Hiked up Belford via the standard route through the Missouri Gulch. Because of all the hotter weather this last week, there is a lot of snow melt occuring making the creek that runs through the gulch very swollen and running very fast. The log bridge described by Roach just before you get to the old shack is nearly washed out and the creek is running everywhere. The best way is to proceed through the water along whatever logs are left to the other side and meet up with the trail that way. We saw several people make for random trails along the west side of the creek at that point where they faced glacial-like snow bridges further up running over the creek that made for very sketchy and icy crossings, especially as the weather gets warmer. Along the trail further up just out of the treeline, the trail was essentially a small creek as the snow melt ran down it toward the main creek. I agree with what jpmindle said about the snow fields further up the northwest ridge of Belford along the switchbacks. The trail is covered up in several areas. Best way was to avoid these and skirt along the sides of the snow. We tried to hike through a few of these fields on our descent but postholed up to our hips which made for some funny photos. Oxford looked beautiful with very little snow along the ridge to it from Belford. Most routes to Missouri looked completely covered in snow above 12,500ft. Lots of recent avalanches littered the peak but we did see a few climbers who started early summit Missouri climbing straight up the Northeast face in the snow the entire time. Overall, beautiful hike and a clear sky all day. I'll try and get some pictures uploaded a little later. Enjoy!
|
