Lake Dorothy - Lake Bear - Lake Deer

Our party left the trail head after noon, during a brief break in the rain. The trail is in good shape with only a few blow downs that are pretty easy to pass. Two adults and a nearly 4 year old made it to the day use area with no real problems. The rain meant that there was water on the trail, especially pooled on the stairs in many places. But walking around the water was not too difficult, technically (if not emotionally for a child). There is a small amount of snow on the trail very near the lake. The real issue is that the outlet creek from Lake Dorothy, flowing through the narrow, steep-walled little valley from the lake to the main trail, is so high that it is up above the level of the trail in several places between the day use sign and the lake itself. Thus getting to the lake via the spur trail is too dangerous. A slip from the slope above and you would end up in the fast moving, 32 degree water, which drops over a rocky fall just downstream. The lake is still frozen and so we expect that the spur trail to the lake will continue to be inaccessible for as long as the temps stay up and the rain keeps falling or both.