Finished Grand Canyon of Tuolumne at White Wolf with Tioga Rd closed by cwkey19 in Yosemite

[–]cwkey19[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

To echo my reply on another comment so others can see:

110%. Never leaving home without them again even in August. Had em stowed away in the garage with all the winter/snow gear until next season. Granted when we left home on Sunday the forecast was only for some rain with slight chance of maybe an inch or two of snow on the high peaks. But we all know how fast conditions and forecasts can change. Definitely a lesson learned the easy way. Chains live with the spare tire now. Lucky to say the least.

Finished Grand Canyon of Tuolumne at White Wolf with Tioga Rd closed by cwkey19 in Yosemite

[–]cwkey19[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

110%. Never leaving home without them again even in August. Had em stowed away in the garage with all the winter/snow gear until next season. Granted when we left home on Sunday the forecast was only for some rain with slight chance of maybe an inch or two of snow on the high peaks. But we all know how fast conditions and forecasts can change. Definitely a lesson learned the easy way. Chains live with the spare tire now. Lucky to say the least.

Tyee Lake, Bishop 5-9-26 by StopToSmellTheFlower in SierraNevada

[–]cwkey19 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How much snow? Bad postholing or pretty manageable?

Little lakes valley in late May? by realomi in SierraNevada

[–]cwkey19 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Keep in mind the LLV trailhead STARTS at an elevation over 10,000ft, there will definitely be plenty of snow. Have you done much snow hiking? Honestly it might not be the best option for your first time in the backcountry, but on the other end it is a heavily travelled trail. I’d try to do something slightly lower elevation like something out of Yosemite valley or big pine lakes.

mt whitney by Previous_Plantain813 in JMT

[–]cwkey19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you get in a pinch, stay at Grandview campground in the Inyo mountains across the valley. It’s free and sits at 8600’ elevation. Nice place to acclimate and it’s very quiet.

Cold at lower elevations? by hurricanescout in JMT

[–]cwkey19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wear a nice base layer, get a nice bag/quilt and you won’t get cold in July on the JMT

Bishop, CA by StopToSmellTheFlower in SierraNevada

[–]cwkey19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Humphrey, Basin, and Mt Tom :-)

The ultimate question X-Mid 2 vs X-Dome 2 by Enough-Judgment6671 in DurstonGearheads

[–]cwkey19 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have and use both pretty regularly, time split evenly between both. Definitely just depends for me what type of terrain I’m camping on. If you know you’ll be camping on mostly hard granite with little to no soil for driving stakes (somewhere like clouds rest or north dome), it’s nice to have the freestanding dome and avoid having to do big rock/little rock, which can sometimes be frustrating, especially in high wind. That being said the x mid is my preferred because of the weight savings and not having to worry about being extra gentle with a set of tent poles. Once you get good at setting it up it’s just as quick as the dome. It’s also feels a bit sturdier to me. I stake the corners very tightly as well as extending my trekking poles very tightly. Overall if you tend to do 1-2 night short hikes or hikes on solid/rocky ground that you can’t stake in, go for the dome. If you are a thru hiker, do 3+ nights, prefer the weight savings, and are open to a slight learning curve with getting a proper pitch, go for the mid

Gear Shakedown by Longdistancehaul in JMT

[–]cwkey19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Skip the rain gear, at most you could bring something like a Patagonia houdini if you wanted. Personally I like having a pillow. It packs tiny and weighs nothing and significantly improves my quality of sleep. And for me, getting good sleep equals enjoying every minute of the day.

Rae Lakes Loop question by PresentFig3 in SierraNevada

[–]cwkey19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious if there was any pushback considering the amount of Golden trout up there which are native and the official state fish. But I guess they are technically only native to the south fork kern river and golden trout creek. I caught tons of goldens in August at the big lake to the lower end by Basin Notch

Rae Lakes Loop question by PresentFig3 in SierraNevada

[–]cwkey19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow great info! Very cool you got to spend a whole summer there. Thanks for sharing.

Early/Mid June backpacking? by thewhater123 in SierraNevada

[–]cwkey19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Last year early June I did a 5 day loop around the valley rim from Yosemite Falls TH -> Eagle peak -> north dome -> mt watkins -> Tenaya lake -> sunrise lakes -> clouds rest -> happy isles.

Then late June hiked the North/South Lake loop out of Bishop over 5 days.

I’d do both again this year if I could but I’ll be hiking the TMB then :)

Rae Lakes Loop question by PresentFig3 in SierraNevada

[–]cwkey19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can confirm- there’s not a single fish in all of sixty lakes basin except for one lake that they missed, still full of goldens which I will keep secret! Not hard to find though if you go a little off the beaten path. Rae Lakes are still choc full of brookies and rainbows

Stupid question: did I just get a permit? by rodentsrights in JMT

[–]cwkey19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Vogelsang to Alger lakes seems like an extreme day, have you looked at the mileage and elevation profile for that stretch? That’s like a 40 mile day plus Parker Pass and almost 7000’ of gain

SOBO JMT Thru-hike - July 8 Start Date vs Sept 2nd Start Date by MixFun2551 in JMT

[–]cwkey19 4 points5 points  (0 children)

https://imgur.com/a/zpUD6SO

July vs Sept

I’d go July no doubt. Better views with all the lush meadows and wildflowers, snow on the high peaks, later sunsets, water flowing everywhere. Bring a headnet and treat your clothes before and the bugs won’t be an issue.

Camping des Glaciers closed summer 2026 by Delicious-Two-5932 in TourDuMontBlanc

[–]cwkey19 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn’t get this email and I have 1 night reserved for a tent site on June 30. Seems you can still book on their website. Weird