7 Days in the Sierras

Had a foursome for this trip, which included a hike from the Mammoth lakes area, through the Ansel Adams Wilderness, out at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite, and return on the bus. This trip was postponed by 6 weeks due to the record snowpack this year.

Still, we couldn't avoid snow, as north-facing snowpack still lingers down to about 10,500'. We spent two days on off-trail excursions to climb to 11,100' North Glacier Pass and 12,023' Donahue Peak, and found 11,000' Lake Catherine still mostly frozen over. I've never been to the northern Cascades, but right now the Central Sierras look like photos I've seen from up there. Most of this pack snow will stop melting within a month, and refreeze for another year.