Etiquette: Snowshoes. :) If you are Legolas and can glide across a piece of snow covered rice paper suspended across a valley without falling through, so be it. Otherwise, the first chimney is an accident, the second is an indication, and an entire half mile of trail destruction means you should have turned around, gone elsewhere, or put on snowshoes in the snopark. If we want potholes, we'll go drive on I5. Warmer temperatures today are giving way to a bit of rain but the snow level is dropping below 3000ft later this week and this trail will be getting fresh snow. Let's make it flat and happy for the snowshoers this season.
Current conditions: Frost on the non-highways past Exit 38 this morning, including the bridge and road to the trailhead. Furrowed ice in the parking lot and the beginning of the trail to the bridge. I wore spikes for the entire ascent/inbound, but it's possible to make John Wayne/IronHorse in just boots. Quarter mile past that the trail accumulates icy spots, and another quarter mile is mostly packed snow. Softer snow appears within half mile of the maximum elevation, and the snow on the boulder fields is still fluffy. Still some stream crossings to consider. Steps (! I had no idea there were so many, having only been here in full snow) steps are solid ice blocks.
Trail destruction starts a bit before the boulder field crossings and continue to the lake. Sadly this makes it difficult to maintain balance on the three boulder crossings, but pay attention and you shouldn't fall down the hill. Let's all help to flatten and widen the trail.
If I90 is windy, it will be windy in the parking lot. Wind was happily gone before John Wayne. Lake was calm, but 15F colder than the earlier part of the trail.
7.0mi 690m ascent
(additional picture links later)
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