Today is the first day of spring. I have been watching the snow pack totals for the high sierra and there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the hiking season should be starting sooner than normal because of the lower than normal snow pack. Unless we get a lot of spring snow storms, then I should be hiking at 6,000+ feet in May or early June! Pinecrest Lake here I come! The bad news is that we really need more snow or it’s going to be a very dry summer in the valley. You can find a current update on the snow conditions here.


In spite of the low snow pack, I am still glad I scheduled my John Muir Trail hike for the beginning of August, I don’t mind it being a little dryer which means even fewer mosquitoes! I remember hiking the JMT in late June one year with a swarm of mosquitoes around me so thick I thought I would choke on them just trying to breathe. I don’t mind most bugs while hiking, but I’m not a fan of mosquitoes!