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2016 Sierra Conditions
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Home › Forums › General Forums › General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion › 2016 Sierra Conditions
- This topic has 29 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 7 months ago by Matt Swider.
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Jul 24, 2016 at 7:58 pm #3416151
Hi Bri, thanks for the feedback, I definitely appreciate it. I have a few other questions, but I will wait to ask them until you get a chance to recover a bit and write the more detailed report.
thanks, Matt
Jul 24, 2016 at 8:05 pm #3416154Actually, why not ask a few things, as it may shape your trip report.
Favorite and least favorite camps?
Very crowded before junction meadow?
If you or your group fished, how was that?
Other than easy creek crossings, plenty of water?
Any smoke issues from forest fires?
Thanks, Matt
Jul 29, 2016 at 6:37 pm #3417265I was up above Bishop, CA for 5 or 6 days (4 nights) 7/18-7/23 2016. Sabrina Lake Trailhead, up to Hungry Packer Lake. I had an excellent trip; weather was perfect… 72F during the day, 50s at night. The mosquitoes in camp were a challenge at times. A bug proof shelter and DEET were mandatory for me. Not a problem while moving during the day. Have to be careful where you stop, or you might need mosquito protection during the day too.
Still enough snow around to make photography more fun. None on the trail.
Erica
Jul 30, 2016 at 1:50 am #3417304Matt, since I’m working a lot this week, I’m probably not going to have time to do a full trip report, so I’ll just answer your questions here. :)
- Favorite and least favorite camps?
Hamilton Lake was by far my favorite. Lots of room on a Monday. We were going to head up to Precipice Lake but I’m glad we didn’t; the climb was brutal and there is no shade up there. Both lakes were gorgeous, though. I was disappointed with Kern Hot Springs (should be called “spring,” as there is only one and it’s this old concrete bath tub full of slime and who knows what else that drains into the river…we were hoping to take a zero there and fish and relax in the springs, but we moved on to junction meadow. My brother described the tub as a place where a murder scene might happen. Kind of gross. We still got in though. :) ). That campground was busy, but we found a good spot right along a creek. Junction Meadow was really neat and had plenty of space. All camp sites had a bear box except for one of the days when we slept on the Chagoopa Pleateau (very buggy, didn’t see another human for 24H until we got to the Kern) and Guitar Lake. Don’t set up camp at Guitar Lake until at least 5pm (no shade, very hot). Guitar Lake was also busy, but there’s plenty of space.
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Very crowded before junction meadow?
Kern, yes; everywhere else, not really. I don’t recommend the lake at the base of the 99 switchbacks (can’t remember the name atm), because it was SUPER crowded and smelled like pee. We wanted to camp after summiting Whitney (I’d only taken in 250 calories and 1L water the entire day because of a GI bug, so I was exhausted), but if you get up at midnight, summit at sunrise, you should be able to make it down to the Portals for breakfast or burgers depending on your pace. The giant pancakes were a godsend.
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If you or your group fished, how was that?
My Tenkara Rod snapped on the first night, but I still managed to catch a 10″ rainbow with the broken tip :) my brother caught what we think was a golden-rainbow. Everywhere we went, we were pulling fish out on nearly every cast, and we’d heard the same from others. Definitely bring your fishing gear.
- Other than easy creek crossings, plenty of water?
Yep. There was one 3-4 mile dry section right after junction meadow. We stopped there after Kern Hot Springs for an easy day, then got up around 5:30am to hike that hill climb when it was cool. Guitar Lake to the top of Whitney and down to the bottom half of the 99 switchbacks is dry. The 99 switchbacks has creek running down the middle of it starting at about switchback #50 (yes, we counted, and there are in fact 99).
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Any smoke issues from forest fires?
nope, but they had just started. We could see the haze out in the distance toward the East. Not sure how it is now. At guitar lake twice we had heard this super loud cracking noise, almost like the sound of giant waves hitting a rocky shore. But of course there isn’t an ocean there. Later on we found out there were a ton of earthquakes happening throughout California that day. We think we might’ve heard rock shifting. But we didn’t feel anything, so who knows.
I drove to Oregon last night and to the East much of the way along the 5, I saw a huge storm system. I don’t know if that’s heading to the Sierras, but you may have a completely different trip report. :)
let it me know if you have any other questions!
Jul 30, 2016 at 6:51 am #3417310Awesome report Bri, thanks for all the detail. I forwarded your response to the rest of our group to aid us in our planning.
Matt
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