Finding Snow on the Trail in Early July

It was the first week of July, but you wouldn't know it from the trail conditions up high. We took the dogs out for a hike, and the path was mostly dry and rocky at the start, but patches of snow quickly started appearing in the shaded spots. The sun was bright and the sky was clear, but the air was still cool.

The dogs were having a great time, especially on the rocky outcrops overlooking the valley. There were still huge snowfields covering the mountainsides across from us. It's always a bit strange to be hiking in the sun while surrounded by so much snow, a reminder of the long winter we'd had.

Our turnaround point was an alpine lake that was still mostly frozen over. Sheets of ice covered most of the surface, with dark, clear water visible around the edges, reflecting the trees and mountains. The dogs didn't seem to mind the cold, and one of them had a good run across the slushy snowpack right at the water's edge. It was quiet and still up there, just the feeling of the season slowly changing.