Blue Lake Creek — Saturday, Jun. 11, 2022

Took a gamble on hiking the ORV trail figuring that the way would be clear, motorized traffic would be minimal this early in the season, the trail wouldn't be too rutted yet, and snow would plentiful enough to keep bikes away from the lake and scored a grand slam. There's a solid half-mile of snow starting about two miles out and then it gets deep again right about when the trail meets Blue Lake Creek. I totally lost the trail at that point, but if you stick by the creek, you'll be fine, and then the lake itself is totally thawed-out and snow-free. I brought spikes and didn't end up using them, but I felt reassured knowing I had them. Not a lot of wildflowers yet, but soon.