Biked / Hiked the former FS road from Gold Creek to Kendall Lakes. Biking uphill was difficult and we needed to walk the steeper sections. Snow patches on road until 3600', then 100% snow. The snow was soft and snowshoes helped a lot. After leaving the road, there were some steep slippery sections to navigate to get to the lower and middle lakes, our MSR snowshoes helped. Getting to the upper lake required climbing a very steep slope, and the superb grip of our MSR snowshoes was essential! The upper lake is beautiful! We managed to cross it, hoping to ascend the gully on the north end, but there was too much shoreline melt-out on the north side.
Tip: Our map showed a trail on the north side of the creek (between upper and middle lakes), and this was our first ascent attempt. This path followed an open avalanche slope and was very steep and exposed. Although there was no avalanche danger, we opted to ascend thru the trees on the south side of the creek. This minimized the fall hazard concern and the snow was firmer, allowing better grip with the snowshoes.
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