that I think most of us follow in the back country:? Sleep low (warmer), Cross early (avoid high water), Summit early (avoid thunderstorms).
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Adrian, Sleeping low can translate into muddy wet buggy options early in the season and in high snow year. Crossing early can be challenging when it comes to high snow as well, because there are far more crossings on your way than you can tackle early. Just not enough hours in the day and when moving slower. Karina Bezkrovnaia
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On Mar 17, 2023, at 04:15, Lange Jorstad via groups.io <langejorstad@...> wrote:
? Bearing in mind that sleeping low in a valley is actually colder due to temperature inversion as the dense colder air sinks and settles there… On 17 Mar 2023, at 4:24 am, Adrian <adrianlee3@...> wrote:
?"...the water rose? more than when we started."?
The "SCS" that I think most of us follow in the back country:? Sleep low (warmer), Cross early (avoid high water), Summit early (avoid thunderstorms).
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Elizabeth Wenk made gpx and csv files of all stream crossings and I reformatted for NoBo and SoBo PDFs. Linking document is?
--
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
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Ned Tibbits has lots of safety advice on crossings on his Facebook page
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John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
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There is an alternate crossing of South Fork Kings. On the JMT, stay to east of main crossing and hike north (if southbound). Maybe the Rangers will post something. A woman died there in our laast wet year (2017?)
Headed to exit at Roads End down Woods Creak, look for a log crossing downstream from the former bridge ssitge.
--
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
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Regarding the South Fork Kings, my All Trails map shows a couple of alternate crossing routes.? One well before the main crossing staying east and then another shortly before the main crossing.? I'm not sure if the latter is the same one I used last summer, but it was a good log crossing a reasonably short distance upstream.? ?It was the day after an all night and morning rainstorm in early August and the water was much higher than what it was in 2017.? ?Some had used an area downstream, but it didn't look doable by the time I got there.
A few of us who had gathered to contemplate what to do went up and located the log that another hiker had described.? It was an easy and relatively safe alternative.? The water was rushing just below the log so all, but one of the group shinnied across it.? The one who walked it was fine, but if he had slipped it would likely not have ended well.
Attached is a? photo of the main crossing looking north. It was worse than the photo even depicts.
Curt
On Sun, Mar 19, 2023, 1:57 PM John Ladd < johnladd@...> wrote: There is an alternate crossing of South Fork Kings. On the JMT, stay to east of main crossing and hike north (if southbound). Maybe the Rangers will post something. A woman died there in our laast wet year (2017?)
Headed to exit at Roads End down Woods Creak, look for a log crossing downstream from the former bridge ssitge.
--
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
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Hey John — Great to see a post from you! Hope you are doing well!?
On Sun, Mar 19, 2023 at 1:54 PM John Ladd < johnladd@...> wrote: Elizabeth Wenk made gpx and csv files of all stream crossings and I reformatted for NoBo and SoBo PDFs. Linking document is?
--
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
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How permanent did that log look, Curt? Something that might be there more than one season? I crossed the tributaries a couple miles north and took the east side in 2017, so I never laid eyes on the trail crossing. I passed by there just five days before Strawberry was found in the river downstream of the trail crossing, rest her soul. I may have even crossed paths with her on the trail. If only she knew about the alternate…
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On 20 Mar 2023, at 8:59 am, Curt Kinchen <ptcurt@...> wrote:
? Regarding the South Fork Kings, my All Trails map shows a couple of alternate crossing routes.? One well before the main crossing staying east and then another shortly before the main crossing.? I'm not sure if the latter is the same one I used last summer, but it was a good log crossing a reasonably short distance upstream.? ?It was the day after an all night and morning rainstorm in early August and the water was much higher than what it was in 2017.? ?Some had used an area downstream, but it didn't look doable by the time I got there.
A few of us who had gathered to contemplate what to do went up and located the log that another hiker had described.? It was an easy and relatively safe alternative.? The water was rushing just below the log so all, but one of the group shinnied across it.? The one who walked it was fine, but if he had slipped it would likely not have ended well.
Attached is a? photo of the main crossing looking north. It was worse than the photo even depicts.
Curt On Sun, Mar 19, 2023, 1:57 PM John Ladd < johnladd@...> wrote: There is an alternate crossing of South Fork Kings. On the JMT, stay to east of main crossing and hike north (if southbound). Maybe the Rangers will post something. A woman died there in our laast wet year (2017?)
Headed to exit at Roads End down Woods Creak, look for a log crossing downstream from the former bridge ssitge.
--
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
<PXL_20220805_213637960.jpg>
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The log was quite substantial and well placed, meaning, if memory serves, not partially crossing or at an angle with one end low in the bank.? It was large enough to walk on and just small enough to straddle, like sitting on a horse.
That said, water is amazingly powerful and in the high flow I saw it was just above the water level so I could see it being taken out if this year's run off is sudden with a warm rainstorm or something?like that.
I wasn't really in the mindset of dealing with a difficult crossing last year, so didn't even consider the upstream alternative, but given that it doesn't add much distance, if I had any doubts I would just go that way.
Curt
On Mon, Mar 20, 2023, 1:56 AM Lange Jorstad via <langejorstad= [email protected]> wrote: How permanent did that log look, Curt? Something that might be there more than one season? I crossed the tributaries a couple miles north and took the east side in 2017, so I never laid eyes on the trail crossing. I passed by there just five days before Strawberry was found in the river downstream of the trail crossing, rest her soul. I may have even crossed paths with her on the trail. If only she knew about the alternate… On 20 Mar 2023, at 8:59 am, Curt Kinchen <ptcurt@...> wrote:
? Regarding the South Fork Kings, my All Trails map shows a couple of alternate crossing routes.? One well before the main crossing staying east and then another shortly before the main crossing.? I'm not sure if the latter is the same one I used last summer, but it was a good log crossing a reasonably short distance upstream.? ?It was the day after an all night and morning rainstorm in early August and the water was much higher than what it was in 2017.? ?Some had used an area downstream, but it didn't look doable by the time I got there.
A few of us who had gathered to contemplate what to do went up and located the log that another hiker had described.? It was an easy and relatively safe alternative.? The water was rushing just below the log so all, but one of the group shinnied across it.? The one who walked it was fine, but if he had slipped it would likely not have ended well.
Attached is a? photo of the main crossing looking north. It was worse than the photo even depicts.
Curt On Sun, Mar 19, 2023, 1:57 PM John Ladd < johnladd@...> wrote: There is an alternate crossing of South Fork Kings. On the JMT, stay to east of main crossing and hike north (if southbound). Maybe the Rangers will post something. A woman died there in our laast wet year (2017?)
Headed to exit at Roads End down Woods Creak, look for a log crossing downstream from the former bridge ssitge.
--
John Curran Ladd
San Francisco, CA?
415-648-9279
<PXL_20220805_213637960.jpg>
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Based on recent years experience, I think we can expect SEKI rangers to sign the Upper Basin detour (which actually eliminates a crossing.? In any event, it appears on Cal Topo and can be easily located by map or  <----? GPS.? Dotted line here
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Adrian
Lange Jorstad
Mike McCormick
Karina Bezkrovnaia
John Ladd
Will Cronan