What a fantastic three-day trip through one of my favorite places. Highly recommend this hike if you are looking for beautiful views and solitude.
Most of the creeks are running very dry right now. The stream near the first camp (before the climb to Cutthroat Pass) is running extremely low, probably not usable by a pump filter, but you should be fine if you are using a gravity or squeeze. After this, there are NO WATER SOURCES until well after Granite Pass. Make sure you fill up before heading this way as there are no running streams until about .5 miles before the Snowy Lakes turnoff. The trail is very exposed and dry from Cutthroat Pass on.
There are many campsites spread sporadically on the trail in between the established campsite and Cutthroat Pass. Some in the meadow after several switchbacks (camp on the rocks, not the flowers), some on top of the pass, etc. Just make sure that you practice LNT principles if you're camping outside of the established sites.
The turnoff to Snowy Lakes is not that hard to miss. It really is directly across from the group campsite (which is very obvious). It's maybe 20 feet East of a large boulder and post-like piece of wood.
The climb up to Snowy Lakes is grueling, but not long. It takes some effort and determination, but it is over quickly! We set up camp and left most of our gear at the group site, but we could have easily managed bringing our full packs up to camp near the lakes. We didn't head up to Upper Snowy, but it looked like several groups were planning on staying up there. There were three other groups at the large site on Monday night.
It was pretty smoky/hazy up there from the fires, but certainly not impeding in our enjoyment of the area. You could taste it a bit in the air, but it was not difficult to breathe. The breeze seemed to clear some of it up by Tuesday.
This is a great hike. Not strenuous, but a fun challenge.
Please donate to WTA via my Hike-A-Thon page: give.wta.org/crimpyclimber
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