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I just got back from Yosemite. I went in at Happy Isles on May 5th, and came out half a day early due to a serious case of sunburn late on the 8th. (I'd brought winter gear, foolishly forgetting sun protection. Paying for it now with blisters.) Yosemite Valley Backpackers campground across from North Pines is open; I was apparently the first visitor on my way in, but there were already four sites taken a few days later on my way out. I met some guys on the trail on my way out that hadn't been told about it, though. They'd been told they needed to head up the trail at 5pm; possibly not all of the staff at the wilderness office are aware? I dropped by to give them details of these conditions on my way out, and one mentioned quite a few had just showed up recently. Beware: they no longer accept cash! The pipe receptacle that took envelopes had its top removed on my way out, even though the instructions still talk about that pipe. You have to download the Recreation.gov app, and scan a QR code on the bulletin board. The cost per person is still $8, and doesn’t impose any additional fee. The app isn’t too big, so I was able to download without trouble while in the valley. (Degnan’s is the only spot I found that had useful free wifi, fwiw. And some nice beer astonishingly cheap.) There is still an alternative way, but it requires getting to some kiosk in Curry Village before 5pm. Also true of Camp 4, which is $10 per person. Already getting full of climbers. For a few years I've been telling folks the that fine for leaving food out was up to $3500; I'm pleased to see that, no, it's up to $5000! Valley to LYV (6200 ft) Mist Trail is beautiful and trouble free.The Merced is flowing mightily. On the north side, the JMT has a few spots where snowfall still covers the corners of switchbacks, but that’s unlikely to be much of a challenge except for those unsure of their footing. The portion of the JMT beyond Clark Point which is closed in winter currently has hikers walking through several waterfalls and and 6-inch ice water puddles. Fun, but a serious soaking for the unprepared. (click thru to the Youtube video) LYV has many new blowdowns, creating new chaos, both the valley and the campground. LYV up to Half Dome junction The trail is a creek in many sections. A *lot* of blowdowns. Near the top there’s one big spot with so many it is better to leave the trail for a hundred yards or more. Not something to try at night. My first night was on the nice bench just beyond the HD Junction; it's still a great spot. It was completely dry the afternoon I arrived, but I got a few inches of snow overnight. This view looks SW down towards LYV. JMT to Forsyth Trail Snow varies from 90–100%, so very few signs of a visible trail. Dead reckoning on snow is often better than trying to follow the summer trail anyway. The first below is looking down at Sunrise Creek just beyond the SW Clouds Rest turnoff, the second is a quarter mile later, looking up. Firm consolidated base, with shallow postholing to maybe 6 inches, but slippery on sunny afternoons. The bad news re Sunrise Creek: flowing wide and strong enough that fording would require caution. The good news is that there are many new blowdowns for crossing, unsurprisingly. Forsyth Trail to Clouds Rest (Thus perhaps useful on the JMT to ~10,000 ft) 100% snow. This is looking back south along the Forsyth. Dead reckoning is even better, since the snowpack is probably covering so many small blowdowns that would usually get in the way. With trail crampons, this was the most enjoyable part. But be sure to bring high-SPF sunscreen. Here's my campground below the NE end of Clouds Rest. But first, a tree. Oh — Clouds Rest was impassable. The loose snow on top of the firm base was deeper and soft, so even with crampons on I was slipping around quite a bit on the slope. This is the first good view peering over Tenaya Canyon down at Mount Watkins. Clouds Rest was living up to its name, embedded in blowing icy mist. This is the last photo I took that came out. The ridgeline here is about sixteen, maybe twenty

Hello, I have a NOBO JMT permit with room for 3 people to join me. Cottonwood Lakes to Happy Isles - July 30 to Aug 26. Don't really want to go alone, so if you would like to join me it would be great. Contact me directly for more info.... mclellan.m@... Thanks, Mike McLellan

Starting. Long way to go. https://twitter.com/Caltrans9/status/1653061636318720001 John Ladd JohnLadd@... 415-648-9279 (landline)

Here’s another email from SEKI that I suspect has been sent to anyone holding a wilderness permit reservation with them this summer… Hello, As you plan your trips into the parks’ wilderness, think about how the deep snowpack may affect your plans. Some things to expect include challenging route finding, much slower travel, steep snowfields, passes with cornices, and extremely high rivers. Plan your trip allowing plenty of flexibility to turn around or bail out when you encounter dangerous or impassable conditions. Avoid walking on areas of unsupported snow (snow bridges and cornices). These can be over creeks and rivers or at the edge of dangerous precipices. Snow bridges and cornices can be very unstable and collapse at any moment. When they collapse under a person, the person can be swept away into the river to drown, or cause the person to plunge to their death in a fall. Be extremely cautious on steep and exposed snow fields. Once you slip and fall you may not be able to stop yourself. An uncontrolled fall on a snow field can lead to death either by falling off of a precipice or by crashing into fixed objects such as rocks or trees. Rivers will be extremely high and, in many cases, uncrossable. If you choose to cross a river, take your time to scout for the best crossing. This will also allow you time to decide if crossing is really worth risking your life. Observe conditions carefully and then evaluate the risk of crossing. Be prepared to turn back. Wilderness Office Staff Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

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 Wilderness Office Staff Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

I have done the JMT 11 times in the last 20 years. The years 2011 and 2017 involved a lot of hiking on snow and high creek crossings. I have crossed creeks that were up to my waist in water. I also have taken 7 days of hiking safely on snow courses from Ned Tibbits. I came prepared on those two years to cross creeks in the following manner. First, I brought along 500 pound deep sea super ultralight fishing line (made of the same fabric as bullet-proof vests/Ursack bear bags): I don't have access to weigh the string now, but it was only a matter of a couple (to few) of ounces to have several hundred feet of it. https://jblineone.net/shop-our-products/ols/products/500lb-jb-hollow-core-spectra I figured if I came to a creek where the water was above the waist line, that one, we'd regroup as a group. And should the water be too deep to cross over with your pack, that the best swimmer in the group would cross the creek with nothing but the deep sea fishing line (but have one person on the creek side behind you holding part of the line). Once crossed over to the other side, secure the line to a 100% secure anchoring point (either a steel beam or tree or large boulder, and provided the line was slanted downhill from the starting side, one should be able to slide one's pack down the line to the other side of the creek. Granted, I never had to go to this extent in the 11 times I did the JMT, I always wondered if this scheme could not get the job done safely. I'd be curious to hear from others what they think about this approach. One has to know their knots 100% well. I always liked the bowline although I heard the double bowline was even better. Use this search to learn more: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mountain+climbing+knots+bowline&t=opera&ia=web One thing about this string, it works great as replacement tent guyline and as replacement boot string. It is phenomenally strong, light, and ties well compared to nylon filament fishing line. Roleigh _

One of the best disaster trail stories I know was a trail journal post by SoloGirl (aka Censored, aka Katalina) at Postholer.com for the 2009 PCT season - her entry for Jun 3 I don't know for sure if the link works and you probably have to register (free) at Postholer to see it, but try http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?sid=9a8aee25d0b8a42dbdb3f0a2b9f6971f&entry_id=8688 If the link is non-functional, go to postholer,com login or register try the link again if that doesn't work go to trail journals for PCT 2009 look down the list for SoloGirl go to her 38th post (for Jun 3) Great story. She made some mistakes (more than most, but we all have some under our belt) and she describes the consequences really well. I met her about 2 weeks later, just South of Muir Trail Ranch, and we had a nice talk. If you don't know it, Postholer is a great site originally dedicated to the Pacific crest trail but with a lot of very useful stuff for us. John Ladd JohnLadd@... 415-648-9279 (landline)

Stumbled across this podcast where Ned Tibbits speaks about trail conditions sharing some good recommendations.. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/backpacker-radio/id1339028551?i=1000605003018

for our reading pleasure: https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/pacific-crest-trail-more-dangerous-this-year-17858888.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight -Rick

I have a permit for Red Cones starting August 19. I hope it is late enough! I don't much want to navigate a bunch of snow and high water with a rookie llama. But if not, I will get something for later on a walkup permit, if that appears to be possible. I anticipate a very high demand for late season permits this year. I have had no trouble at all getting walkups the last three years. And strangely enough, I got this reserved permit on my first try this year. I logged on at 7 a.m. and there it was. Fortunately for me I live in So Cal so getting a last minute permit is no problem for me. It has been great fun for me seeing the epic snow pictures from Mammoth. But I am sure it is no fun whatsoever for the residents.

..you have reached 225% of Snow Water Content (relative to April 1st) and there is still some Winter left. yes, we‘ll have to kiss our early season permits goodbye (rae lakes loop for me) but those July/August/September hikes willl be epic. Congrats Sierra! https://cdec.water.ca.gov/snowapp/swcchart.action

I note with the recent postings in the "Water Crossing in Y2023" thread that you are back on-line, John. First time since last May. Welcome, welcome, welcome back. -- Jim Ringland

Hello. First time doing the JMT. Thru-hiking beginning last week of August this year (2023). I borrow a Versalite (Western Mountaineering) 10 degree bag. Is this going to be too warm?

YARTS.com was updated with the 2023 schedules. 395/120E Yosemite-Mammoth Lakes bus will be running July 1 - October 1, 2023 when Tioga Pass is open. Only 1 bus per day this year. Frank -- Frank