The previous trip report pretty much covers the salient points about the current conditions for the trail. Adding a few additional bits from my hike yesterday. The forest road NF-4832 has some narrow sections and I had to pull off into the brush to let another car pass. Though there are bad potholed sections, my Audi sedan made it without any issues to the trailhead. I started quite late ~1:30PM, the parking lot was almost full. There were lots of folks (families and folks with dogs) on the trail but I saw only one other person on Mt. Margaret who was leaving just as I arrived.
A few other notes, the trail can be quite indistinct in spots such as under the old growth section of Lake Lillian trail. The trail up to Mt. Margaret is also easy to miss, so after you pass the talus slope pay attention, it is no more than 100 feet from that spot. This section would definitely be easier with hiking poles (especially, on the way down), so if you have them be sure to bring them. There is no snow on the climb up to Mt. Margaret, but there is patchy snow on the way up on the Lake Lillian section of the trail and these are quite easy to pass. On the last section, I took a wrong branch and ended up unintentionally at the South Peak of Mt. Margaret. It turned out fine since I saw heather blooming there which I did not see on the main peak. There are quite a few wildflowers blooming, saw lupine, phlox and heather among others. There were lots of biting flies at the top of Mt. Margaret and I got bitten in places where I hadn't applied Picardin, such as under the sleaves of my t-shirt. Bugs in other parts of the trail were not an issue. There was a section of the trail with switchbacks just before the intersection with Lake Lillian trail that I was dreading prior to the hike. This, however, was quite gentle and was not bad at all despite the switchbacks. CalTopo link below for my track, which ended up being ~6.6 miles. Overall, I enjoyed this hike - great views with relatively little effort.
Comments
Phlox is one of my favorite wildflowers. That photo of it is gorgeous.
Posted by:
Anna Roth on Jul 06, 2021 03:10 PM
Thank you, they are lovely and they brightened up the hike quite a bit!
Posted by:
dxcharles on Jul 06, 2021 08:15 PM
DX, thanks for the great report, my son and I will be visiting Margaret on Friday. You may want to consider reviewing your steep road driving practice. Generally on very steep descents the preferred method is to put your car in a very low gear (speed dependent) so that the engine restricts your speed and therefore reduces your need to use your brakes as much. Hot brake pads will become less effective with overuse, not to mention wearing them out prematurely. Perhaps asking your mechanic's opinion?
Posted by:
Austineats on Jul 07, 2021 08:41 AM
Thank you, this is a good callout. I edited my report to excise the part about driving in neutral, so that others don't follow that. I usually drive downhill on 2nd gear this time was the only exception. For some context, I had also recently installed upgraded racing brakes that still needed some bedding in.
Posted by:
dxcharles on Jul 07, 2021 12:32 PM