[Nancyann]

After Triciaann and I abandoned our plans for a sunny west slope hike on Friday, I bailed once again to the east side. I was getting a little nervous about the east slope conditions as well when I reached Stevens Pass about noon and it was snowing. Not only that, there was a snowslide blocking the east bound lanes almost all the way across, giving new meaning to the forecast of "moderate" avalanche conditions for the day. Nevertheless, I continued hopefully down to Lake Wenatchee, where the sun did indeed come out! I had been wanting to check on the Dirtyface trail conditions for a future trip with some friends, so this was a perfect opportunity. Things were going well right from the start, with hundreds of trillium blooming in the sun along the first mile.

Trillium along the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

Trillium along the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

The creek crossing went well and soon Dirtyface came into view.

Creek crossing, Dirtyface Peak Trail

Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

The bright white snow actually made the peak look almost handsome, if you don't mind dead trees. I was treated to a nice flower show along the way, even a few paintbrush!

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

It was a breezy day and Lake Wenatchee had plenty of whitecaps. I always enjoy the views of the lake and surrounding peaks from this trail.

View from trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

View from trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

View from trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

After about two miles, the trail became covered intermittently with snow. This time, I had my gaiters and waterproof boots on, so despite some annoying blowdowns, I explored a faint boot path proceeding further up.

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

At about 4500 feet, I almost turned around at this difficult blowdown, because of the steep slope angle, but eventually clambered over it.

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

The snow became increasingly deep, and the bootpath tentative, so at about 4700 feet, I turned around.

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

On the trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

On the way back down, the late afternoon light was lovely, and the lake a beautiful deep blue color, making for a very enjoyable walk.

View from trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

View from trail to Dirtyface Peak 4/28/17

[Galadriel]

You got a nice day over there! Yoko and I went up on the 29th. Even though clouds were moving in, we got to the lookout area before the views were blocked. Here are a couple of photos.

Dirty Face Trail

Fish Lake and Lake Wenatchee

View from the lookout site

[Roly Poly]

Ah, the big log. I can just imagine what a thrill ride that could have been.

[Nancyann]

Nice work, Galadriel! Did you and Yoko use snowshoes for the upper part of the trail? I left mine in the car, anticipating blowdowns, and was very glad I didn't bring them. Climbing over some of those trees lugging snowshoes on my pack didn't look very appealing. Sorry you didn't get to enjoy the delightful weather I experienced on Friday, that sun felt so good. Roly Poly, that would have been a wild ride, for sure!

[Galadriel]

Yes, Nancyann, we did use snowshoes. Another group was following us but they didn't have snowshoes and turned around. We put them on around 4500', and wore them to the summit. It would have been an exhausting posthole slog without snowshoes.

[Gimpilator]

Thanks for the conditions update. Great trip!