Did a late afternoon snowshoe.  Initially was intending to go to Gold Pond but that entire area was a zoo and there were so many cars you couldn't even drive on the road.  Alpental doesn't open until Tuesday so the parking at Source lake was wide open.

The snow is soft and dry and unconsolidated.  I think that snowshoes are a must right now.  There is a short steep section about 1/2 way to Source lake that was pretty hard to get up even with snowshoes because the snow was so soft.

RT 3mi, 560ft

I started early to avoid the crowds on the Snow Lake trail. I'm glad I did. I saw only three people between the trailhead and the Source Lake split. I saw no one after the split until I rejoined the Snow Lake trail on my way out.

The pika in the Source Lake basin were in abundance this morning. I heard a ton and managed to get decent pics of three for a community science project via iNaturalist. Two of them were sunning on rocks; the other was busy moving food from an external haypile to its underground stores.

I followed the Chair Peak climber's trail up through the talus to the basin directly below Chair's east face and then ascended a grassy gully to the ridge separating Source Lake from Snow Lake. The climber's trail fades in and out, but isn't difficult to follow or guess if you have climbed talus before. The gully has definitely been used repeatedly to get to the ridge, but some sections are hidden in the grass.

Atop the ridge, there are amazing views of Snow Lake and as far as Glacier Peak. A thin trail follows the ridge east and west through a mix of heather, rock slabs, and blueberries. It looks like the ridge could be used to go west around the north shoulder of Chair to Melakwa Pass or east to rejoin the Snow Lake trails. (I returned the way I had come.)

There's at least one bivy site in the basin below a huge boulder and one very nice site on the ridge.

The upper parking lot (#4) is now for season pass holders only so you have to park in lot #3.  The snow is much deeper this year than last.  Looks like about 10+ feet.  The path is well packed and easy to walk on. We took a branch to the right that crosses the river on a sturdy snow bridge then ends at a nice waterfall.  No easy way that I could see to proceed from here.  Went back and took the left fork that leads to an even better view of the waterfall from the south side of the creek. The route then switchbacks steeply up into the relatively flat basin surrounding Source Lake.  It looks like a large avalanche came right down to the lake shore from the mountains far above.  Only saw a handful of snowshoers and skiers.  

4.1 mi RT and 800 ft

FRI, JAN 22.  Did my first ever snow shoe today. My goal was the ridge overlooking Snow Lake. However, I made it only approximately 15 minutes toward Snow Lake from the turnoff to Source Lake.

Main advice —

I hiked in show shoes, along with poles. The trail would’ve been very do-able in micro spikes - packed snow with just a trace of loose snow on top.  If I’d continued any further, I can imagine the snow shoes would’ve felt necessary.  Doing it over again, I would’ve worn spikes and brought the snow shoes on my pack as an option. 

After the turnoff, as I made my way uphill toward Snow Lake, the boot track petered out after ten minutes or so.  So I cut uphill, saw and followed a few more scant boot paths along the way, then they’d quickly disappear.  Finally gave up and turned back.  Doing it over again, I would’ve brought GPS/Gaia and followed the “official” trail further with my phone, in hopes of picking up the boot path again.  A few hikers mentioned an avalanche covered part of the trail a week ago, so perhaps it would’ve been obvious otherwise.

Enjoy it up there!

Beautiful sunny day to hike the trail. Recommend snowshoes or crampons as parts were icy. Waterfalls, lots of snow on the trail but well traveled.

Snow was well packed & hard on the edges of the trail — only allowing single file.
People were good about allowing others to pass safely. Many people were out, but not back to back so we had time to stop and enjoy the vistas. Most people were wearing masks.

The hike is stunning and there are 2 spots where waterpools had to be crossed onto snow cliffs (hardpacked) to “boulder over”. No special equipment needed. We just took our snowshoes off and climbed up and over. Medium and large dogs were able to do navigate it.

We made it 3/4 of the way to Source Lake but turned around on one of open mountain areas where the trail became too narrow, with little traction on the slope, and not well traveled or marked.

Took us 3 hours to hike 8km with snowshoes.