Mount Rose — Saturday, May. 15, 1999

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Trail very well maintained up to the snowline. Patches of snow started at around 2500 feet, and was solid by the fork in the trail at ~2900 feet. I followed the start of the ridge trail (right hand fork), but soon got tired of the painful stream crossings and hung a left and headed up the hill. Great snow conditions on the way up; hard enough so you don't sink but soft enough to make step kicking easy. At the summit, there was still ~6 feet of snow with drifts to 12 feet or so, and it was still snowing today. The views there are nice, but (as always) lots of clouds so there wasn't too much to see. The snow was mostly hard enough to walk on reasonably without snowshoes, but in several places there were signs of people breaking through up to their waist. Ski poles and/or ice axe definitely recommended, I lugged snowshoes (good exercise...) but didn't need them. If the snow was a little softer, they would be handy. Not too many signs of recent traffic at the top, but I'm sure that will be changing. May be a long time before this trail is snow free this year.