A little more than a year ago, I had to snowshoe two miles just to get to the trailhead. Today, I drove all the way to the trailhead without seeing any snow, and saw none on the trail for the first mile. The next mile until the meadow was increasingly sloppy-mud, snow, and water. After slogging through the meadow, I attempted to find the "climber's trail" mentioned in 100 Hikes In the North Cascades, but had no luck. I did find one flag tied to a tree, in the middle of a very steep bushwhack, but couldn't find any path nearby. I continued up until I hit my turn-around time. Looking at Google Earth and reading older trip reports, I should have stuck closer to the waterfall before attempting to gain the ridge. It would probably be a good idea to come here in the summer when I can actually see the trail.
Saw no one on the way up, but on the way back down, I met a whopping five parties (unusual for this little-used trail). None of them were dressed or equipped for the trail, and they were all looking for "ice caves". I told them I hadn't seen or heard of any such on this trail, but I was doubting myself by the fifth group. At home, a quick google search revealed nothing online, but they must have heard about it somewhere.
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