by huynguyen1 » Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:45 pm
Was at Hetch Hetchy a week ago from 6/6 - 6/9. The ranger indicated 1-2 ft of snow remaining on the plateau btwn Vernon and Tiltill. Wapama was impassable so, like most other backpackers, we went to Vernon on the first day. Several beautiful small waterfalls on the switchbacks. Weather was perfect for me: low 80s down at the reservoir, slight cloud cover to keep things shady and slight breezes to wick away the sweat. Felt like the low 70s up at Vernon and next to Frog Creek (where we spent our third and final night) south of Laurel Lake. Nights were calm (we were nestled in granite pockets and behind trees on the north shore) and not cold. Another camper mentioned whipping winds on the trail at night heading from the dam to Beehive. Wildflowers were still around. Got to see my first snow plants!
Frog Creek was rushing pretty good: saw a family with high schoolers coming from the Lake Eleanor trail stop at the creek because it was too risky. Asked how we got to where we were, told them we came from Vernon. They proceeded to head north toward Laurel, but there's no trail that way so not sure where they ended up. Next morning saw a strong-looking dude in his 20s cross Frog very slowly, with his pack about a couple inches from hitting the water. I've been told to unbuckle sternum and waist belts when crossing high creeks in case the pack catches, but didn't see him do so... Lots of downed trees to go over/around from the top of the switchbacks until the granite shelves approaching Vernon, but nothing impassable. Patches of snow around Beehive and lots of shallow pools to get through. I don't have waterproof shoes and was able to log/rock hop my way through without getting wet socks. The split trail to Laurel from the main trail seemed to be in ankle-deep water, so we didn't try.
At Vernon, the footbridge was impassable. You could hear Falls Creek roaring from anywhere near Vernon. It was big. Saw some deer and a bunch of red/orange/brown salamanders in the little pools and streamlets at Vernon. Supposedly there was a bear poking around the North shore, but we didn't see it. Very, very surprisingly (and you won't believe this because we didn't): hardly any mosquitos! In fact, we had a few buzz around at the Entrance Station and turns out that was the most we saw the whole time. That was my biggest concern heading in, figuring they were going to be out of the Jurassic period! Was a great trip, but the big caveat was the lack of mosquitos. Will be more now as it heats up, so call the rangers at the Entrance Station and ask. We felt extremely lucky that we missed the thunderstorms from the previous weeks and got through without many skeeters. Given that I can only do one trip a year, I'm not planning to do another Spring trip in a long time; Will quit while I'm ahead. Good luck!