Had a lovely adventure over the past few days: biked from Seattle up to a camp on the Middle Fork Road on day one, finished biking to the Dingford Creek trailhead, hiked up and summitted Big Snow then camped at Big Snow Lake on day two, and hiked out and biked back home day three.

The hike up to Myrtle Lake is a good forest warm-up with plenty of blueberries; the bushwhack to the first gully was less intense and shorter-lived than I expected; Big Snow Lake and Snowflake Lake were absolutely stunning; the route up to the summit of Big Snow is pretty great, connecting talus and boulder-filled gullies. Most of the route is class 2 with a handful of other class 3 moves and lots of optional class 3/4 and slab walking. Two obligatory class 3 moves around boulders and trees at the top-out of the last gully to the Big Snow Lake outlet. I was able to easily go around the couple of lingering snowfields near the summit.

Saw multiple 10"+ trout in Big Snow Lake... I think cutthroat? Wish I had a pole.

I biked the Middle Fork Road on a steel-frame road bike with 33 mm tires with some tread. The section from Garfield Ledges to Dingford Creek TH was quite slow going (I was definitely under-biked) with a couple sections where I decided to just walk my bike for a few minutes through the roughest/largest rock sections.

I used this TR and accompanying GPX track: https://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=352842

This was the most grueling hike that I've ever done.  It is however a very remote and beautiful place.

First off you have to travel on the Middle Fork Rd 7 miles beyond the Dingford gate just to get to the trailhead to Hardscrabble Lakes.  I would definitely recommend a bicycle or better yet an Ebike.  The hiking part took 9.5 hours with breaks so you will have to either get an absurdly early start or do a 1-2 night backpack.

The trail is rough the entire way. It starts out for the first mile or so on a steep, eroded, abandoned mining/logging road built in the 1950's. There is a large rock field that can be tricky to navigate.  A GPS is highly useful. Lower Hardscrabble lake at 1.6 miles and 1400 ft gain is very scenic.  It is surrounded by huge granite cliffs on 2 side.  You have to traverse a big tedious boulder field on the west side of the lake to reach its inlet on the north end.  Nice camp sites near the north end of the lake. 

The trail that connects Lower and Upper Hardscrabble is sometime hard to find.  It is very steep in places and also traverses a couple boulder fields.  The upper lake is 700 feet higher than the lower lake but oddly it is looks like a lower elevation lake since it is surrounded by trees instead of cliffs and boulders.  Lots of 4-6 inch fish jumping out of the water near the outlet.

The next section is a brushy bushwack to get to the boulder gully that will take you up to the pass. Views of the Cascade Range (Lemah, Chimney, etc) start opening up as you ascend.  At the pass you get a great view of the best part of the hike which is the ascent up the gently inclined granite slabs.  There are a few easy snow field here to cross.  Views to Gold Lake and some beautiful bright blue tarns to the north.  At the peak, the view is nothing but wilderness lakes and peaks in every direction. It is a really expansive and beautiful place.

RT from the Hardscrabble Trailhead, 9.8 miles, 4100 ft and very rugged.

Attempted the Hardscrabble route with my buddy but didn't make it due to lost time bushwacking and recent snowfall above 4000 ft. We biked in the day before (need mountain bike) and camped overnight. There are a few good little spots along the road on the way to the trailhead. We made it to to the upper Hardscrabble Lake where we called it off around noon. At this point snow covered the "trail".

Didn't see a soul on the trail but lots of people on the road to the hot spring. Recommend this as a summer summit hike for hardy hikers with routefinding skills. Maybe stay an extra day for the hot springs.

Lots of what looked like blueberries along the trail, which was really interesting much of the way. Low hanging trees (birch) create a tunnel for the little, overgrown trail. It was a wet weekend so many puddles. Recommend high ankle waterproof boots in the wet season.

Note that the road IS closed at the Dingford trailhead. Either hike or bike in. Also, the road is pretty bad going in. Worse than I've seen for other PNW trailheads. Deep holes and puddles. Dont try without a high clearance vehicle.

After seeing a friends pictures of their climb of Big Snow Mountain in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, I knew I had to make an attempt myself.  The route was a beast but the rewards along the way looked to well make up for it.

Made the quick drive from home to the Dingford Creek Road. The Dingford Creek road is it's usual rough self and it appears they are doing some work on it.  Fortunately, the road was not closed and I was able to get to the trailhead.

Brought the bike along for this one to make it easier and save time.  With afternoon thunderstorms predicted, I had a limited window to get this summit ascent safely in.  Made quick work of the road portion, riding about six miles before stashing the bike.  From there it was about another mile to the junction with the "trail" to Hardscrabble Lakes.

It is marked with a small cairn and flagging.  The trail follows what looks to be an old road bed but years of little use mean it's in rough shape.  Rocky, overgrown and hard to follow at times, I would suggest this trail only to those experienced in backcountry travel.  Within minutes, I was soaked from the waist down from dew on the undergrowth despite waiting a bit to start in hopes that the sun would dry things out a bit.

A boulder section halfway to the lake is marked will with cairns and you are treated to some views of Lemah, Overcoat, etc.  Then back into the bush for a section before the lake. I lost the trail a few times here but just as I would get frustrated a cairn or flagging would magically appear and guide me along.  After about two and half miles and 40 cobwebs in my grill later, I was at the shore of Lower Hardscrabble.  Nestled in a deep bowl surrounded by incredible steep ridges, it is quite the spot.  The sky was blue as could be and I was thankful for my good fortune.

Worked my way around the lake on boulders and then through a marshy area.  Lost the trail here but somehow managed to plow through dense vegetation with a fair amount of cursing, to another boulder field which made for easier travel.  To your right is an amazing set of waterfalls and on my return, I would find the trail as is usually the case on trips like these.

Finally, about three and a half miles in, I was at the shore of Upper Hardscrabble.  Again, I lost the trail and there was another bout of cursing, grunting and plowing through vegetation before coming to the talus field that I knew led to the col that would drop me off near the final ridge to the summit.

By now, clouds were starting to roll in, fortunately talus and boulder fields are my jam and within 20 minutes I was at the col, sitting at nearly 6,000', the majority of the gain is now accomplished. Of course, clouds rolled in right at this time and visibility dropped to a hundred yards or so.  Great! But I made my way down the col, made a interesting transition to steep snow and traversed along to a more mellow angle to begin working the ridgeline. Snow was consolidated but soft enough to kick steps so spikes stayed in my pack.

With little visibility, I had to pull out my phone and reference Gaia to ensure I was headed the right way.  For the next nearly mile it was a mix of snow and rock travel.  To my delight, the clouds lifted about halfway and my jaw dropped.  The views were sublime. In every direction rose massive, rugged peaks.  The Alpine Lakes Wilderness at it's finest.  

My spirits buoyed by the sudden change in weather.  I continued on.  Most of this terrain was gentle with just one tricky spot where I had to straddle a ridge of snow with exposure on both sides but it was only about a hundred yards long.  Then I was on the final summit block, some class 2 scrambling and I was on the summit!  Or was I?  A second block on the summit plateau looked to be at least the same height. Not wanting to come up just short, I worked my way over to it and did some spicy class 4 climbing to get to it's summit.  Bases covered!

Took in the views, sent a summit message on my inReach then noted the clouds piling up again.  Off to the races!  As usual, going down takes a fraction of the time and within an hour I was almost to Upper Hardscrabble.  Drops started to fall and the clouds above started to look real ugly.  Faint sounds of distant thunder hit my ears.  

Fortunately, finding the trail between the two lakes made me much quicker but as I hit the lower lake, the storm struck.  Never have I heard such ferocity in a storm, and I have experienced them in Colorado and Idaho.  Bright flashes, followed by deafening thunder became my world.  I was literally running across the boulders along the lower lake when the sky opened up and rain and hail began pouring down.  I was soaked before I could even think about my rain shell.

I didn't even bother putting on my rain pants at this point and just continued barreling down the trail.  I don't think I have ever been so wet in my life.  Part of the fun I suppose!  Eventually I was back at the road, on my bike and pedaling down the road like some little kid, hitting every puddle along the way because, why not?!   

Was back at the car at nine hours.  Total trip was about 24 miles with 6k of gain.  Another unforgettable experience in the ALW!