Decided to head up Mt. Margaret to take some pics of the aurora from the backside of the Margaret Ridge. Aurora was incredible, but you all know that! Figured I would drop an early season trail report / snow level update since we are all planning trips.
This trail shares a few miles with the Lake Lillian trail until they split at the top.
Road to Mt. Margaret / Lake Lillian trailhead is snow free until the last 1/2 mile or so. I have a high-clearance vehicle/good 4WD truck and gave it a go for 50 yards, but given the super warm temperatures, the snow on the road was super slushy and icy and sketchy. I backed down and left the truck on a pull out. Walked the half mile to the trailhead. Snow level starts about 3500 feet and from there is steady to the top.
Once you hit the proper trail, its full on snow. My guess is you have about 10 days at these temperatures and road and bottom section will be nearly dry. The woods don't have that much, but the road is still stacked a few feet deep, just starting to melt from the edges. Following the actual trail after the trail head is quite obvious since it follows the old logging road for quite a bit. About .5 mile in the trail forks, you can do the direct assault (left), or take the long switch back following the road (right). I totally missed the fork (left) and just followed the long road switch back. I was initially annoyed since it is definitely longer, but once I got to the top, I don't think anyone has done the direct assault trail fork and it would be impossible to follow without GPS.
Once at the midpoint where the left fork and right switch back conjoin to keep heading up the mountain, it gets really tricky. With current snow depth and coverage it would be impossible to follow from here without GPS. It took me about 10 minutes to find a spot to climb up and off the road. Fortunately someone had gone before me, I saw some boot prints. From here you are weaving through saplings and new growth in very narrow turns all while stacked on 3-6 feet snow drifts between the small trees. With a heavy pack, this was sketchy, day pack would be fine. The person before me used GPS (Gaia) and their track was nearly identical to the trailmap weaving the trees. From here its steady climbing through the sapplings/new growth, awesome Rainier views emerge. Once you get to the old growth, snow depth is lower and its easier going because the snow is harder, but still uphill. I headed straight for the ridge since the sun was about to set and got camp setup.
I left the next morning at 5:30 and the snow had hardened up for the decent which was crucial.
Recommendations:
1. Bring the snowshoes if you are going in next two weeks otherwise you will be post hole'ing big time, and potentially very unsafely through the small/medium saplings which are partially submerged. In dead of winter I'd be worried about tree wells here, but its all fairly consolidated by now.
2. Bring a GPS/Gaia on the phone. If the sun melts my tracks or someone else's the trail after the midpoint leavin the road is impossible to follow. Yes, you can just go straight up, no big terrain traps, but it weaved quite a bit.
3. Be prepared for sopping wet shoes and boots even with gaiters, its a giant snow cone. Go early while its still frozen.
4. Don't under estimate the physical toll of snow travel. Took me more than twice as long as it should on any given day.
5. No running water at the top, melt snow or bring enough.
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