Schreibers meadow is one of my favored haunts: I use it on overnight hikes to sharpen up my conditioning and get an idea of what the snow is doing at any particular time. It is different every time.
I had checked the wells creek Snotel and thus for the north side of Baker at 4,000" there was 2 feet of snow. I could see that the snow level on the ridges to the north and south of Hiway 20 was about 4,000 feet. Since The Schreibers meadow TH is at 3,300', I figure it was good for a little while of snow free trail and then snow for a 1000' up to Railroad Grade.
I was wrong- there was snow well short of the parking lot and after 15 minutes of walking , there was 2-5 feet of snow at the parking lot - it was consolidated but soft. I was thinking I should have brought my X-C skiis - the rolling meadows of S. Meadows were a perfect place to do kick and glide, and not so good for walking.
This too was wrong; good for a day trip, but I was overnighting- and there was a cold breeze blowing and damp coming down the drainage: causing heavy dew, and a shell of ice on my quilt by morning. And the snow was crampon snow - hard and icey. I never fell but it took some tending - all the ski tracks were treacherous, and skiing on bumpy ice would have been out of the question.
( Last year in Feb., I had gone here and in what I would have considered the exactly same conditions. Except that an 1-2" of fresh snow had fallen and frozen. IT WAS LIKE WALKING ON VELVET! over the years I have experience a lot of snow conditions, but never this. What a delight!)
..-and rest thee by many brooks and hearthsides without misgiving. Rise free from care before the dawn and seek adventures. Let the noon find thee by other lakes, and the night overtake thee everywhere at home. HDT
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..-and rest thee by many brooks and hearthsides without misgiving. Rise free from care before the dawn and seek adventures. Let the noon find thee by other lakes, and the night overtake thee everywhere at home. HDT
As of yesterday, there was still snow cover starting about 2000 feet shy of the trailhead, but there were enough snow-free areas around Rock Creek to challenge skiers who prefer to keep skis on feet as much as possible while getting up toward the toe of the Easton. It was a very pretty day with lots of blue to the south and chiaroscuro animating across the upper mountain all day.
water crossing
Skiers also have the option of taking the Scott Paul trail in a more direct line up toward the upper glacial slopes, but the forest down low was quite the maze of micro knife edge ridges, downed trees, bare patches, etc. and I suspect we'd have found that route to be more trying than our escapades around lower Rock Creek.
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