The day we hiked on Lake Annette, the weather was fully sunny. However,the half of the trail covered by iced snow. It was very slippery without Yak-Track. I strongly recommend to use it. The lake view was hilarious. On the lake side the snow melted down in day time. Some hikers stepped on the icy surface on the lake. It looked not safe. Please be cautious when you bring young aged guys, be extra cautious. There is one pit toilet near the entrance lake side. But it is hard to find out. So don't pee on the snow near lake shore.

A wonderful sunny day in a winter of many sunny days. I picked Annette Lake with the idea that lower trails would be packed with people, and I wanted to check the snow level. As I passed High Point on I-90, the roadside parking was definitely full of cars. Annette Lake had only a few cars, just what I wanted. The lower trail was in great shape up past the John Wayne trail and beyond. Although John Wayne was snow-covered, the trail was not. It was still clear of snow until the switchbacks at about 2 miles. As I climbed, the patches were longer and longer, becoming permanent at about the 3rd switchback with about a foot of packed icy snow. I put on Yak-Trax and kept going. A couple parties coming down also had Yak-Trax or traction. They were definitely useful. The packed snow varied in depth as you cross open areas and shaded areas. After the switchbacks, the trail crosses several potential avalanche slopes. These slopes seem to have 2-3' of packed snow, well settled at the moment. After passing through the last set of trees, the lake appeared, covered in a layer of ice several inches thick, except near the outlet. I did not walk on the ice. We never know where volcanic hot springs may weaken the mountain ice. The sun was wonderful, but it wasn't actually hot. With the Yak-Trax, it took me four hours up to the lake and back. I came upon a party of four, one in tennis shoes trying to pick their way up. That's not a fun way to hike in slippery snow, especially going downhill. There is only one tree across the trail in the switchbacks, 12-16", easy to step over. It looks like these high trails are going to open up early this year.

When our plan to go to Melakwa Lake was thwarted because the road was not plowed, Kazuyo and I decided to go to Annette Lake instead. The trail was very, very icy. I was very glad to have Microspikes. Kazuyo was wearing YakTrax. (On the way home, we went to REI so Kazuyo could get Microspikes too.)

Even though there were several cars in the parking lot, after we crossed the John Wayne Trail, the footprints on the trail revealed only two other hikers. They were wearing crampons. We were happy to walk in their footprints across the avalanche chutes. There were several steep icy sections in which Kazuyo’s YakTrax were really not adequate. Fortunately she made it across without incident.

Annette Lake was lovely with aquamarine water. The peaks surrounding the lake were shrouded in fog. We enjoyed having the lake to ourselves as we ate our lunch on the shelf above the lake near the beginning of the trail to Silver Peak. As we were departing the lake, the wind came up and a bit of snow fell.

On our return trip, we met one lone hiker who proudly displayed his crampons and ice ax. Wise man. Not too far from the trailhead we met a couple that were sharing one pair of YakTrax between them. We warned them about the conditions ahead. They scoffed at us and continued on. I wonder how far they got.

It was a beautiful day. The only bad thing that happened is that both our cameras went dead so we could not take our usual excessive number of photos! If you go on this hike soon I recommend crampons if you have them. Microspikes are okay too right now.

For photos: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

The short gravel road leading to the trailhead has a few inches of snow, as does the large parking lot. Also, watch for some nasty potholes here.

Though snow-covered all the way, the trail is quite hikeable if you use boot traction devices and gaiters; Yaktrax worked well for me. The snow is deep enough for snowshoes only above 3000'; I carried snowshoes and didn't use them once. I don't use snowshoes if the snow is not at least a foot or so deep, as these cause a lot of damage to tree roots on the trail.

Be aware of several avalanche chutes on the lake approach - increasing snowpack is brewing up some dangerous conditions.