[TR] Mount Bretherton - Milk Lake 9/11/2011

[Fairweather]

Trip: Mount Bretherton - Milk Lake

 

Date: 9/11/2011

 

Trip Report:

Climbed to Lower Lena Lake on mountain bikes late in the morning and hiked onward among flowers and waterfalls to Upper Lena which is now snow-free. The short and easy XC route to Milk Lake was largely snow-covered--in September! Milk Lake is still 90% snow-filled and the snowfield basin above the lake is still spring-white. We climbed the largest gully to the low point between the false summit and the main peak running into extremely loose and dangerous 4th and low 5th class below the crest. Another TR posted here a couple years ago indicated that recent rock slides may have altered the route and I believe this poster was correct. Not sure if we had this thing right in any event, but we climbed back down without touching the top and took in the beauty of this neat little basin as we washed down Snickers bars with cold unfiltered water from a nearby stream.

 

 

Milk Lake below with The Brothers and the fire beyond:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Mountain Boots

 

Approach Notes:

Mountain Bikes to Lower Lena

[bremerton_john]

That's interesting concerning the rock and route changes. We'll make a note of it on the guidebook website.

 

Incredible the snow in Milk Lake.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

John