Day Hike - Lake Valhalla

Based on my car thermometer, it was 35 degrees at 9:00am when we arrived. About 10 cars in the parking lot (about 1/3 full). There was rain and snow in the forecast. Our group of 7 discussed the need for safety and the possibility of changing our plans in case conditions take a turn for the worse. There was no snow on the ground initially, but as soon as we started on the trail, it started snowing lightly. 

The first quarter mile was quite muddy and had water running down the trail. The first 1.3 miles was somewhat steep with switchbacks. The snow became heavier with large flakes, but did not impede progress. Participants adjusted clothes a couple of times to get the right balance of temperature and protection from the precipitation. At 1.3 miles, the trail intersected with the PCT, and we turned left to head to Lake Valhalla. It was still snowing, and by this time, the trail was completely covered, but the trail was less steep than the initial part, so footing was not difficult. The ground underneath was not frozen hard, so the snow didn't really make the trail slippery. The Fall colors are all gone. There are almost no deciduous trees, and the many bushes and shrubs had mostly lost their leaves, or were faded, or covered in snow.  Low clouds unfortunately prevented views of Lichtenberg Mountain over Lake Valhalla as you normally could upon approach. Due to the poor long range view, we had a group discussion and decided not to climb part way up Mount McCausland to get better views of Lake Valhalla, and instead descend directly to the lake. We went to the beach and sat on some logs and had a brief lunch. It took 1 hr 59 minutes to reach the lake. There were big flakes coming down so we ate quickly, tried to keep our gear from getting wet as we opened our packs, and tried to stay warm. It was disappointing that the low clouds prevented us from seeing the surrounding mountains (you could barely see across the lake!), but everyone was in good spirits to have this winter wonderland. Most people put on microspikes for the return trip, then took them off because the snow clumped up too much in the spikes. I would estimate that there was 3 inches of snow at the lake, and it tapered down to just a trace at the parking lot. 

A hiker we passed said they saw cougar tracks; we watched for them, but could not confirm with all of the human and dog tracks. Another hike reported seeing a bear. 

It snowed the entire hike, though it was never below freezing. We were grateful that we had snow that we could simply brush off and not rain that would have made us wet and miserable.