09.03.2019
A total bliss past the El Paso junction! Easy trail breaking past that point in powdery snow, but you need to know where to go as trail markers aren't sufficient to stay on trail. Had the place all to myself. Got to St. Mary's Lake as that's all the time I had. Wish I slept a bit less and got there earlier as the beauty and solitude made me want to go for more! Not sure why people stopped at El Paso as the trail to that point, especially the slog up the mountain, is nothing to write home about.
CONDITIONS: snow starts from the parking lot, but it's compacted and shallow. A bit slippery, but didn't require spikes. The higher up you go, the more snow is on the trail, and it had pretty good traction with boots and poles. Snowshoes were not needed until El Paso junction.
On the way down, about 1/3 of the bottom part of the trail, snow became compacted wet slippery slush. Even with both poles it was getting harder and harder to go down without sliding. I decided to put spikes on and they took out most of the slipperiness.
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