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lovesmtns t1_j9q8fch wrote

One of my favorite trails. I like that there is no parking pass requirement, and fairly abundant parking. It's also a fairly easy trail, and the views from the top are just spectacular :).

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rosesandpiglets t1_j9qa2nv wrote

One of my favorites, except for summer

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jhawkweapon OP t1_j9qasys wrote

That's the truth. It can get pretty busy in the summer.

It's really the perfect winter trail... super close to the city if you're trying to squeeze in a quick after-work hike before the sun goes down.

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lovesmtns t1_j9qblhi wrote

Yeah, when it's crowded, it's really crowded :).

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lurkerfromstoneage t1_j9svqm9 wrote

Last time I did it in winter was almost exactly a year ago to the day. It was snowy, cold and VERY mucky muddy. LOTS of people totally unprepared for it, as in younger folks wearing flip flops with white socks, white converse no socks, etc. Slipping and sliding around because the packed snow turned into a slide at times. Needless to say, it was still busy but pretty dicey. At the top too, a slick snowy slide that gives me chills thinking about how easy it would be to lose footing and spill over…. Ah!! Wouldn’t do again in those conditions lol. Totally depends on the day. Your shot looks a LOT LOT clearer than that visit.

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DHH2005 t1_j9sabgc wrote

I love how flat the upper valley is from this view. Glaciers we're incomprehensibly giant.

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lovesmtns t1_j9saxg9 wrote

I have pondered those flats many times. Obviously they aren't the bottom of the glacier valley, so they must be moraines. I haven't figured out why they are so flat, but obviously again, it was done somehow during the glaciation :):). OR, maybe they were the flat bottom of the glacier valley, and the rivers further eroded around them. Would love to have been a geologist in another lifetime, what stories they have to tell :).

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[deleted] t1_j9qairl wrote

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lovesmtns t1_j9qbp8p wrote

Interesting, I did not know that. I don't recall seeing signs, but I will be looking next time I go. That being said, I do have a Discovery Pass :).

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TGKRaidriar t1_j9qcmq0 wrote

I think that the discovery pass was specifically for the parking at the iron horse trail parking (the one with the tiny roundabout before the yellow gates) as they’ve had that requirement for the past like 15 years. I don’t think they’ve expanded it to the general parking at either the main Rattlesnake Lake parking section or the watershed but I can’t say for sure as I haven’t visited since summer.

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