Highlights:
- The bugs are pretty bad out there. Take heed of the trip reports telling you to bring bug spray
- There were volunteers at Snow Lake trailhead warning people that there are active bears getting into people's food. If you're planning to camp at Gem Lake or Snow Lake, bring a bear canister
- The north side of Melakwa Pass still has a large snowfield from there down to Chair Peak lake. Pictures in full trip report.
Went for a very long day hike yesterday! Dropped off my car at the Denny Creek/Melakwa Lake trailhead, and was dropped off at the Snow Lake trailhead. I started hiking at 8:30am, and joined the parade of people up to Snow Lake. The trail here is, as always, immaculate and easy to follow.
The trail continues up to Gem Lake. I lost the trail once but by just continuing uphill, I found it again and continued up to Gem Lake. Gem Lake is maybe the bluest lake I have ever seen! Incredible spot, but the bugs were really bad up here.
Followed the bootpath that goes west from Gem Lake up towards Mount Roosevelt. I took that up to the ridgeline, around 5000ft, then cut SW, following a series of ledges, aiming towards the notch just below Chair Peak Lake. About a class 2-3 scramble. For a technically easier time, you could theoretically drop down about 150 feet and follow the field of scree field, then follow it back up, aiming towards that same notch.
Chair peak lake is no longer completely frozen over. It's thawing, but the SE corner of it still has snow to consider. I tended to stay uphill of the snow when rounding the lake. The scree here is loose, and I caused several small rock slides traversing it. If I were to do it again, I'd take out the ice axe earlier and stay closer to the lake. Then began the slog up towards Melakwa Pass. I was glad to have an ice axe for this spot, but I don't think it's strictly necessary if you have good traction. I did not have spikes, and I regretted it immensely. lol
From Melakwa Pass down to Melakwa Lake, there's a small bootpath leading about 200 feet down, then a long boulder field. I took this pretty slow, keeping leftof the middle of the valley. This dropped me right into another small bootpath that lead towards Melakwa, but it's impossible to miss Melakwa Lake if you're coming this way. Take whatever path you fancy here.
After refilling my water at Melakwa, I continued down the easy trail to Denny creek, and my car. Arrived at 4:30pm. 6 hours from Snow Lake trailhead to Denny Creek trailhead, and a fantastic day out.
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