Despite the ranger's warnings of winter conditions and impending storms at the Prather High Sierra Ranger Station, three of us set into the Sierra in November of 2015.
The trail would prove to be extremely snowy and hardly visible. Our goal was to reach Blaney Hot Springs, which was about 10 miles from Courtright Reservoir where we started, but we would only make it about four miles in before setting up camp for the night and heading back out the next day on an aborted mission. The conditions were freezing cold with a blizzard ensuing most of the night. We trudged through a foot of snow or so on our way in, and closer to two feet on our way out. This trip was absolutely awesome for the experience, but won't be repeated any time soon.
Starting off from Courtright Reservoir at the Maxson Trailhead
Traversing the icy granite landscape was no easy feat
The trails were covered in fresh powder snow
An old NPS cabin was closed up and snowbound for winter
We continued to trudge through the snow because we needed to taste some Sierra
Upon reaching Long Meadow, we decided to find a place to make camp
Once we found a good sheltered spot in the trees, a fire was the next immediate priority
The fire was were we spent the next several hours while the snow continued to drop
The snow was relentless and continued all night long
The next morning the scene was majestic, but the temperatures downright painful
As we packed up and headed back to the trailhead, the snow cover was significant, as can be seen here on the day later icy granite slabs
It's always great to have 4-wheel drive in a parking lot like this
The drive out told the story... Winter had returned to the High Sierra