I had hoped to climb Big Muffin via Meadow Creek but the road has been closed past Crystal Springs Sno Park since last week when I was there. I had thought this might be an issue so I had been prepared to walk the 7+ miles of road to the summit. I gave some thought to another objective but in the end I really just wanted to get out and the result was much less important. Since I didn't have a Sno Park Pass I parked at the newly placed snow berm blocking access to the road to Stampede Pass. There isn't much snow on the road and I wouldn't be surprised if it is all gone by next week. I headed on the Lost Creek Road for about 2 miles until I reached the Meadow Creek Road. The snow became deeper but was well packed by the snowmobile traffic. At around the 5 mile mark I hit a junction heading my way and found slower going with the lessened traffic. I resisted putting on snowshoes even though I could have made a case to do so. Once reaching a painfully flat section of the road I left the road heading up. The snow was about 2 feet deep on a solid base. I again reached my road cutting the switchback and headed a short ways further until reaching an area with some nice territorial views. The weather was partly sunny and well above freezing so I enjoyed my lunch. I still had nearly 2 miles to go in deepening snow so I contemplated my options. I would surely be coming out in the dark if I were to continue and I would also miss dinner with the family. In the end the lure of spending time with my family won out and I headed back. The last 2 miles seemed endless and I was very happy to reach the car.
Approx 13 miles 1600' of climb 6 hours car to car.
