The eastern Sierras continued to get record snow falls all throughout June. Lake Tahoe's last snow fall was 29/30 June!
PCTers who posted trail reports left behind grueling reports of their miles and miles of postholing across ice and snow-covered passes. One even reported of falling into a swollen creek, which brought back nightmares for me. None of the reports sounded like fun, and none certainly were enticing enough to want to jump on the JMT for another round.
There was no let-up in the snow, ice and freezing rains. It even broke Mary in the end.
Mary and I have kept in contact nearly daily these last two weeks and we have agreed to cancel our reservations for July 5th. Other things have come up as well that have delayed our start for meeting up, but we still plan on getting together in Lone Pine by the 9th for several day hikes. She has several good ones planned, all leading to alpine passes in the Inyo National Forest, which means my dog Sadie can join me! This will be a delight. I really don't want to deal with pesky National Park Rangers anyway (the only mean ones are in Yosemite).
I am still planning on leaving Arizona on the 5th for some travel time, taking the same route as last year to get there, stopping in Palm Springs and San Bernadino. This time, due to severe floodings in the upper eastern Sierras now, I'm taking my Ford Escape instead of the roomier van. It will be crowded having Sadie with me, but at least I won't get pulled over for driving a suspicious-looking smuggling van.
