Elevation Gain - 4500 feet
Looking at the map, it looked like series of switchbacks ascending almost 4000 feet in 4 miles. I knew I was in for a good workout.
First miles or so wasn't too bad. The weather was nice and cool with a bit of mist in the air. In no time we climbed 2500 feet and it started to feel like the trail wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. We took a nice long snack break at a viewpoint (Note - There aren't many viewpoints on this trail).
Next half of the trail up to the junction with Green Point Mountain trail seemed much steeper. Uphill ends about a quarter mile before the junction as we reach the ridge. After the junction the trail drops a bit across the scree field with an excellent view of Mount Defiance before climbing couple of hundred feet to the lake. This last 1.5 miles after the junction had some packed snow and with lot of downed trees it was somewhat challenging to stay on the trail, but we followed the creek upstream to get to the lake.
