Three Creek Lake to Broken Top on 7/8/2017

[ssinfo503]

Left NW Portland at 4am and arrived at Three Creek Lake TH at 7:10am with an empty parking lot.
Hit the trail immediately and swamped by mosquitoes until above tree line.

Snow starts even before Three Creeks Lake overlook. Most part of the trail is still buried by snow.
I carried snowshoes with me but never put them on. The snow is hard packed with a soft layer.
Poles did help a lot when skirting the north side of Broken Hand. There is a very nice camp on the ridge between Broken Hand and Broken Top right before the saddle. It has a super nice view with a rock wall to block the strong wind.

I did not see any other sole on the way up to Broken Top and had No Name Lake for myself. Some tiny flowers start blooming. No Name Lake barely begins to melt with a nice blue color.

One the way down after passing Broken Hand, I run into a total of six people (two going down; four going up).

Just over 12 miles and 2200 feet EG.

[ssinfo503]

This is my track:

[cunningkeith]

That's a long day! I like the shots of the flowers, water, and snow. Thanks for posting.

[Chip Down]

That's some incredibly big scenery for such a little hike. Some of the best flowers-and-ice pics I've seen.

Amazing there are so few people there. I guess everybody's fighting the crowds at Eagle Creek or Dog Mountain or whatever.

[sgyoung]

Those pictures are amazing. Really beautiful stuff here. I'm also impressed by how much snow is still there. It seems like the melt out is somewhat uneven, with some places on a fairly normal schedule and others still showing the effects of the winter's large snow pack.

Thanks for posting!

[daver]

Stunning photos. Looks like an incredibly beautiful day!

[romann]

Really like the pictures, No Name Lake is gorgeous. And Three Sisters look best with snow.

I hope to get back there again, and do the whole trail.

[ssinfo503]

Thanks a lot, guys. This has become one of my favorites (Broken Top, Canyon Creek Meadow/Three Fingered Jack, Jefferson park, Silver Star, to name a few) that I go every year.