The road into the trailehead is freshly graded and in great shape. Lots of blowdowns in the first mile (although a trail crew is slated for May 21), but clear after that. A bit of snow near the shelter, and some patches on the switchbacks above the shelter. The heavy snow starts just below the first pond, and after that it is still extremely deep, maybe 4 to 6 feet. The first lake has only a bit of melt. You will have a hard time finding the trail at the top unless you have been there before.

FR 27 is in very good shape. FR 2741 where you cut off to Tunnel Creek is easily passable, but rough with rocks (loose and embedded) and some potholes. I wouldn’t take a Ferrari (or even our Prius), but we did fine in a Sentra. Someone (likely USFS) had cut out the downed branches and moved larger rocks off the road (thank you!).
As for the trail: HELP, WTA (sawyers needed)!!! Pics at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

The trail starts off with a downed tree right at the sign. There are about 4-5 downed trees (some quite the tangles), mostly in the first ½ mile. There are a few more trees down and some branches after that. All are negotiable, but a few are challenging. I took our dog off leash so we could each pick our ways more safely, then he’d wait for me on the other side to re-leash him (what a super-good pup, right???). There is little snow on the trail until about a mile before the shelter, then it’s steady snow. It’s fine with just boots, though we put on traction for the way out and appreciated having it. I headed towards the bridge beyond the shelter but was postholing so much the pup was anxious so I turned back. As always, and despite the challenges, this is a lovely stroll through the woods with lots of solitude, birdsong, beautiful creek, and dappled sun along mossy trees and boulders. We saw only 2 other hikers the whole way (a sunny Friday) – they went maybe 2 miles in before turning back. Our total for the day to the shelter and back with one little A.D.D. routefinding in the snow detour was 5.8 mi., 1,624' gain.

A Beautiful day to get outside and hike. Got within about a 137m 0f the trailhead. Used snowshoes and traction devices at different times to accomplish our day hike on the trail. The first mile and a half of the trail was littered with downed trees and scattered debris. After that the trail was clear except for the snow. Got to the bridge and it was not safe to cross yet, so we took the climbers trail and got up to around 1524m.
Had lunch sitting between Valhalla and Mt Constance. A beautiful day to get outside and hike.

There are five blowdowns between the trailhead and 5050 Pass, all easily passable for hikers (but perhaps more challenging for stock). Two are about halfway to the shelter, two are just above Harrison Lakes, and one is just below the pass. The first four are in the 18" range, but the topmost is much smaller, maybe about 6"-8".

Also, could someone please turn down the fog machine at the top? All that mist makes it hard to see the views. Thanks!