6/21/2009
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Hiked the Grouse Gap/Ashland Meadows section on June 21. Some parts of trail have lots of water/mud due to run-off streams crossing the trail. Trail is clear of fallen trees, etc. Had light snow & 35 temp in the area on June 21, but snow should melt away with warmer weather later in the week. There is one tree that is cracked at base and leans over the trail but is being held up by another tree. High winds could bring this tree down on the trail.
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6/2/2009
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Road 20: Yesterday (June 1), the 3 gates that comprise the winter Siskiyou Crest closure were opened. The road is snow-free to Grouse Gap and to Grouse Gap Shelter. You can drive about 1/2 mile west of Grouse Gap before encountering the first snow drift. Although I would not recommend it to the public, high clearance vehicles can get through this drift and get to the large drift by the Meridian Overlook. This drift is impassable. There are also some large drifts to 1/2 mile west of Meridian Overlook. At the Dutchman area, I suspect there are also some large drifts in the Jackson Gap area but this has yet to be field verified by anyone. (There will be a recon flight in this area later today.) Otherwise, the remainder of Road should be snow free.
PCT: The trail is snow-free from I-5 west to the Mt. Ashland CG. There are a few very small drifts in the highly popular section between the CG and Grouse Gap. I suspect those will melt out by the weekend. In general, the entire trail should be snow-free between I-5 and Cook and Green Pass except for north-facing slopes above 6200 feet and protected shady areas like Red Mtn, Jackson Gap, and the Alex Hole areas. Experienced hikers should have no problems in these aforementioned areas, but inexperienced hikers should wait another week or two before venturing out into the snow-covered areas.
It is estimated that the snow is melting out at least 3-4 weeks sooner than normal.
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