Noble Knob #1184

We stopped in Greenwater on the way to Noble Knob and heard that Corral Pass was still closed, so we took the longer drive - 70 to 72 to 7220 to 7222 - and started at the north end of trail 1184. The road conditions are fine, even for a Toyota Matrix.

The hike was cold (47 at the trailhead) and foggy. The trail starts out steep, and after a couple switchbacks we ran into several stretches of deep, hard-packed snow. Poles would have been useful. The trail levels out into a snow-filled meadow, and we missed the turn to Noble Knob and ended up going down to George Lake instead.

Along the way, the glacier lilies are everywhere, the blueberries are flowering, daisies are coming out... and there's deer, elk, and bear skat just about everywhere.

Anyway, we backtracked, found the George Lake sign, and then found the trail in the snow towards Noble Knob. Luckily at this point the snow fields disappear, because the walk on the side of the ridge towards the base of Noble Knob would be pretty dangerous otherwise.

After the ridge section, the terrain flattens out into a meadow with wild strawberries (just flowers, no berries!) and plump chipmunks. Plenty of flowers along the trail up to the top of the knob, including columbine and a field of large white anemones (?) that we hadn't seen before on previous visits.