Went to check out the conditions and discovered that it was un-hikeable. Still too early in the spring, packed ice and snow on the trail. We will try again come summer!

Hubby and I went up Sunday afternoon starting around 1:30 and coming back to the car around 4:40. We went around other trials at the top too, so that's not a round trip time necessarily. I did make an elevation snapshot at the parking right at the base of the trail at just 4508 ft. And right at the top, standing on the classic picture spot for Lake Clara, I did another elevation snapshot which was 5577...so I would say it's nearly an 1100 feet elevation gain. That's one update I'd suggest making on the page because frankly, we were expecting a pretty easy hike, and it ended up being fairly challenging, even on a decently cool day. Granted, we're out of shape, but it's pretty steep in place. Nonetheless, it was absolutely gorgeous and a great way to spend the afternoon. The only other thing I'd REALLY like to see are some small SIGNS when the trail splits. It splits tons of times, and most of the time it doesn't matter which way you go. But at the top, the only sign you see is one for lake Marion (not even Lake Clara) and it'd be easy to go right instead of left and be off for quite a while. Just saying... :P Great hike though! Thanks to all who help maintain the trail.

We enountered a bit of rain at the start, but it then cleared up nicely. Very pleasant hike with tiny snowpatches at the beginning and then more steady snow at the top. Muddy in places, but easily hikeable with standard hiking boots. Trail is a bit bland, but the lake with new larch growth is quite lovely. We only saw one full lake. There was another lake basin with lots of vegetation, but this was fairly dry. We assumed the snow had not melted sufficiently yet, although perhaps we missed the second lake.

I led my Early Season Shakedown Backpack for the Cascadians this weekend to Clara & Marion Lakes. When we arrived at Clara Lake we could see a tent in the campsite in the trees so we went over to Marion Lake to see if we could find a campsite there. All we found was a marginal site with space for 1 tent, so we went back to Clara. The main camping area is in the trees with three larger sites with a little separation between them. I walked around the lake looking for more sites, but just found one site on the other side of the lake with space for 1 tent. The other party (a man & his daughter) were gracious when I apologized for having to move in by them. After camp was set up two of out party members headed off to climb up on the ridge to the west of the lakes while the rest of us just hung around camp or explored the lake for the rest of the day. There were lots of day hikers, but no other backpackers except the party that was already there when we arrived. We had a mix of sun & clouds with one substantial rain shower accompanied by some thunder. The next morning was a mix of sun & clouds becoming mostly cloudy. About mid-day we packed up & headed out. There were not many day hikers on Sunday. There were some mosquitoes, but no snow. The main wildflower bloom is still to come, but we did see Columbia Clematis in bloom along the trail & lots of Tweedy's Lewisia in bloom both along the trail & at the lake. Though not the scenic climax of the Cascades, this was a good first-of-the-season backpack & we all had a good time.