Bald Mountain via Ashland Lakes — Saturday, Jun. 29, 2013

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

We had a great hike to Cutthroat lakes from the Mtn Loop Hwy side. Snow covered at least 75% of the trail and route finding was time consuming. We made it to the lakes but not to Bald Mtn. After the first quarter mile of snow we started flagging. Please feel free to remove the flagging after the snow is gone and the flagging is no longer needed. The snow bridges were passable but at getting pretty thin. There are several trees down across the first mile of the trail. None bigger than about a foot in diameter. On the switchbacks up the steep part there is a three foot diameter tree down across the trail. Traversing under the cliff there was clearly some rockfall but not too much. Move through that area quickly to minimize risk. We had a really good time hiking. The snow was all really pretty. Only one other couple tried the trail and I think they turned around shortly after hitting the snow.