Home > Trip Reports > May 25-26, 2019, Snowgrass Flat open for business

May 25-26, 2019, Snowgrass Flat open for business

5/25/19
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Posted by Onward. on 5/27/19 8:30am
With recent trip reports appearing on social media of Goat Rocks trips from the East side approaches of McCall basin and Conrad Meadows and with the snowpack being about a month early on melt out down low we thought we would give Snowgrass Flats a try for the long weekend. We'd had great touring there before and our goal this time was to link long descents on both sides of the McCall glacier off the summits of Old snowy and Ives and then return to Snowgrass flats via the front side of Ives. We knew with good vis it would be possible and we went knowing we were working with an iffy forecast. Of course, if you're the type, you can make the best of it when it doesn't go your way, which we did.

We timed the road majestically. I don't think 2150 would have gone as few as five to seven days ago but it was driveable to the parking loop at berry patch / snowgrass trailhead. 21 from Packwood is also no longer blocked by snow at Hugo lake but I bet it was within the last 5 days. The approach was dry trail with few snow patches until the footbridge, then the flat swamp was full of snow which made it a little tricky to find the switchback for the steep climb before the alpine. We found it, and the steep slope after the marsh was mostly melted out except for large patches of snow on the trail itself which was easy to follow at this point. Where the terrain mellowed out at the top of this steep section the snow really filled in and skinning became more efficient around 5500'. We followed general direction of the trail which became easier and easier as we emerged into the alpine.

It was about 1130am and visibility was only a few hundred feet, but at least it hadn't rained. We established camp near a cluster of trees nearby where the PCT intersects the main trail, near where we camped in previous years. GPS was very helpful though if you're savvy a map and compass is possible as there are good handrails for navigation here.

Our hope was that Saturday would be a chill day and we could wait out rain or snow until the weather cleared on Sunday. Twas not to be. We snuck in a fun but sticky 700 foot lap near camp in low visibility before the snow started Saturday afternoon. We had expected an afternoon precipitation event so we waited in our camp and had lunch. In the early evening it started to clear as and with improved visibility we were able to get another short mellow lap in above camp. At this point Adams mostly burned off and views opened to goat ridge.

That changed once we got back and ate dinner. At first the wind really kicked in. It was much gustier than forecast; throughout the course of the night gusting from dead still to 60 mph all night. It also started to rain overnight. By the next morning at 11:30am we were still lying in our tent listening to the sound of hard rain and sleet with our tent folding over itself to our faces whenever the wind gusted. It was time to go eat a burger.

Ultimately, we had a lot of fun and made the best of what we had. Didn't see another human soul for 48 hours on memorial day weekend. This was my fourth time in this zone and second time splitting there and it was great to learn more about it and ride some cool terrain in what visibility we did have. I also love mountain wind gusts. Also happy to report to others that the road is ready to go as of right now, though the approach will take a strong effort until the trail is more melted out.

Truly one of my favorite areas in the state.

Nice TR of the realities of weather. ;)

Thanks for the info! Hope to explore old snowy soon

Thanks for report...that area has been on my list...someday😉
... questionable weather ... always a silver lining ...way to make it a good trip.

At least you could see something! My last trip there...

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may-25-26-2019-snowgrass-flat-open-for-business
Onward.
2019-05-27 15:30:06