We got to the trailhead around 11am and there were about 8 cars. There was a big snowfall the day before, so the first part of the trail looked like it was dusted with powdered sugar. Just beautiful. Snow covered the trail a few times on and off until the upper/lower trail junction, where it became constant. We put on our spikes shortly before the summer/winter trail split, because it was getting quite icy.
We met a handful of people on the way down, who all said the snow got very deep right after the trail split, and they turned around even with snowshoes. However, by the time we got there, enough people had plowed ahead that we were able to get quite a ways down the summer trail, although it was very hard going! After the first overlook we started to posthole frequently. Eventually, every hiker ahead of us had turned around. We pushed on for as far as we could, but with the deep snow and very little daylight left, we decided to turn around. According to Gaia we had approximately half a mile to go to the top.
It was still a beautiful hike. Truly a winter wonderland. We'll try again sometime, and hopefully time it better so it's not after a major snowfall. Definitely recommend poles and traction for your shoes, and preferably snowshoes. Although if the trail was packed down, I don't think snowshoes would have been necessary. We didn't look at the winter trail at all, so I don't know about the conditions there.
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