![]() ![]() “You’re up high - at 8,000 to 13,000 feet elevation - and it’s slippery and icy, it’s hard to maintain your balance, hard to maintain cognitive function because of the altitude. Some hikers bring crampons, ice axes or microspikes and undergo training on how to use them. Hikers may also encounter icy passes as the snow melts and refreezes, Cox said, and should be prepared with the appropriate equipment. “‘If you’re a backpacker or hiker and you look at a body of water and it gives you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, don’t do it,” she said. Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the Inyo National Forest, said hikers should approach stream and river crossings with caution and pay attention to their instincts. Hikers have been swept downstream to their deaths in past high-water years, veteran hikers say, and they worry that more could become victims this year, particularly inexperienced hikers. Even where bridges cross the water, they may be overwhelmed or even washed out. ![]() Michael Macor/Special to The Chronicle 2018Īs the snowpack melts, it will turn rivers and even smaller creeks into raging torrents, making for wet crossings where hikers have to ford streams more dangerous than usual. This year, some of the High Sierra passes may not be clear until late summer. Mike and Patty Dewey of Reno enjoy a hike along the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway in 2018. In a high (snowfall) year like this, they are treacherous.” “But it’s about dangerous stream and river crossings. Hiking in the snow is difficult,” said Peter Hirst, a longtime hiker who leads trips for the Sierra Club and REI. The snow isn’t expected to be the biggest problem, according to Tanner, veteran hikers and wildland officials - it’s the water. “There are those who say they have their permit, they’re gonna go, they can walk on snow,” he said. It will cover trails, creeks and much of the landscape for months to come, delaying the usual start of the hiking season and making it difficult and unpleasant for those reluctant to give up early reserved permits on the popular John Muir Trail.īobby Tanner, owner and operator of Red’s Meadow Resort and Pack Station, a popular restocking spot and respite on the John Muir Trail near Mammoth Lakes, said interest in hiking the trail is as high as ever and that many callers with plans for June don’t seem dissuaded by the snow. The deep Sierra snowpack won’t cap just the tallest peaks as it usually does in the summer. ![]()
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