Snow lake is my family’s favorite. We took the summer route last week but didn’t make it to the top. We had to turn around after less than 300 ft to the ridge due to unsafe snow condition. So, we tried the winter route today and we had a lot of fun.
We brought spikes, gaiters, gloves (not used), poles, layers, snacks, water, and finally, sunscreen and sunglasses. We loaded Alltrails into mom’s phone. We forgot to bring battery chargers, but my mom’s battery was full. Our dog went the hike with us too.
The weather was perfect today with blue sky and gentle breeze. But the sun was pretty hot, so we had to put on our sunglasses. We also put on our spikes and gaiters right at the trailhead because snow was fairly deep at the trailhead even in mid-May. Really amazing.
We went up the trail and found the snow was very slushy and deep. We met several groups of people turning around about a mile and half due to the challenging snow condition. Last week, we had to turn around as well because there was no more boot path to follow, and I fell 4 times. There were also some streams to cross and fallen branches blocking the trail but manageable.
We got lost 2 times in the forest just about a mile from trailhead. We were about to turn around when we saw two other hikers heading to Snow Lake. We followed them to the junction. We then took the winter route, and they followed us. We got a clear view of Source Lake up in the mountain on the winter route. However, when we looked behind, the 2 people behind me disappeared, probably gave up with so much snow.
We continued with the winter route. We had gone to Snow Lake dozens of times with the summer route. But this was the first time we took the winter router. It was much safer than the summer route and had some spectacular views of Alpental, Source Lake, Snow Lake. We did off trail a few times but were able to quicky back on trail with AllTrails. By the time we got to where summer route met winter route, I saw some people down on the lake. I wanted to go down to the lake too. But mom said it was too risky and we didn’t have proper gears such as ice axe. I negotiated with mom and finally convinced her to go down to the lake.
We glissaded down a steep slope just below the big boulder where the viewpoint was at incredible speed. Mom lost her pole on the way down. It was fun. We eventually arrived at the lake and ate some snacks. I noticed the snow started to melt underneath over the edge. I even used my pole to measure where the melting point was.
The way back up to the ridge was tough. However, we managed to get up with spikes and poles. We had to step our way up and follow some ski paths. Our dog was also exhausted. We walked very slowly and steadily because if we made one wrong step, we might have to climb up again.
When we finally reached the top, we tried to go back with the summer route but had to return to the winter route because the summer route was too steep. We had to stop here and there because my mom got cramps on both her legs. Luckily, it was not very serious.
The way down with the winter route was very fast. We glissaded down again. It was a lot of fun. My dog had a hard time following us. Finally, we made it back to the trailhead.
The Alltrails said we hiked 7 miles roundtrip about 6 hours. We were very happy for going to the lake. Snow Lake is my favorite trail and I would definitely go there again.
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