Lost in the Sierra?
This week’s news stories about the rescues of backpackers caught in last weekend’s early-season winter storm obviously caught my attention. I was backpacking in the Sierra the previous weekend (and it did snow a little) and friends were in the Tioga Pass area the weekend of the big storm.
While October most often is a beautiful month in the Sierra with lots of sunshine, nice temperatures (but take your warm sleeping bag!), and no crowds, this is a time of transition in the mountains. It is not at all unusual to see some early winter-like storms drop some snow, though it usually is not deep and it mostly melts away in a few days.
Two weekends ago I experienced exactly that type of weather. A Pacific front came through and dropped a bit of snow on us on Saturday afternoon while we were travelling cross-country across a ridge near Cathedral Peak and Budd Lake in the Tuolumne Meadows area. We knew that there was some chance of “weather” (“20% chance of showers” at various times during the weekend) but we were prepared in several important ways.
- We changed our plans and did a shorter trip since one member of our party was uncertain about whether he and his gear would be up to a winter storm.
- We let lots of people know our plans – both the original plans and the revised plan that we improvised at the trailhead.
- We had sufficient equipment to weather any weather that could be expected: We had tents or other winter shelters, winter sleeping bags, extra clothing, and so on.
- When the front did come through on Saturday afternoon, we recognized that this was not the same kind of afternoon thunderstorm that we experiece during the Sierra summer – and that we could not assume that it would simply blow over. We got right back to our camp and secured everything.
In the end the storm passed quickly and we had a beautiful trip.
According to the news stories I read (and one must often read between the lines since they are frequently written by reporters with little actual backcountry experience) it appeared that all of the backpackers were prepared for the serious conditions that they encountered last weekend. They hunkered down in tents and worked to keep warm and dry. In one case they were actually brewing up some coffee when the rescuers arrived!
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October 22, 2004 -
Posted by gdanmitchell |
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Dan's Outside 
Lost in the Sierra?
This week’s news stories about the rescues of backpackers caught in last weekend’s early-season winter storm obviously caught my attention. I was backpacking in the Sierra the previous weekend (and it did snow a little) and friends were in the Tioga Pass area the weekend of the big storm.
While October most often is a beautiful month in the Sierra with lots of sunshine, nice temperatures (but take your warm sleeping bag!), and no crowds, this is a time of transition in the mountains. It is not at all unusual to see some early winter-like storms drop some snow, though it usually is not deep and it mostly melts away in a few days.
Two weekends ago I experienced exactly that type of weather. A Pacific front came through and dropped a bit of snow on us on Saturday afternoon while we were travelling cross-country across a ridge near Cathedral Peak and Budd Lake in the Tuolumne Meadows area. We knew that there was some chance of “weather” (“20% chance of showers” at various times during the weekend) but we were prepared in several important ways.
In the end the storm passed quickly and we had a beautiful trip.
According to the news stories I read (and one must often read between the lines since they are frequently written by reporters with little actual backcountry experience) it appeared that all of the backpackers were prepared for the serious conditions that they encountered last weekend. They hunkered down in tents and worked to keep warm and dry. In one case they were actually brewing up some coffee when the rescuers arrived!
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October 22, 2004 - Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary