I camped at Heather Park. As other reports have mentioned, there are 3 separate areas with trees down. With a full pack it was hard to get low enough for some, but otherwise they didn't cause any problems. The trail is in great condition otherwise, clear and a steady climb. The snow started just before the camp site, at ~5200 feet.
There was one clear and dry site next to the creek, just big enough for one tent and a cooking area. It looked like there were 2 other potential sites, both bigger but still small, but they're still snow covered. The creek was fairly shallow, but I was able to find a spot to fill my large water filter. Later in the season, it's probably a good idea to use a straw-style filter or something like that that doesn't need as deep of water.
That afternoon I talked to a few groups that said they were post-holing a lot on the way to the ridge. The next morning I went to the ridge, and while the snow was still soft, I didn't post-hole too much and made it from the camp area to the ridge (~0.5 miles) in 30 minutes without rushing. For the most part it was easy to follow others footprints and my GPS to stay on the trail, but I did miss one switchback. The trees are much tighter there than lower down, and so the path isn't as obvious.
The ridge itself is completely clear of snow. I didn't descend the back/south side of the ridge, but it also looked clear, at least until you hit north aspects again, like Mount Angeles. If you want to do the Heather Park/Lake Angeles loop, I'd worry about the conditions on the Lake Angeles half.
The snow was melting pretty quickly while I was there, but there's still a lot of it. We'll see what the next few days of warmth does.

Comments