This is a suboptimal year for your NoBo thruhike. At least nobody died yet (so far as we know).

Yeesh.

Sensible thru-hikers will bypass the Sierras, continue through N California, Oregon and Washington, then return to pick up the Sierras as the last leg. Even then, they'll hit more than enough snow, but probably fewer hazardous river crossings and steep snow slopes on passes.

Yep. We met three PCTers north of Truckee who had bailed out in Bishop, and were picking up the trail in Truckee...and then will come back to do the missing miles. They had some wild descriptions of the snow and water in the southern Sierra.