Last week I intended on hiking to Island Lake in the Sky Lakes Wilderness. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make the trail head because of snow. When I got within about a mile I encountered a high amount of snow on the road. I was close enough to park and hike from there but instead I thought I’d drive to Cold Springs trailhead. The road to Cold Springs had less snow so I went ahead and decided to hike up there. I had a feeling I’d hit heavy snow in the area so that’s why I originally planned on Island Lake. The trail into it is short and easy and if I had to use snow shoe I would still be able to get to the lake. Unfortunately I didn’t stick to that plan. Cold Springs was clear up past the burn area but then I hit heavy snow. I only ended up going in a short distance due to the snow.

Today I returned and didn’t change my plan. There was less snow on the road than last time. I did hit a good amount on the trail though. I was glad I rented snow shoes again.

I made it to Island Lake without to much difficulty. I’m not a fan of hiking in sporadic snow conditions. I put my snow shoes on and then took them off several times. It’s hard to make good time doing that.