Melakwa Lake — Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025

The weather forecast for this weekend was looking really nice, if you were looking for miserable wintry conditions! It was calling for temperatures around freezing (and below) with rain and then snow at Melakwa Lake. I'm interested in taking the next step towards mountaineering, so I thought it would be nice to get some more winter camping experience. Melakwa was picked because it is a relatively short and easy hike that took us up into the elevation we would need for some real winter conditions. 

The hike up was all rain and cold. The trail itself was unremarkable. The hike up to the Denny Creek slide was a nice wide trail that was soft with no real challenges. After the creek the trail became rockier, crossing through a couple of talus fields. There were also a couple of spots with lots of tree roots. You go through a set of switchbacks, then a long rising trail to another set of swtichbacks that get you most of the way up to Hemlock Pass. 

Once you reach the pass, you begin to descend into the basin that holds Melakwa lakes. We couldn't see a thing due to low clouds and fog. We reached the lake area. The outlet was dry at the logjam, so we walked across easily. We decided on the campsites further out between upper and lower Melakwa lakes. There were a few spots to choose from, but all of the flat spots were already soggy. I pitched in a flat spot that was not wet yet, which turned out to be a mistake, as a small lake grew under my tent as the rain continued all day. 

The rain continued all night, and the wind started roaring down the mountains. I kept dry and warm in my sleeping bag, though I was testing the comfort limit on my Disco 15. Early in the morning it finally switched to snow. By the time I got out of my tent around 9:00am it was a winter wonderland. We hurriedly packed our packs to make the hike back to the car and dry clothes. 

The hike back was MUCH HARDER with snow on the ground, if you can believe it. At Melakwa it was 1-2" of snow over everything, which obscured the trail. Getting back to the other side of the lake was slow-going because the talus field was under a layer snow that covered all gaps and rocks. Slow slow slowly we made it back across. The hike back to the pass was also much more challenging because of snow, though the trail was easier to find in the trees. Much of the hike back down had snow. We even saw a bit still clinging on down at the Denny Creek slide. I used microspikes most of the way. 

Winter has arrived in the higher elevations! Nature definitely let me know where my winter camping plans and equipment were lacking. Next time I will be drier and warmer!