We made it to and from the summer trailhead in a Honda SUV with no problems. Snowshoes were the only footgear needed, all day. The trail to Blueberry Lean-to and the herd path has fairly good snow coverage, we followed ski tracks. The beginning of the herd path was well broken, accept for a couple of inches of recent snow, but very obvious. Eventually, this changed, as the fresh snow deepened to 4-8 inches, and the snowshoe tracks we followed became more faint, and were on and off the herdpath. Nevertheless, despite the circuitous route, they eventually led us back to the steepest parts of the real herdpath, with no spruce trap issues along the way. At the wall, we went left and quickly rejoined the real herdpath to the summit.
The only other recommended item is a light waterproof shell with hood, unless you really enjoy snow down your neck. Because much of the route went THROUGH trees, not under trees, we knocked lots of snow off, onto ourselves and packs.
If you follow our tracks, before more significant snowfall, you WILL attain the summit, and enjoy some great sliding on the way down.
The only other recommended item is a light waterproof shell with hood, unless you really enjoy snow down your neck. Because much of the route went THROUGH trees, not under trees, we knocked lots of snow off, onto ourselves and packs.
If you follow our tracks, before more significant snowfall, you WILL attain the summit, and enjoy some great sliding on the way down.
