Thornton Lakes and Trappers Peak — Friday, Apr. 17, 2015

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

The hike along the abandoned road for the first couple of miles of the trail was straight forward. We started encountering snow not too much beyond this point. We did pass some muddy sections and a few areas with fallen trees but these were easy to get around. Later on, the trail became difficult to follow as the snow got deeper and we got off route a bit but did find our way to the ridge. We had to traverse the ridge to get to the spot where the post with the arrow to Trappers Peak is located (where the regular trail crests onto the ridge). In the ridge traverse to get to the post, we were routinely post holing to our knees with occasional plunges to our crotches or waists. From the post, we ascended the ridge stopping about 500' below the summit. With the soft snow, some cornices present, and with the steep ascent/descent involved with going to and returning from the summit, we decided that we had gone far enough and stopped for a nice lunch break before turning around. We did bring ice axes and crampons but not all of us used them.