Winter-worthy? For all pacific coast PCT hopefuls who want to see if they’re ready for camping and travel in the “snow-dimension,” this weekend’s event would be a good time to test your “systems” of gear, clothing, vehicle chains, shoveling, and savvy in being tent-bound in a safe place! A 2-foot snow dump in the Lake Tahoe end of the Sierra Nevada is a “normal” amount of winter precipitation. I’ve routinely camped in 4-5-foot weekend events over the last 50 years. This next incoming storm may be a 4-footer at 8,000 feet, but who knows. If you choose to accept this mission, you must have: - durable 4-season tent - strong vehicle chains - reliable camp shovel - insulated mattress - decent, 15-below sleeping bag - two pair of rugged gloves - extra food and fuel - the ability to be internally and externally circumspect to changing conditions - a thrill for the challenge and - patience! (fb)

Sierra Thaw - it's coming! The "Thaw" begins when overnight refreezing ends and that looks like it will be sometime next week (at 11,200 feet in the southern Sierra...specifically, Upper Basin on the south side of Mather Pass). As we teach every year, the Sierra, like any mountain chain, really, starts warming up and thawing out at low elevations, first. That's why NoBo PCT thru-hikers don't have to worry about snow covering the trail across the high desert elevations of Southern California until they get high enough to enter its domain (think of Mt Laguna, San Jacinto, the San Gorgonios, and the San Bernardino mountains). Come May, when these intrepid hikers "may" enter the Sierra, the elevation of this snowline is usually discovered somewhere around 9500-feet on Olancha Peak. Go above that and you're on snow; the trail below that will be visible and probably dry (unless the surface runoff water from the melting snow is using the trail to get down to the creek!). The key ingredient to easy snow-hiking is a frozen-solid snowpack, only maintained that way by those nightly temperature dips way below freezing. Once that stops at a given elevation, the pack starts melting there, creating several environmental conditions no longer favorable to over-snow mountaineering (I use this descriptive term because what snow-hikers have to do when on steep snow definitely departs from the expected traction of terra firma, gravity becomes an ever-present hassle, and the journey enters the danger realm). Where the surface of the snow was once frozen hard enough to support your weight all day, after the Thaw starts, those conditions may only exist till about mid-morning and, then, the dreaded "Postholing" begins where you plunge into the snow with nearly every step (think exhaustion, fatigue, and injury). Here are a few things to keep in mind during the Thaw that may get you through the Sierra (up to Donner Pass) a bit easier, 1) You will need to get up and start walking while it is still dark, way before sunrise, to take advantage of any hard snow that may have developed for predictable and secure footing. 2) Time your higher-altitude, over-snow sections to be during the early morning hours to leave the rest of your days well below snowline, wherever that is according to your particular elevation, aspect, and latitude. 3) Try and cross the large creeks (those at the lowest altitudes and, often, farthest away from the passes you had to cross to get there) as early in the day as possible (for the lowest water depth and slowest speeds). 4) You do not have to cross a creek where the summer trail does! When the creeks are running high and fast during the Thaw, look for safe log crossings, rock-hops, and flat meadows near the trail. Remember, wide = shallow and flat = slow, therefore, meadows are your friend! 5) Stop trying to go fast over snow or through creeks! If you slow down to be careful, realize that there will come days, up ahead, where you'll be able to crank up the miles and catch up with your schedule. 6) Carry lots more food during the Thaw, as dealing with the rigors of postholing burns a ton of calories. Keep your body strong and your head, clear-thinking = be a pig! (fb)