June JMT Q: Dirty Girls, Levagaiters or ?

Here is an article Will Rietveld did on Gaiters that includes both of those in his review Ultralight Gaiters: State of the Market Report 2013
Balancing weight and durability, ultralight gaiters are crucial to keeping your feet dry and free from debris.

what snow?

There is snow, drought jokes aside. The question is, will it be a problem in June? I'm going with no.

If there was snow, it would be bad snow – crunchy in the morning and cruddy in the afternoon. The spandex/nylon gaiters would be of little practical use. The usual is to hike passes in the morning to avoid potential lightening storms in mid afternoon. Kicking steps in crunchy suncupped thin snow is easier than slushing along with cold wet feet. It will probably be easy to avoid patches of snow regardless.

Thank you for the link, Annapurna. I had looked at the reviews in the forums but did not think to look in the articles section. It looks like the Mountain Hardwear Scree Gaiter would address my concerns about the snow best. Thank you!

Jennifer, I know this is a low snow year but I'm pretty sure we will still encounter snow in mid-June…

So what do you know that we don't? After many days above 10,000 feet last year I can't think of a day I saw any after May. The stuff that is falling a few inches here and there is melting out between systems.

Yeah, to lori's point, it was 80+ degrees here in the sacramento valley yesterday, with more of those coming this week. Tahoe was in the upper 60s. Even if there is a storm here and there, it's melting… fast.

I am probably the loan dissenter on Levagaiters. I could just never get comfortable in them, think due to the Velcro. I would just do some surgery on the dirty girls.

Ryan

Lori,

I don't know anything you don't. I've been reading the Facebook and Yahoo JMT groups obsessively since November and I am under the impression that even in a dry year like last year we will encounter snow on the passes in mid-June. I have not firsthand knowledge of the area, this will be my first time in the Sierra Nevada.

I think I am hearing you say I should not lose much sleep over postholing up to my knee and getting much snow in my shoes. I'm ok with that.

at least shelve your concerns until mid/late may. Here in CA we are doing our snow dances….

Levagaiters

I've had them for around a year. They breath well and are much more robust than DGs. They also do not require Velcro to keep them in place. Used them many places in CA; and they are really nice in Arizona and keep out much of the red dust and little rocks and such. Hardly hike without them. Probably all you will need. They are definitely worth the $30.

So I ordered the Mountain Hardwear Scree gaiters that reviewed so well in the SOTM report linked to above. They no longer come with any velcro sewn onto the heels. :(

They seem like good gaiters otherwise, so I will just sew some velcro on them and move on with my life but I thought someone might be interested in this detail.

There was a dry year like last year that had snow until mid June.

This is not last year!

It could easily be a month ahead of having nothing on the passes this year.
You need accumulation to have lasting snow into June and beyond.
This year is so dry, you could do the JMT right now with little to no problems other than some cold nights.