I had stayed overnight at the shelter last summer and I had an amazing time. Being right under the summit and listening to the glacier move, it made me feel small, but at the same time it was very peaceful and calming experience. After looking at the trip report from a someone a week before and seeing that snow level have receded, I made plan to go there again. Since this is still very early in the season - baring the extreme low snow year we had, the road to Cloud Cap Inn was still gated. We had to start at the lower TH.
The trail was very dry until we got to the Tilly Jane A-Frame. We hit the snow soon after passing the A-frame. Route finding wasn't an issue, since the trail is flagged for the skiers and there were lots of footprints. We headed straight up towards the shelter. We got to the shelter in the afternoon and spent the rest of the evening taking a nap. Once the sun went a little lower, we went up towards cooper spur, but had to turn around due to precarious snow condition. Snow was very soft and I didn't feel safe without an ice axe. We got back down after sunset. After dinner I stayed up to shoot some stars. Sunrise on the following morning wasn't perfect because for clouds by he horizon, but I still managed to get few shots.
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| Sunset above the stone shelter |
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| Sunrise |
