James and I hiked up to Heather Lake off the Mountain Loop Highway after work on Thursday 5-16-08. (Note the date stamps on the photos are off by one day.)
For the distance of halfway up, the trail is in great shape - a thank you to those that cleared this winter's blow downs! After that point it is a very deeply snow covered, but it is easy to follow the boot path in the snow to the lake. The boot path appears to deviate from the trial in places so one must pay attention to their whereabouts and navigation. There were a few spots with deep holes in the snow starting to develop along the path, but nothing unmanageable with some proper caution and care. Also one must be careful around the lake and lake outlet. The snow was firm enough for hiking in boots. Gaiters were a good idea, though I did fine without them and without poles.
There was a slight noticeable increase in stream flow on the way down in the evening, but nothing serious. There did not seem to us to be any concern for avalanche and stream flooding on this trail and boot path on this very warm day. However please use you own best judgment and informed evaluations of the current conditions if you choose to go. All together a super way to spend a weekday evening after work!
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