{"id":261125,"date":"2026-04-10T13:38:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261125\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T13:38:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:38:07","slug":"low-california-snowpack-levels-changing-hiking-plans-for-some-san-diegans-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261125\/","title":{"rendered":"Low California snowpack levels changing hiking plans for some San Diegans \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the Trail Report, a weekly email newsletter from reporter Maura Fox about hikes and San Diego County\u2019s outdoors.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0to get it in your inbox first, every Friday.<\/p>\n

Planning California backpacking trips this spring and summer requires a Plan A and Plan B. Valerie Ross is dealing with that reality as a volunteer leader for the San Diego Girl Scouts backpacking program, organizing overnight hiking trips for young girls and women to gain outdoor skills.<\/p>\n

But this year, weather extremes are leading her and other leaders to rethink when and where they will take the Girl Scouts \u2014 making backup plans all the more valuable.<\/p>\n

San Diego County\u2019s recent summer-like temperatures have worried Ross, especially with upcoming trips in May to the Cuyamaca Mountains and Eagle Rock in Warner Springs, where water for the hikers could be scarce.<\/p>\n

So instead, since the western U.S. is seeing record low snowpack levels this year, leaders are now considering trips up Mount San Jacinto in early May \u2014 which would normally be \u201cunthinkable,\u201d Ross says, since the 10,800-foot peak in Riverside County is\u00a0typically covered in snow until later that month.<\/p>\n

While the shortened snowy season could make for ideal hiking conditions on Southern California\u2019s big peaks this spring, the low snowpack levels are causing concern among experts about the longer term impact on water source levels and wildfire risk.<\/p>\n

Ross is thinking about those things, too. The Girl Scouts have another 10-day, 70-mile thru-hike planned for the Southern Sierra, including up Mount Whitney, later this summer. If the water from the winter\u2019s snow has dried up by then, she might have to reroute the trip or go somewhere else entirely.<\/p>\n

Back closer to home, the forecast this week is calling for some rain in San Diego County, perhaps bringing our heatwave to an end \u2014 and more mild conditions for a trip Ross is leading to Eagle Rock this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust whipsaw back and forth,\u201d she said of the weather. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ValerieValerie Ross, a trip leader for San Diego Girl Scouts\u2019 backpacking program, stands on Darwin Bench above Evolution Basin in Kings Canyon National Park. (Courtesy of Valerie Ross)<\/p>\n

Ross, a Rancho San Diego resident, has been backpacking in the High Sierra for the past 50 years. For the last 25, she\u2019s been a volunteer with the San Diego Girl Scouts backpacking program, where she leads basic and advanced backpacking trips for dozens of participants, from seventh graders to adults.<\/p>\n

She says \u201cback pocket plans\u201d for the trips are now built into the itineraries as leaders have had to contend more and more with weather fluctuations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a challenge that the folks over at the San Diego Sierra Club also faced this year, especially since some of its Wilderness Basics Course programs require ample snow to demonstrate winter skills like building snow kitchens, using cramp-ons and clearing snow around their tent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe snowpack affects what we can teach,\u201d said the Sierra Club\u2019s outings leader trainer Stefanie Maio.<\/p>\n

For all the changes this year, flexibility in planning is something Ross hopes her participants at the Girl Scouts adopt, too. The ability to shift \u2014 and understanding that it\u2019s okay to change plans \u2014 is one of the skills she wants them to learn, along with learning how to backpack independently.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy passion is not just getting out there myself, but getting these young people out there and showing them the wilderness and how to travel through it,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n

I really enjoyed speaking with Ross about how she\u2019s adjusting her backpacking plans for the sake of the Girl Scouts\u2019 safety and enjoyment. It\u2019s always a delight to chat with people like her and Maio who love the outdoors like I do.<\/p>\n

Do you have a spring or summer trip coming up that you\u2019re excited about, or are you worried your plans could be impacted by snowpack levels or other weather factors? Drop me a line; I\u2019d love to hear about it.<\/p>\n

Closer to the coast, the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute released its three-millionth white seabass<\/a> into Carlsbad\u2019s Agua Hedionda Lagoon last week, part of an effort to strengthen the population of a species long depleted by recreational and commercial fishing.<\/p>\n

And much, much farther away, the thrill around the Artemis II mission has been on my mind this week. The astronauts\u2019 images of Earth<\/a> have been especially powerful to me. We live on such a beautiful, life-sustaining planet \u2014 it blows my mind to think about all the people, animals and plants and more that call this place home.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no hike this week, but I hope you get outside, especially with the cooler weather. And keep your eyes to the sky \u2014 next week is International Dark Sky Week, a celebration of our night skies.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll see you on the flip side.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Maura<\/p>\n

San Diego County will stay unseasonably warm until modest storm arrives this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n

Hubbs fish hatchery passes multimillion milestone with seabass release in Carlsbad<\/a><\/p>\n

Artemis II\u2019s moonbound astronauts capture Earth\u2019s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind<\/a><\/p>\n

Record low Colorado mountain snow won\u2019t bode well for water in the drought-stricken West<\/a><\/p>\n

San Diego scientists are uncovering Baja\u2019s mysterious creatures. Their new research shows there\u2019s still a lot to learn.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Human intervention\u2019 believed responsible as dozen leopard sharks are found dead on La Jolla beach trail<\/a><\/p>\n

Protected ospreys likely in for a longer stay at La Jolla Tennis Club<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is the Trail Report, a weekly email newsletter from reporter Maura Fox about hikes and San Diego…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74,76,75,420,1696],"class_list":["post-261125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-things-to-do","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}