10 miles of hiking • 2250' elevation gain •
I always make at least one trip here. I usually try and hit the area when the tarns are just starting to melt and then again when the flowers are blooming at McNeil point. Yesterday was in between those two windows and still wonderful. I got a crazy late start so I didn't get pics of the slightly past peak of bloom on Bald Mountain and my camera ran out of storage on the way back. Right now though the color combos are fantastic though with the eriogonums and the gillias rounding out the usual suspects. The tarns were completely melted. There were only a few very small snow patches until the Timberline jct with the Mazama trail where there were a few big patches. Snow coverage began in earnest at the turnoff to McNeil Point. Maybe 50% coverage or a bit more. A bit slippery and a few folks elected to go down the climbers trail rather than go back across the snowfields. The weather was warm but not hot, no bugs and sunny with a few picturesque clouds. Always wonderful up there.
