St Helens Hummocks / Coldwater Lake / hwy 504 conditions

[ihikeLA]

Just an update, as of Sunday 2/10 the road is completely clear all the way to the gate near the Hummocks Trailhead, and there is plenty of snow to play in, although there are some south facing slopes that are free of snow. We had perfect weather on Sunday, thanks for the info kepPNW!








More photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wattifoto/ ... 755368248/


Also some shots from White River up on Hood, if interested:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wattifoto/ ... 750405627/

[kepPNW]

We had perfect weather on Sunday,

Wow! What a difference a day makes!!!

Your talk of going up there got a couple of us thinking about it too. We were a day ahead of you, and one ridge to the north. A bit different weather on Saturday!

Looks like y'all had it about as perfect as perfect gets!

[BeaverDawg]

We did end up skiing the road from the Hummocks TH to the hwy 504 / S Coldwater Creek crossing on Feb 2nd. 8.5 rt. I called the ranger station in Amboy (or was it Yacolt?) before going and they said it is ok to go past the gate so long as you stay on the highway or can maintain the track of an established trail. Nonmotorized only. However the gate on 504 has two very prominent signs that say " Area Closed. No Entry beyond this point. Minimum fine $100." I'd suggest just calling the ranger and getting their blessing before heading up into the area.

I do believe the area around Fawn Lake is closed period.

[kepPNW]

Hmmmm, yeah, we definitely assumed (har har) those signs were meant for motorized traffic. Especially given there were no indications at the South Coldwater trailhead that it was closed. Indeed, there was a sign at the TH warning of winter conditions ahead. (TR link two posts up.)