No snow aside from a few small patches as of this morning, really shocking! A good bit of water flowing in a few places and navigating around the lake is a bit of a mess, but otherwise was quite nice with intermittent views. The lake was partially frozen with a milky texture and a slight reflection.
Road/Parking: Paved all the way, parking was mostly empty at 8 and mostly full at 12, despite the rain.
Trail: Starts uphill right away and has some cute little benches along the way for a break with a little view. All the turns are well marked. There is one section where there was a small slide that took a little of the trail with it. There is plenty left, but it was a bit slick so watch out. There was one water crossing that was flowing pretty good and had plenty of rocks to cross on but many were quite wiggly. The final split to the lakes has a nice view of the canyon that was also shockingly mostly free of snow. Just before the lake things get a touch overgrown and then there is another water crossing with a couple of options. The log was slick so we rock hopped and then climbed through the boulders, but you could also avoid the boulders by going around to the left and making a second water crossing.
The lake was milky glass with a layer of water on top of the semi-frozen lake and it was pretty cool. We are pretty sure we heard pika calling up in the rocks!
Stats: ~ 8.5 miles, 2300 ft elevation gain/loss, 3.9 hours total, 3.5 hours moving. We are moderate/fast paced hikers who hike weekly.
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