By JOE CARTWRIGHT
Special to North Palm Beach Life
Photos by Joe Cartwright

​This trail is also best done as a ranger-led hike. When I did this one in early summer, the snows were still very heavy all along this trail. Avalanche Peak is a very strenuous hike; it is only 2.1 miles but the trail climbs over 1,000 feet in elevation per mile. Spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valleys wait for those who stagger to the top. Heavy snows can persist well into July along this trail. A different concern awaits those who take the trail late in the summer: The ground cover is stocked with edible berries and a hiker could well be cutting through bear feeding grounds.

The trail begins on the road to the East Entrance and one reason that this is best done with a ranger is that the trail can be difficult to find. A Sierra Club work crew has worked on improving the trail, but going with the ranger-led group solves all that problem. The trail climbs steeply for about a mile in a forest then comes out above timberline for the remainder of the trail. This is not a trail for anyone with any physical problems: Cardiac, respiratory, mobility, or anything else.

The one time I took the trail, a ranger was even more necessary since the entire trail was deep in snow. No trace of a trail was visible. With the ranger leading, we got to the top of the peak, then had fun galloping and sliding down the snow fields below the peak. Even the ranger enjoyed this frolicking.

Snow-covered peaks and valleys.

A small lake, still half-frozen in early summer.

Left: The group walks across a snow field on a mountain saddle; Snow and mountains (center)
and during one break in the hike, the Ranger talks about the area