[Nancyann]

I like to celebrate the spring opening of the South Shore Road along Spada Lake by hiking up to Little and Big Greider Lakes. The lakes are at their prettiest this time of year (also in fall) and there are no bugs and few to none people. This weekend opening was more than a week earlier than last year, so I expected snow and partially frozen lakes similar to 2018 conditions. Hiking Partner and I carried a couple of 2x6 boards we brought from home to help with the beaver dam crossing. Triciaann supervised.

Beaver Dam crossing, Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

There is one creek crossing in the first mile which can be challenging, but today there wasn’t enough water in it to pose a problem. The water level in Spada Lake has been rising and it was a pretty green color.

Spada Lake, Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

Spada Lake, Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

I always enjoy the views towards Vesper Peak and the Sultan River, which provide a nice distraction while trudging up the decommissioned road.

Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

Last fall a trail crew re-engineered some switchbacks leading down to a waterfall crossing to minimize erosion.

Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

They also did quite a bit of work on the Greider Lakes Trail itself, and thanks to minimal storm damage, the trail was in great shape! There are some amazingly huge old growth cedars, fir and mountain hemlock giants along the trail.

Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

So far, we had not seen any other hikers, but as we worked our way towards the top of the ridge, we saw a group of three young men marching up the switchbacks below. We picked up our pace so as not to get stuck behind them, and prepared to stop and put on our Microspikes as we crested the ridge, knowing that in past years, this would be where the snow started. Much to our surprise, we found no snow at all, except for the sleet that was coming out of a black cloud which had appeared out of nowhere. We hurried the rest of the short distance to Little Greider Lake and put on our rain gear and gloves, because by this time the squall that had moved in was spitting corn snow on us!

Little Greider Lake 4/28/19

We hunkered down under some trees and ate lunch, hoping for a reprieve before heading up to Big Greider. At this point, the other group arrived and quickly added some layers of clothes since they were wearing shorts and t-shirts. The weather wasn’t looking too promising, so we decided to wait a while longer before heading up to Big Greider. After 45 minutes, the snow stopped and we began to see patches of blue sky, so we continued on up the trail. Meanwhile, the other group had left, so we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We did encounter patchy snow on the way, but not enough to require traction.

Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

Little Greider Lake 4/28/19

Greider Lakes Trail 4/29/19

Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

The lake was fairly calm that afternoon, and provided lovely reflections. There was still quite a bit of snow above the lake, but none of the usual cascading waterfalls. Not much melting was going on due to the cold temperatures.

Big Greider Lake 4/28/19

Big Greider Lake 4/28/19

Big Greider Lake 4/28/19

Big Greider Lake 4/28/19

We sat by the lakeshore, enjoying the solitude and beauty, until another dark gray cloud appeared. As we left, I stopped to pay homage to this stately old mountain hemlock which greets hikers as they approach Big Greider Lake, a reminder of what our forests used to look like long ago.

Greider Lakes Trail 4/28/19

[Schroder]

I'm amazed there's no snow up there.

[puzzlr]

[Schroder]

Is that beaver dam on the old road?

[zephyr]

[Nancyann]

Schroder, I was also surprised at the lack of snow. Here is a photo from May 13 last year on the opening weekend.

The beavers have been quite busy over the winter and have created a series of ponds next to the decommissioned road about a quarter of a mile up from the parking lot. The best way to get across them is to walk across the dam, but it can be challenging depending on the water level! puzzlr, that large cedar is one of several along the trail which have interesting burls. I thought the same thing zephyr, when I saw the lake reflections! Then I began to ponder the thought that perhaps the Navaho were inspired by water reflections when they created some of their designs.

[iron]

class 2 aide hiking is the best!

[tmatlack]

Great outing and the BGL reflection pic is magic...sorta moves like the op-art stuff in the 70's. There's a Sno-Tel site somewhere up there I think, for snow pack data. I wonder what it is saying about my summer water supply(Lake Stevens)? Tom