Hiking N. CA Wilderness

[69ChrisCraft]

I was wondering how early can one expect to get back into the wilderness this year. I know the drought isn't as extreme up there as in portions of the Sierras....anyone been up there yet this spring?

 

[Beastmode]

After this last storm I would give it a couple weeks if you want to avoid snow. It's melting fast though. The problem you may run in to is alot of access roads are not maintained until may. Bring a chainsaw and expect a lot of trees across roads if you are going somewhere away from crowds.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I was out a few weeks ago and there was just a few inches left at 8K I would bet first week of May would be pretty clear.

 

[69ChrisCraft]

I figured this last storm would set me back a few weeks. I was in A zone this weekend and all the small streams/creeks were running. Thanks guys

 

[RosinBag]

As for our wilderness areas in the B zones, the gates that are locked and prevent some access don't usually get unlocked until May 15. That is when they start opening up the roads.

 

[FreeRange]

I was up in redding fishing over the weekend and was hearing that the last storm dumped about 12" of rain at lower elevations but up on Shasta they got around 2' of snow. The higher peaks and ridges you can see from the river definitely had snow but down lower there seemed to be none. The big storm back in December brought more rain than snow as well so their snow pack overall is pretty light though they have had lots of precipitation. There are plenty of wilderness areas in the b zones you could get out hiking in right now no problem, just stick to lower elevations.

 

[sojourner]

As for our wilderness areas in the B zones, the gates that are locked and prevent some access don't usually get unlocked until May 15. That is when they start opening up the roads.

This^
Make sure to call the appropriate ranger station ahead of time and ask about specific roads/trailheads being open. Nothing sucks worse than driving for hours just to find a locked gate 5 miles from your intended trailhead- trust me I learned that lesson the hard way.... twice

 

[gmajor]

This^
Make sure to call the appropriate ranger station ahead of time and ask about specific roads/trailheads being open. Nothing sucks worse than driving for hours just to find a locked gate 5 miles from your intended trailhead- trust me I learned that lesson the hard way.... twice

Ouch. Yeah, this can be an issue for some trailheads in the trinities especially

 

[Cant hit em]

Sonora pass is open

 

[Where's Bruce?]

It's about to get hammered again. They are even expecting snow as far south as Big Bear before this weekend.