Preston
19-Aug-2011, 07:03
Hi All,
I spent three nice days in the Sonora Pass country earlier this week and wanted to give you an update on conditions there...
Flowers: Lupine are in full swing above 9,000 ft along water courses and small meadows on the west side of the crest. There are still lots of Paintbrush, Yellow Monkey Flowers, and more Pennyroyal than I've seen in years. Corn Lilies (False Helebore) are still nice, and some are over three feet tall. Mules Ears are nearly done, but there are still a few that look very nice right at Sonora Pass. All the trees; aspen, lodgepole, western juniper, and red fire are looking very healthy with lots of new growth.
Water flow levels are still pretty high, and the waterfalls and cascades are looking very nice.
There is still quite a bit of snow at higher elevations, especially on the north sides of the peaks above Blue Canyon. With good cloud action, some nice scenics could be had. Temperatures were running in the high 60's-Low 70's during the day, and high 30's to low 40's at night. I even noticed some frost along Deadman's Creek, at 8,000 feet.
So, if you are relatively close by, a trip to this hidden Sierra jewel would be quite rewarding.
--P
I spent three nice days in the Sonora Pass country earlier this week and wanted to give you an update on conditions there...
Flowers: Lupine are in full swing above 9,000 ft along water courses and small meadows on the west side of the crest. There are still lots of Paintbrush, Yellow Monkey Flowers, and more Pennyroyal than I've seen in years. Corn Lilies (False Helebore) are still nice, and some are over three feet tall. Mules Ears are nearly done, but there are still a few that look very nice right at Sonora Pass. All the trees; aspen, lodgepole, western juniper, and red fire are looking very healthy with lots of new growth.
Water flow levels are still pretty high, and the waterfalls and cascades are looking very nice.
There is still quite a bit of snow at higher elevations, especially on the north sides of the peaks above Blue Canyon. With good cloud action, some nice scenics could be had. Temperatures were running in the high 60's-Low 70's during the day, and high 30's to low 40's at night. I even noticed some frost along Deadman's Creek, at 8,000 feet.
So, if you are relatively close by, a trip to this hidden Sierra jewel would be quite rewarding.
--P