[chiwakum]

My original plan was to do a combo bike/hike up the Dutch Miller Gap trail, camp at Lake Williams and climb Hinman. But that plan was foiled when I discovered I had somehow destroyed one of the crank arms on my mtn bike. My sleep deprived brain couldn't come up with a creative backup so I opted for doing Big Snow for the 3rd consecutive year. Previous reports (the second one for a loop trip in via Myrtle ck trail and out Hardscrabble Ck): Big Snow Aug 2011 Big Snow Loop I hiked the middle fork road from the gate at Dingford Ck to the Hardscrabble way trail (just short of the original DMG trailhead). The route to lower Hardscrabble is a straight forward push thru slide alder and boulder fields. Some hardworking volunteers occasionally trim back the brush and some sporadic flagging and cairns aid route finding. It's no longer possible to drive to the original road end for those with a gate key. This slide is about .5 mile short of the road end.

Even a gate key won't get you to DMG TH

Big Snow looks a little meaner from this side.

Big Snow from the South

this would be a nice addition to my backyard

Yard Art

In the morning I hiked up to Big Snow summit using the standard route that starts at upper Hardscrabble Lake.

Ice Axe handy here but not essential unless you're prone to tripping or swooning

Don't trip here

Big Snow Lake

Big Snow and Myrtle Lakes

pointy shades of blue and gray

Big Snow Mountain Warrior Demon

Summit shots Register is full. Not sure what the register protocol is but it should be replaced. Where do old registers go to die???

register overflow

prime nap spot

Headed back down roughly the same way I came up

last peek at the summit

lower hardscrabble

dragon fly mummy

long gentle slide down to upper hardscrabble

Took a nice bracing swim before hiking back out to my car at Dingford Ck.

[puzzlr]

Looks like perfect conditions. I may have to get up there soon.

[RichP]

A worthy destination to revisit.

[DIYSteve]

Cool. Are the nekkid womin playing cards still in the summit register?

[dicey]

The running dog strikes again!!

52 cards in a deck. 52 summits? I've seen them on at least 25+ different peaks

[chiwakum]

[DIYSteve]

Big Snow summit Labor Day weekend 2012 (with summit register open to our entry from 5 years before):

[contour5]

What a cool place. Looks like it might be a while before those tarns melt out...