There isn't much snow left, only a few patches here and there. This trail is now accessible with tennis shoes. The lake if fully melted, and looked beautiful with the sunshine!we had a nice day sunning ourselves on the rocks and logs. Great for the family, or someone new to hiking. Or, if you want a challenge, try scrambling partway up Baring. That was fun, too!

The good news is that the trailhead is now easily accessible. Once you get on the trail the first part is fairly easy, with a clear view of the trail. As you go on things get a bit trickier. There is still quite a bit of snow and in many areas the snow is melting and getting weaker. Be prepared for slippery footing and expect to often find your leg going through 3-4 feet of snow, as there are still multiple snow bridges on the path 4-5 feet above ground. Going around the snow is sometimes an option, but the ground is very muddy and soft.

Often times I found my self sliding into the snow and having to leverage myself out with my walking pole. In other parts of the trail where snow has melted the ground is extremely muddy and many small streams running through. Since I am new to the trail, I don’t know what the normal conditions are. I can tell you that it took nearly 1.5 hours to get to the lake. If you are a novice hiker looking for an easy trip, I would not recommend hitting this trail in the next two weeks.

Also important to note, as we got closer to the lake we ran across a pair of hikers who could not find their way back to the actual trial. Apparently the normal trail down to the lake is still covered and there are rocks everywhere it would be very easy to slip and break an ankle or hit your head on a rock. We took a different route to the lake and couldn’t make it down.

Based on a basic knowledge of geology it looks as though there may have been a small avalanche during this past winter that will be more apparent as more of the snow melts. More experienced hikers may have an easier time accessing the lake and campgrounds, but we saw no visible campgrounds. Hikers arriving at the lake didn’t seem to stay long.

We left our car at about 12:30pm and made it back at a bit after 4pm. Our slow time was probably due to navigating the snow bridges and trying to determine where the trail continues. Had I read a trip report before going I would have waited until later in the season, as this trail presented some challenges that I felt were a bit above my skill level, but I did gain some new experience which is why I committed to completing the hike.

The trail head is still inaccessible, I'd say even for those who have big trucks, however I suspect it will be melted out within the next week or so. It was going fast in the hot weather we've had lately.

As it were, there was about a 1/4-1/2 mile walk to the trail head. Once there, the trail is easy enough to follow but is still covered by about 60% snow. At about 1/8 of a mile before the bridge, that goes up to about 95% covered and in places it looks to be many feet deep (like 5-6). Lots of good fun making post holes. A few blow downs here and there, but nothing you can't easily step over/under. Stream crossings are all easy and the main bridge is looking good.

Only one camping spot is melted out at all on the north side of the lake. Not the big one by the toilet sign, but the one about 1/8 of mile past it. That's where we camped and it was big enough for our 4 man, but just barely.

The lake is about 50% frozen. The east (outlet side) has all the frozen stuff. The west end is thawed.

The trail is certainly doable as it is now, but in a week or two, I think it will be mostly clear. There should also be a good boot path up it now as there was a group of about 6 people heading up as we had just gotten back to our car.

Sorry for the impersonal TR, but this is better than nothing.

Enjoy!

Headed up here hoping for a short and easy walk into my favorite Wild Sky. I noticed that a comment on the Hiking with my Brother site said it was clear by mid May last year; I thought with the lower snowpack this year, we'd be OK now. Unfortunately, the road was snowed in probably just less than half a mile from the trailhead, as was the rest of the trail.
We went ahead and walked up and continued down the trail. Probably less about a mile up the trail, there is quite a disaster of blowdowns and overgrowth. I went into "the jungle" about 100 feet and then could see it only got worse, so we turned around and headed down. A bit disappointing but still a nice little walk.
If you want to go up, I would recommend wearing YakTrax (or similar) and taking treking poles to help with the snow. Snowshoes are unnecessary. Also, there were several drainages where the trail is washed out; they took some minor scrambling to get through, so keep that in mind before taking the kids and/or grandpa.
Anyway, I suspect this trail'll need a few weeks of melting and then a full work party before it's back to the way it's described. I'm looking forward to trying it again. It's a beautiful spot!