Mt. Daniels, July 4-5

Andre and I drove to the trailhead for Cathedral rock on the 4th expecting to quickly be skinning. Instead we found a very dry forest essentially to the top of the ridge (trail junction) where it then became long patches of snow. From Squaw lake to Cathedral Rock we were able to skin about 3/4 of it (it is melting out very fast). The traverse under Cathedral was practically dry except for a few traverses on steep snow. Peggy's pond is melting out though the snow coverage is excellent from there to the peak. The snow pack is at least two feet, but I think its much deeper the further you go in. The night brought occasional showers and we awoke to rain and a very low (~6000ft) classic marine layer. Daniels was completely socked in so after waiting till 11 with deteriorating conditions we packed up and left. I would say either wait another few weeks and allow the trail from Squaw to Cathedral to fully melt out, or do this one much earlier in the season (like early June). Hope this provides some useful info to those considering this tour.