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Hello all - I'll be hiking a section of the JMT (Onion Valley to South Lake) August 4 - 11. Has anyone been through there recently and have any info regarding trail conditions? Snow, water crossings, fire closures,etc?

Thanks,
Steve

No snow problems, water problems, or fire closures in that section of the JMT right now. The Ferguson fire is dumping smoke into the Owens Valley and eastern slopes of the Sierra near Bishop today. Not impossible but visibility is reduced. Lots can change on that in the next few days.

Just exited Taboose Pass today from a 6-day peakbagging trip in Upper Basin. Rain every afternoon has the trail squishy with some wash-out along the JMT to Mather Pass, but all is passable. No snow at the pass. Smoke poured in today and totally obscured the western view of Sierra from Taboose Pass; pretty ugly.

Deb wrote:Just exited Taboose Pass today from a 6-day peakbagging trip in Upper Basin. Rain every afternoon has the trail squishy with some wash-out along the JMT to Mather Pass, but all is passable. No snow at the pass. Smoke poured in today and totally obscured the western view of Sierra from Taboose Pass; pretty ugly.

What'd you bag back there Deb? Hoping to get back there in a couple weeks for Arrow and Ruskin.

96avs01 wrote:

Deb wrote:Just exited Taboose Pass today from a 6-day peakbagging trip in Upper Basin. Rain every afternoon has the trail squishy with some wash-out along the JMT to Mather Pass, but all is passable. No snow at the pass. Smoke poured in today and totally obscured the western view of Sierra from Taboose Pass; pretty ugly.

What'd you bag back there Deb? Hoping to get back there in a couple weeks for Arrow and Ruskin.

Bolton Brown, Prater, Mather Pk, and Vennacher Needle. I must say that Vennacher was the highlight thanks to the south ridge. Everyday had to be complete by 2PM because of rain/hail.

Heading out Wednesday for Bishop, going into the back country Thursday for four nights. I've been looking at smoke reports, but was hoping to get some local feedback on areas/trailhead suggestions for best recent conditions.

I was out there in 2015 around Labor Day, and it was pretty bad smokewise.

Thanks for any input.

Myles

Sorry this doesn't sound more positive. We had a fairly nice day a couple of days ago and then it changed back to more smoke/haze. I had to go down south yesterday (Bishop, Orange County, Bishop) Smoke in early AM well down past Little Lake and returning in the evening the air was bad enough I could barely see the outline of the Sierra crest or Inyo crest from Olancha north. Seemed a little lighter as I got to Big Pine but not great.

Thank you, Scott. With long-range planning from the East Coast, we'll just take what we can get. Doesn't sound as bad as three years ago, though.

Friday and Sat (Aug 3&4) I hiked out of Wishon Reservoir, on the West side across from Big Pine. There was a fair amount of smoke in the valleys, but above 9,000' it was pretty clear - had only the occasional whiff. I carried an N95 mask just in case but never used it.

An update on 8/8/18. Ran up to Piute Pass this AM. Realizing there are differing levels of sensitivity to the smoke and haze, I thought the air was pretty good and it would not have stopped me from starting a local backpacking trip. Might be interesting if we get a report from the folks participating in the Sierra Challenge since they are sampling locations along the crest since 8/3.

Update: Just got back from four nights near Granite Park. It was very hazy from Owens Valley when we arrived last Wednesday, but once we got higher, it was very clear.