What a perfect morning. We arrived at the trailhead just after 5am and started our hike around 5:30am. The road coming into the campground was a little icy and snowy in parts. Right at the start we opted to put on our microspikes since the road was mostly if not all cover in ice and frozen snow. Temps at the start were in the mid-20's, but if warmed up quickly.

We were up and down by 10am so we really didn't encounter too much slushy wet snow. Microspikes worked great all the way up and down. There was probably 8 to 12 inches of snow toward the latter portion of the hike. The snow path was well packed and consistent all the way up. Very easy to follow.

If you've never done this hike know that there is a $10 person use fee. The guard shack at the entrance is not manned until 0800; however, you can put the money in an envelope, put the names of the hikers (in your car) and the vehicle info (make, model, color, LP#) on the outside of the envelope and drop it thru the mail slot in the door of the shack.