This trail is in great shape. Did not see a single blow down across the trail. Snow does not start until very last portion as you approach the lake, then it is pretty deep and solid, but very easy to negotiate. The lake and surrounds look wonderful with all the snow around it. Just before I left there was a very large snow avalanche that came off the steep slopes across the lake - it made a continuous and loud thundering sound for several minutes and produced a impressive snow ""waterfall"". The noise was so load as to make it seem like constant thunder was coming from lighting strikes on the peaks above. Along the lower portion of the trail there were countless very large red cedar stumps left over from the first logging of the old growth. I recommend everyone hike this trail to appreciate what once was and now what remains after the logging, and to contrast that with the un-logged upper portion of the trial and its still intact but smaller old growth. 1000 feet gain, 4 miles RT, 2400 feet max. elevation. This is very nice hike.

So many trees down blocking the trail made it too difficult to hike the trail with children and a dog. Would be fine for hikers without children, who do not mind climbing over trees and possibly getting a little wet crossing stream.

The trail conditions have improved dramatically since the last report. There is no snow at the trail head, but still plenty at the lake. After the last of several blowdowns which are not very difficult to pass, you will start to encounter some snow. It is still very virgin and clean looking and very pretty in the upper part of the trail. It prevented us from going around the lake. Above the lake, the trees are still dusted with snow, but not on the trail. Hiking poles are very helpful for passing the slippery snow, but several other hikers did fine without them. There is some water on the trail due to the snow melt, but it is not very bad either. The trail is in good shape and not very muddy.

I took the pup out for what I thought would be a nice, easy stroll to Heather lake from the Mt Pilchuck road. Oh, I was prepared for snow, some fresh, some Cascade concrete, but the reality was quite different. The snow was about 8 inches deep at the trailhead, and got deeper as the hike progressed. I followed some footprints for the first 1/2 mile, until they turned the wrong way at the intersection with the old logging roads. From then on it was virgin, deep, soft snow all the way. I managed to follow the trail fairly easily, having been there before a couple of times. The trail heads uphill, then enters real old-growth forest in the valley of Heather creek. The snow was about two feet deep at that point, and there were a couple of very inconvenient blowdowns. I had to remove my pack and slide under one of them on the wet snow. It was slow going, as the trail is a bit rocky and has some large steps to negotiate, and the fresh snow did little to form a base to walk on. As the altitude of the lake was reached, the new snow was at least three feet deep, above the tops of my gaiters with each step. The dog was really struggling due to the soft, wet nature of the snow. She did better when following in my tracks. We were both very cold and wet due to the constant rain of melt water and snow falling from the trees above, and from squeezing under the blowdowns. The occasional mass of snow that would come crashing down off some branch up above was quite alarming, and I got nailed squarely a time or two. It was very difficult going, breaking trail through the deep snow with no snowshoes, just two ski poles with snow baskets. It took me three hours to reach the lake, and we arrived just ten minutes before my turn-around time. I had no desire to try and find my back in the dark with a flashlight through all that snow. I was also made uncomfortable by the knowledge that I had violated my most important safety rule: always have overnight survival gear. While I had plenty of warm clothes, plus a warm dog, it would have been a miserable and dangerous night with say a broken leg, what with the wet snow on the ground and cold ""rain"" falling from the trees, plus dropping temperatures. As I rested briefly before heading back, I thought of all the slippery rocks and roots hiding under all that soft, slippery snow, for two miles back to the trailhead. Had I known of the conditions on this trail, I would have started earlier, brought more warm clothes, a camping pad and a small tarp, plus snowshoes, and would have left the dog home. We were in the woods for 5 1/2 hours, with just 1/2 hour of resting. I only took 11 pictures, partly due to the ""tree rain"", and partly due to bright sunlight on snow, and also due to being cold and tired the whole time I was in the nice, upper part of the trail. Still it was a fun adventure and a good workout. I focused this report mainly on the difficulty of the hike since that was the dominant theme of my experience, but there was a lot to like about the day, too. The fresh, untracked snow, the giant trees, the cliffs surrounding the lake, a real sense of adventure what with the route finding and all. Oh, yeah, and the Mt Pilchuck road gate at the Heather lake trail head is now open.

Today we wanted a moderate snowshoe trip. The weatherman said the warm rain would come in the afternoon so we chose Heather Lake. The plan was to get up and back and stay dry. The trail has quite a few blow-downs but all were easily crossed. Snow started about halfway to the lake. By the time we got to the lake we were glad to have brought snowshoes. One couple was postholeing in the slush mid thigh and beyond. In fact their jeans (yes jeans) were soaked. Please go to the mountains prepared. Just because the drive is short doesn’t mean the mountain can’t kill you. The views were beautiful, but rain started in earnest by noon when we stopped for lunch. On the way our most of the trail had running water and the stream crossing was pretty wet and wild. It’s surprising how quickly the water levels can rise.