2021 Snow Level

[Chip Down]

Nice try, drm. I love that ridgecrest section!

[Don Nelsen]

Gorton Creek Trail, today, March 12th: A few minor patches at 1700' and again at 1900' but clear after that to 2500' where coverage is continuous - and deep - 1 to 2 feet. Only a quarter mile of snow now on the route to Indian Point.

I continued past Indian Point but only a few hardy souls had made some tracks. About a quarter of the way to Deadwood, only one set of tracks and those changed to snowshoe tracks about half way to Deadwood. I went a few hundred feet past Deadwood but it was getting late and I was tired of postholing. The snowshoer went up the cut-off trail to Nick Eaton after going farther than I on the switchbacks past Deadwood, then returning to do the connecter trail.

BTW, there are no signs at Deadwood. All have been removed since I was last there last July.

dn

ps, 16 trees down on the trail but all can easily stepped over or ducked under. All but three are 5" to 10" diameter.

[oncorhyncus]

Anybody know whats up with the NOHRC snow cover data (https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/earth/)? I always use this to plan my hikes and all I get is N/A for the past several days of data.

[RobFromRedland]

Anybody know whats up with the NOHRC snow cover data (https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/earth/)? I always use this to plan my hikes and all I get is N/A for the past several days of data.

Those packets are done by some automated process I'm sure and it appears something has gone wonky with it and no one has noticed. I would use the contact us link at the bottom of the page to let them know. Something similar happened with the modeled snow depth tiles earlier in the year. I don't know if it is the same data or not.

Edit: An alternative is on Adam Schneider's page here (which is working as of this morning):

https://adamschneider.net/hiking/snow_depth.html

[retired jerry]

another one, different display of same data
https://www.fs.fed.us/r5/webmaps/Sierra ... lon=-121.7

I prefer Adam's because if you click "usgs topo" it overlays that so you can see where the snow is

[drm]

Seems like snotels are down too! I haven't been able to get any for some time. I guess we will just have to depend on this thread.

Don - we must have been up there at the same time, as I'm no crack of dawn hiker either. There were no other cars at the alternate start.

[Don Nelsen]

Don - we must have been up there at the same time, as I'm no crack of dawn hiker either. There were no other cars at the alternate start.

Hi Dean,

Funny we missed one another. There were four or five cars by the usual spot by the maintenance facility but only one at the alternate when I went by at 11:33. When I went by again at 5:05, the car was gone. That must have been you at the alternate.


I've been experimenting with even more alternates lately and have found an excellent one and parked there yesterday: Continue past the alternate TH for 1 1/4 mile:, park at the gate (a sign says 0217) and hike 250' past the gate to the main powerline road. After a quarter mile west on the powerline road head directly into the forest at the high point of the road. In 500' you will be on the 400.

It's a very easy bushwhack - not even one downed tree to step over. The big advantage is it gets you over 400' higher when you start your hike, nearly 500' above the normal start. It's also a bit more than 1/10 mile shorter to the start of the Gorton trail over the alternate.

-dn

[Don Nelsen]

Seems like snotels are down too! I haven't been able to get any for some time. I guess we will just have to depend on this thread.

My photo site has been down since Wednesday, and I noticed the Snotels down too - since Wednesday. I wonder if this has anything to do with it:
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ovh ... de/398485/

[rubiks]

Saturday March 13, Highway 504 to the South Coldwater TH near Mt. St. Helens was totally clear (gated at the Hummocks TH). Coldwater Ridge had a small handful of bare patches on the ridge up to 3000' but otherwise was continuous snow. The snow was hard enough to forgo snowshoes up to 4000' in the morning, but I brought snowshoes so I put them on at the first hints of post-holing as it warmed up.

Saw *two* mountain goats on top of Blastzone Butte. Neither of them were wearing snowshoes.

[Chip Down]

Today I was between Augspurger Mtn and Grassy Knoll. High point was 2800'. Virtually no snow. However, the surrounding roads were pretty deep. Walkable, but tiring. If I was driving a stock Wrangler, I would guess I'd make it to about 2200'.