TIL a guy on the PCT told me to skip the Sierra snow crossing and go the southern route instead, ended up being the best call I made all trip

He said the snow was waist-deep in late June and I'd lose a week postholing, so I detoured through the desert and hit amazing water caches and empty campsites while everyone else was stuck - has anyone else had a stranger's random advice totally save their hike or was that just dumb luck?

3 comments

3 Comments

troy_adams24d ago

Wait wait wait... you said the Sierra snow was waist-deep in late June? That's actually pretty normal for a heavy snow year, not some crazy exception. I remember one year I hit Muir Pass in early July and the snow was still chest-deep in some of the shaded bowls, took me three full days just to do twenty miles with all that postholing. The desert detour you took though, that's a solid move if the snow is really that bad, but I'd argue waist-deep in late June is actually kind of average for a big winter, not some freak event. The guy who told you to detour probably saved you from a miserable week of slow miles and wet feet, but it wasn't like some rare disaster you avoided... more like a really smart call that kept you from a tough but doable section.

skyler_fox7224d ago

@troy_adams I get what you're saying but waist-deep in late June is more than average for a heavy snow year, that's borderline obstinate to call it normal. If you're doing 20 miles in three days on a thru-hike most people would call that a disaster.

mason_barnes24d ago

waist-deep in late June" being called normal feels like people forgetting what normal actually looks like in a dry year, @troy_adams.