Big Creek, Mount Ellinor — Friday, Jan. 20, 2023

No epic outing to report about. Just information for those who are planning epic trips for themselves. Hiking buddy Gary and I scouted the conditions from the highway near Big Creek campground to the trailhead at the upper Ellinor parking lot. Here's what we found.

In early December, this area received a big dump of snow down to the shore of Lake Cushman. On the trail, that snowfall has receded up to the 3000-foot elevation which is just above the lower trailhead (on the road, it's much lower). Snow covering starts with chunky ice pellets which then becomes a thin layer of crusty snow and, further up, deep consolidated snow where microspikes would work well. At the lower trailhead, we detoured down to the road to assess conditions. There we met one party that had parked a mile down the road and were geared up and going for the summit.

Out in the open, the snow on the road was deep and crusty. No vehicles in the parking area, but a single tire track was evident. The track continued up the hill past the parking area. We decided to walk up the road to see how far it went. Though a good 18 inches deep, the snow on the road was generally supportive. The same was true whether walking in the tire track or out. The track disappeared after 3/10 mile, but we continued walking uphill until we reached the spur trail that shortcuts to the upper parking lot. By this point, snowshoes would have been helpful, but we had decided to leave them in our vehicle, so we soldiered on, breaking trail wearing just microspikes.

The upper parking lot was bathed in sunshine and we took a break to enjoy it. The outline of the picnic table was visible but completely buried providing a good gauge to estimate snow depth at 3 feet. After our rest, we continued on, breaking trail and following the elevation contour until we converged with the main trail. There was a nicely compacted boot path to follow down, thanks in part to the party we met below. Gary and I resolved to return next week armed with tire chains so we could attempt to drive to the lower trailhead. Even if we fail, we should be close enough to see how the winter chute looks and eventually push to the summit.