Skye and I hiked into Heart Lake on Thursday (30th). Temperature at the trailhead was 36 degrees and wasn't any warmer at the lake. The trail was in good shape, though a bit muddy, with just a few trees across the trail. There were several broken off tops in the trail, so the last wind storm did do some damage. There was intermittent snow until after the newer section of re-built trai and then the snow was constant.
Two of the three creek crossing were a wet affair as the usual stepping stones were under water. There was about 5 feet of snow just below the lake but a bit less at the lake. I was really hoping that the sun would come out but that never really happened, it was cold and windy at the outlet. I had hoped for less snow, like I saw at Hub and Hazel the previous week, but Hoodoo definitely has more snow than the West End.
The lake was still mostly frozen over with some patches of open water along the shoreline and some out in the middle of the lake. There was also a dusting of new snow from the night before. There isn't much brush along the trail so I stayed mostly dry except for the upper creek crossings.
I did take longer than normal to get to the lake as the snow slowed me down. Coming out was also slower as post-holing in the snow was more common than I would like and the rock and roots on the trail were slick. I was able to drive past Lake Creek and the big corner above the trailhead, but it was all snow after that.
We are taking the trailer to Cabin City CG for a couple days this coming week. It is supposed to be nice and warm; so my hikes will be concentrated in the Ward Peak area.
