Florence Peak — Tuesday, Jun. 1, 2021

Decided to risk the Memorial Day crowd (and avoid a backcountry slushfest) on Florence (MRNP).  Much to our surprise, we saw not a person the entire hike.  After hitting Alki Crest/ridgeline, we encountered 2 distinct areas of snow running the ridge.  The first was about 1/4 mile in past the initial bluff and the other was at the end of the ridge, through the open area and up the ridge to ~75 feet below the summit block.  The snow was easy traveling, but coupled with multiple blowdowns, it made traveling a bit tedious.  The trail was visible here and there, although if you're on the ridge, you're roughly in the right place, sometimes more roughly than others.  Someone with a small handsaw could make traveling through some of these blowdowns a little less likely to involve loss of blood......The first and only time we had done Florence previously, there were no views, not so on Monday.  The enormous old growth trees on this trail are stunning.