The "climbers trail" from Heart Lake was not easy to follow, lots of brush and blowdown and it dissapears all together at random places. If you are doing this route in early July, it will be under snow in many places towards the upper end of Crescent Creek drainage. We lost the trail the Post Creek Divide down to cliff Lake in steep snow fields but there is a somewhat brush free route down the very steep hill. The ford below the outlet of Cliff Lake was about crotch deep and very cold as most of Cliff Lake was still under ice, there is an obvious trail on either side of the cossing point, this is the best and only place to cross we could find. Flat, snow free camp sites in the vicinity of Cliff Lake are very few. Watch out for snow briges and hidden creeks on the route from Cliff Lake to the Ashley divide.
MtMtnHiker - Jul 14, 2012 8:40 pm - Hasn't voted
SW Face from the East July 2012The "climbers trail" from Heart Lake was not easy to follow, lots of brush and blowdown and it dissapears all together at random places. If you are doing this route in early July, it will be under snow in many places towards the upper end of Crescent Creek drainage. We lost the trail the Post Creek Divide down to cliff Lake in steep snow fields but there is a somewhat brush free route down the very steep hill. The ford below the outlet of Cliff Lake was about crotch deep and very cold as most of Cliff Lake was still under ice, there is an obvious trail on either side of the cossing point, this is the best and only place to cross we could find. Flat, snow free camp sites in the vicinity of Cliff Lake are very few. Watch out for snow briges and hidden creeks on the route from Cliff Lake to the Ashley divide.