I had planned to spend a couple nights up Fish Creek at the Clearwater Crossing Campground; hiking into the Greenwood Cabins and seeing how far I could get up Surveyor Creek with a goal of Surveyor Lake. However, the wind storm that came through that week and persisted through Saturday really killed the trip. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures. Skye and I camped at the Clearwater Crossing Campground on Thursday night and the winds howled all night. I refer to these winds as "Freight Train Winds".
I was hoping the winds would settle down after dark but no luck. The campground is surrounded by burn areas that still have a lot of trees standing. Trees were coming down in the burn area all night long, Skye was freaking out with all the wind and falling trees. Friday morning was just as windy and I called it early and went home as I wasn't going to step foot into those burn areas with all the trees falling.
One day last summer, I hiked up the West Fork to Foley Basin and back. The West Fork trail was completely clear. Less than 2 weeks later, Kathy and I hiked the trail and encountered over 50 deadfalls across the trail within the burn. We eventually turned around as it just got worse the farther up the trail we went.
The backup plan for Saturday was a hike into the Blossum Lakes. There was one other vehicle on Thompson Pass when Skye and I arrived. I was surprised on the lack of snow as we made it around halfway to the lake before we ran into consistent snow. About a 1/4 mile from the lake we met a gal and dog that were returning from the lake. We said a few pleasantries, I gave her my website card and went on our way.
At the lake there was not as much snow as I thought there would be and a several hundred foot area of open water at the outlet. Skye and I had lunch and took some pictures. When we first arrived the sun was out and no wind, but soon the wind picked up and clouds rolled in. A reminder that summer is not here just yet.
With some open water, I believe most of the lake will be open in a couple weeks and snow melted around much of the lake. On the way out we ran into a couple guys and their dogs heading to the lake. Back at Thompson Pass there were around 10 vehicles where most were obviously heading to Revett Lake. The road to the Revett Trailhead is still snowed in.
