Photos from this trip can be found here.
Once again, the hit-or-miss weather forecast this weekend brought us out east. Apart from the long drive, Steamboat Rock continues to be a favorite fallback destination. All but the first trip were done in late winter, which had proven to be the best and the prettiest time to visit. Not only did we get to spend more time roaming around in cooler weather, but we also got to enjoy absence of high-season chaos.
A few cars and a couple of campers in the campground areas when we arrived around noon. We followed our previous route tracing along the rim of the rock. We saw two other groups on the way up and hiked past one of them on their way down. A nearly bluebird afternoon to start.
Up to a foot of snow patches on top, mostly along the west rim. Hikers trail got pretty muddy from the melting snow and warmer afternoon temperatures. Banks Lake was still frozen over with zero water activities.
Another beautiful day in the neighborhood as I continued to be fascinated by the geology differentials of our state.