41 replies to this topic

[DeeCeeM]

Since we're already getting a lot of questions about trail conditions, I'm opening a topic for folks to report what it's like out there. By all means continue to post trip reports; but please come here and give us a brief update on the conditions, too. That way there will be one central place where everybody can check for updates.

Happy hiking!

[ALooneyGuy]

Hey, you beat me to it this year! I was planning to start my hiking season in about 3 weeks, depending on how much snow falls or melts between now and then.

[Igloo Ed]

With the recent snows we've been getting, the trails above Bear Lake are still covered deeply with snow. Here's a picture from Sat. May 1st taken on the Nymph Lake trail just before getting to the lake:

[ALooneyGuy]

May 22, Gem Lake - clear and dry
May 22, Lily Mountain - patchy snow in some places after the hairpin turn, but not enough to be any kind of problem. A few icy spots also which could be more troublesome, because they're either the same color as the rock or obscured by pine needles, but really not that big of a deal either. The last stretch to the summit is completely clear.

[GLENNinPA]

Went to Dream and Emerald Yesterday. The trails were a bit icy in the morning and soft and slippery in the afternoon. To Dream and Emerald it was packed pretty good and boots were fine.

Went to Mills and Loch today. Could have used snowshoes in some places, especially to The Loch.

The weather is crazy. It was absolutely beautiful yesterday. Went to Emerald and spent a few hours on the south slopes above the lake. Today went to Mills. It was sunny in the morning but was very windy at Mills. By the time we got to The Loch the clouds rolled in and the wind gusts were easily 50-60 mph. It started snowing and was blowing sideways all the way to the trailhead and all the way to Estes. It seems to be clearing up now.

[ALooneyGuy]

May 31, Estes Cone - Patchy snow, mostly before Storm Pass. There is definitely more snow on the trails at this point than usual. There are also some extremely muddy sections from the late melting snow. The scramble to the summit is clear.

[ALooneyGuy]

June 5, Twin Sisters - Clear up to about 10,600', then quite a bit of snow up to 11,000', and where there isn't snow, it's very wet. Once you break out of the trees, it's all clear to the summit(s).

[zzcoop]

Hi, gang.

Any word on how things are looking snow-wise from Dream to Emerald?

[js15]

zzcoop, on 13 June 2010 - 12:43 PM, said:

Hi, gang.

Any word on how things are looking snow-wise from Dream to Emerald?

I did this hike last Monday. There was snow (it was melting fast then) throughout the hike but it was easy to walk on with hiking shoes. However, there was too much snow to walk around Emerald.

[Igloo Ed]

The trail from Glacier Gorge trailhead to The Loch is snow free other than the large snowfield just before reaching the lake. The trail is running with water after passing Alberta Falls until past the Boulder Brook turnoff and wet/running again after Mills Junction. Those were the conditions June 12th 2010.

[ALooneyGuy]

June 14, Fern Lake and Spruce Lake - With all the weekend rain, the trail was partly pond, partly stream, and partly mud pit. However, I suspect that the rain has aided in melting the snow because I didn't see any until the Fern Lake cabin, and it was a little less than usual at this time of year. Up until now, everything seemed to be about 2 weeks behind the usual runoff. Speaking of runoff, holy smoke! The Big Thompson is living up to its name right now as the rapids are majestic. There were a few spots along the trail that appear to have eroded a way a bit in the center part of the trail. I assume this is due to torrential rain and runoff. The trail to Spruce was very similar, with the snowpack around the lake a little lower than usual for this time of year.

[Qbert]

As of june 11th, Mills Lake has some snow on the approach as usual.
Black Lake is still protected by snow as you get towards the backcountry site. Sloppy and soft taking a lot of extra effort.

[ds77]

Any word on Bierstad lake? I am planning to hike this weekend.

[ALooneyGuy]

With the southern exposure, I would be willing to bet it's clear. If anything, there might be some snow in the trees after you reach the top of the hill during the last stretch to the lake.

ds77, on 16 June 2010 - 05:21 PM, said:

Any word on Bierstad lake? I am planning to hike this weekend.

[BigAl]

As of June 15th, the North Longs trail is clear to Granite Pass except for a couple of drifts near treeline that are easy to go through. The Boulder Brook and Glacier Creek trails were completely clear. On the same day, I did the Fern-Odessa loop from Bear Lake to Fern Lake TH. Lots of snow starting at the bottom of the Banana Bowls, continuing off and on until around Odessa lake. The snow was in good shape though, and was fairly easy to navigate, even wearing my racing flats.