First of all, what a stunning hike!
Began the hike at ~9:30a and made it to the peak at ~12p (2.5hrs up). Lots of stops on the way up, mostly for stunning photos. I made it to my car at ~2:30 (2hrs down) with a .5 hr on the summit.
I took my chances on the "Partly Cloudy" weather report and decided to solo-hike this morning. The trail starts out with a whole lot of short switchbacks through the forest. There was mist in the air, so I got to see some beautiful beams shining through the trees as I made my way up. At 3700' I saw the first signs of snow, which were intermittent at best for a around 1000'. Caution! The trail is often a creek-bed and is deep in some areas. Wearing waterproof boots on this trail is an absolute must, even before the snow. A recent rainfall must've melted off a lot of the ice and snow mentioned in previous reports.
At 4700' the snow became nearly constant. I think there were a few clear areas but eventually it was just deep soft snow. The snow became nearly 2'+ in the last 600' of elevation before the peak. I post holed my way up the mountain like a champ, but not without getting thigh deep in some areas. The hiker before me wore snow shoes, and I began to wish I had brought mine. I never pulled out my spikes-the snow was too soft for them anyway. I did wear my gaitors, especially in the deep snow.
Get out there while you can! I was one of 3 people on the trail today. Absolute stunner of a hike.
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