Hi folks,

We attempted to get up to the Bow Hut yesterday and encountered advanced spring conditions. After 3 hours of multiple creek crossings (knee deep wading) and unsupportive, near isothermic snow, we arrived at the entrance of the canyon to find all snow bridges gone & a healthy water flow in the creek. We elected at this time to seek adventures elsewhere.

Conditions have changed rapidly since I was here a week ago. There was no overnight freeze apparent yesterday morning, and checking the NPC Bow Summit weather station, similar conditions occurred again last night. Any precipitation was falling as rain yesterday, saturating a very weak snowpack. The lake is no longer useable - even travel along the shoreline was not recommended with open water & slush on the ice surface.

Both first person reports (we encountered one party exiting from Bow hut with very wet feet & ski gear.) & recent third hand reports note difficult travel conditions, with one party taking 5 hours to reach the trailhead from Bow Hut.

I would suspect that in addition to challenging travel conditions, that poor snow stability will be encountered with the lack of overnight freezes & rainfall saturating the snowpack.

Spring transition is in full swing on this trail. Enjoy the challenge!