It had been barely over a month since I set foot on the Pacific Crest Trail. Seven hundred miles of desert were behind me, and the next step was something everyone had dreaded since the very first days when the gossip - the "vortex of fear" - at the annual Kickoff had turned to the snow that would undoubtedly block our path in the Sierra. "In a normal year you wouldn't even want to enter the Sierra until June 15," several people had said. This year, with snow levels approaching twice what was usual, my friends and I arrived at Kennedy Meadows on June 2 and decided that we wouldn't wait. Our nerves should have been on edge, but the excitement of finishing the first major section of the trail had sparked our enthusiasm even more than usual.
The first order of business, despite our high spirits when we arrived, was not celebration, however. It was all business. Waiting for me at the Kennedy Meadows general store were three large packages containing eight days' worth of food, one bear canister, one ice axe, and a pair of MICROspikes. Others in my party also had new pairs of sneakers, replacement parts for damaged equipment, new clothes, new packs, and just about anything else you could imagine. Coming out of the general store, we looked like a bunch of kids moving into college dorms, hauling stacks of boxes and spilling their contents as they toppled around us.
The next few weeks on the trail promised to be the hardest test yet for my packing and navigating skills. The next road to cross the trail would be 250 snowy miles later, with six major passes above 11,000 feet in elevation, and a few more above 10,000 feet. Resupply options were slim, but with the reports of snow through the entire section of trail, we knew we had to come up with something. The decision we made was to take the trail in 100-mile increments, escaping for town days in Independence and Mammoth Lakes. After Mammoth, the trail would head downhill enough that maybe the snow would be less of a problem.
After two nights of preparation and steeling myself for the trail ahead, I set out on the morning of June 4, my pack weighed down like it was full of bricks. I had added almost four pounds to my base weight and was carrying several pounds more food than I had at any point yet on the trail, so my legs strained with the new burden. Maybe the ascent to 10,000 feet and an ambitious goal of 28 miles for the first day was a bit too much. My group, now consisting of seven others and myself, chugged along, finally walking into the most anticipated part of the Pacific Crest Trail.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Bear Canisters and Ice Axes
- The Wet Stuff
- Wetter and Colder
- Interlude
- Racing the Passes
- Lost and Tired
- A Longer Break
- Wetter and Warmer
- Gear List and Highlights
- A Final Note: The Dangers of the Sierra Snow
# WORDS: 6770
# PHOTOS: 20
Member Exclusive
A Premium or Unlimited Membership* is required to view the rest of this article.
* A Basic Membership is required to view Member Q&A events
Discussion
Become a member to post in the forums.
Gabe, the word "suncup" instills a rage in me that not much else can. I hate suncups! :)
Glad you liked it. cheers!
As a US Marine and a longtime Sierra backpacker, I have training and experience crossing swollen creeks with a heavy pack. Last summer I thought all of my skills/experience would make a Trinity Alps creek/river an easy affair. Being north of 50, my strength and skill with a loaded packed in a cold creek was not the same as a young man. I splashed across after falling face first with a loaded Dana Design Astralplane OverKill. Soaking wet I made it to the car, but a realized my age and physical abilities have declined my abilities to make water crossings alone.
Apologies for the late post too Ryan but I have to agree that the article is great and give you thanks. I am coming in from NZ to do a section of the PCT in May amongst other things this year and am considering my options. Ideally I would want to be in the prettiest terrain at higher elevations but it really will be too early to be very far north of Kennedy Meadows, especially considering my newbie status. So at this stage I think I will be going in at Mojave or Walker Pass and heading to Kennedy Meadows or vicinity.
I was interested to see that temperatures in June 2011 when you would have been on the trail north of KM were down to between 15 F and 0 F at night (Casa Viejo meadows weather station at 8300 feet). And your gear lists silk base layer, a North Face Beeline bag and a thermawrap. Were you wishing for more insulation? The daytime photos show your party in shorts at times so perhaps the weather station info is not a good reflection of conditions?
Thanks again for the great read. Cheers.
Hey Chris,
I don't think I had a cold sleeping night at all through the Sierra, but it did get below freezing each night. Definitely not down to 15 F. Being in the trees, in a tent (even a tarp tent), eating an insane amount of food, and supplementing the sleeping bag with the thermawrap was just fine for me. The only time I wished for more insulation was after I left camp in the morning, before the sun came over the mountains. The temperature swings between night and day were like… well, night and day.
For current conditions, I'd recommend getting on the PCT facebook groups (the official Pacific Crest Trail group, and right now the PCT Class of 2012 is a good one). I haven't been out there since 2010, so my info may be a little clouded by memory.
Become a member to post in the forums.