Spring has sprung in the Sierra

[KathyW]

We were blessed with nearly perfect snow conditions on little Mount Silliman in SEKI this past Saturday (snowshoes were dead weight on our backs most of the day). I had figured as much as a 12 hour day, but it was only a 10 hour day for the slower folks (that includes me) in our group because conditions were so good.

Some pics: http://kathywing.smugmug.com/California-Hiking-Scrambling/Sierra-Nevada-Hiking/Mount-Silliman-04302010/16859075_JXwz9H#1272865364_4GG26Tc

The snow is melting fast; so get out and enjoy it while it lasts.

[Cy Kaicener]

Great snow pictutes. You will be thinking fondly of that snow on Skyline on Saturday. The weather is supposed to be cooler this week end.
One peak you have to climb is the Great Kahweah. We did it with the Sierra Club more than 40 years ago.
Which group did you hike with? Was Laura (Moose Tracks) part of your group?
Here are some spectacular special shots taken in Patagonia, Alaska and the Swiss Alps
http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/ch ... conditions (Scroll down)

Pictures taken by Laura on Mt Silliman
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosepics621

[KathyW]

Cy: We ran into that other group with Laura in it out there - I think there were four of them in that group. We had a larger group from a meetup site - 11 in our group; so a busy day on the mountain.

Kaweah is on my list. I think I'd like to do that one as a fall backpacking trip starting and ending at Mineral King because the marmots aren't as busy in the Mineral King area in the fall. I'd hate to come out from a backpacking trip and find my wires and hoses chewed up.

You'll have to let me know what time you want to start up Skyline on Saturday. Anytime from 1 am to 4 am works for me.

Kathy

[KathyW]

Here's a good place for spring/early summer reports from the Sierra:

http://thebackcountry.net/bb/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=d249118e030dfbd9b1b810ef4e4b8117

It's a backcountry skier's forum, but it provides great info for those of us who plod around in the snow sans skiis.

[lilbitmo]

Here's a good place for spring/early summer reports from the Sierra:

http://thebackcountry.net/bb/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=d249118e030dfbd9b1b810ef4e4b8117

It's a backcountry skier's forum, but it provides great info for those of us who plod around in the snow sans skiis.

Thanks for the link Kathy, one can never have too much info on the wilderness and it's current conditions

[tinaballina]

Nice pics kathy, no crampons needed?

[KathyW]

Most of us put our crampons on at or just above Sillman Meadow (about 3 miles into the hike) and left them on until the summit. We could have done without them, but we were able to move faster with them on. The snow was firm in the morning, but the crust was like sandpaper; so pretty tacky. We put the crampons back on to go down, but they didn't stay on long because the snow had softened up and we wanted to glissade and boot ski. It was a really nice trip - this was the first springtime Sierra snow climb for some of the people in the group; so it was pretty rewarding. Some of the group found it easier than the snow hike/climb from the South Fork Trailhead to San Gorgonio via the chutes on the north side and others found it a little more difficult. To me it felt harder than when we did San Gorgonio on April 10th (the snow level was about the same elevation for that trip as it was for Silliman this weekend - about 7000' above sea level), but San Gorgonio took us 12 hours and Silliman took 10 hours. Silliman was about 11.3 miles and San Gorgonio was almost 14 miles - the elevation gain was similar; so Silliman was a bit steeper overall. Some of the people in our group could have done the climb in 8 hours or so - they went ahead and scouted out a good route from Silliman Lake and then waited on the summit for everyone else to get there.

Sorry about the long post.

[zippetydude]

Cool pics Kathy. You sure get into some great adventures out there.

Incidentally, I heard about an interesting trick to keep your wires and hoses safe. If you spray a little Raid on your tires and a little on the underside of your car, the animals absolutely hate the smell and won't go in there to chew on anything. You don't have to spray it all over everything, just a little up under there. The smell goes away for us in a few minutes, but they can smell it for days and apparently don't like it at all. Better for them (rubber is not a natural food item) and better for the car. Incidentally, the insecticide itself is not very toxic to animals, so if they did brush up against it and lick it off their fur, they'd be safe.

z

[KathyW]

Zip: I'll try the raid. I've had a couple of wire harnesses chewed up on my trucks. It can be really expensive getting them replaced depending on the location of the harness. Last week my check engine light went on again and my engine smelled like there was dead animal in there somewhere. I was sure I had more chewed wires. To my relief, it ended up that I needed my catalytic convertor replaced and it was covered by the warranty. Unfortunately, rodent damage isn't a warranty item.

I put some rodent repellant that smells like mothballs in a sock and hung it in my engine compartment after the last attack. The smell is supposed to keep the critters away. At the dealership they told me to put those sticky strips around my tires out in the backcountry, but I can't do that. The raid sounds like a better idea than sticky strips.

The last two trucks I’ve had are the only ones I’ve had this problem with – a 2006 Tacoma and a 2010 Tacoma. I never had rodent issues with my Fords. I’ve heard they are using greener products for the wire harnesses, which the rodents are more attracted to, but that could be an urban legend.

[Ellen]

Howdy Kathy

Absolutely gorgeous -- thanks so much for sharing the pictures

Miles of smiles,
Ellen