I did a 14.25 mile loop starting from Cascade Lake. I took the Cold Springs trail up (it was indeed cold at cold springs) then up to Mt Constitution. Both the upper portion of the Cold Springs trail and the trail up to Mt Constitution had a thin layer of snow, mostly hard and icy. I never felt I needed spikes (and I'm fond of my spikes). The most treacherous part was the ice on the steps near the top of the tower. Crossing the road at the top was icy as well. There was no precipitation coming from the sky today, but it was raining little chunks of icy snow falling from the trees. Very pretty views of the water from the top, especially with the snow in the foreground.
Next I headed down to Twin Lakes (quickly leaving the snow behind) and then around them, and resisted the temptation to do a side trip to Mt Pickett for the extra mileage and elevation (and just because it's there) as I had a 3:15 ferry to catch. Then I headed down to Mountain lake and took the trail down the east side of it. Views of the lake were lovely.
From there I followed the Cascade creek trail to the south end of Cascade lake (checking out the falls along the way), and then back up to my car. I think there was only one log to step over the entire way. I saw maybe five people between Mt starting point and Twin Lakes, and more around Mountain Lake. Not at all crowded. A beautiful day and a great workout
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