Early spring hike along Bead Lake

Some stretches of Bead Lake Trail 127 were still covered with snow on April 3 when 22 members of the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group made the 11-mile round-trip trek along the lake's shores. The Colville National Forest trail offered plenty of adventure. They saw where a moose had walked out and broken through the weak ice and drown. They saw where a deer had been killed, apparently by a cougar that scratched up debris to cover what little was left of the carcass. One hiker slipped on a snow-covered foot bridge and completely soaked himself in a snowmelt stream. But he had the advantage of hiking with a big group: There's bound to be enough extra clothing in the assorted packs to handle an emergency -- and there was.

Section:Gallery

Fri., April 15, 2011

Hikers from the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group found plenty of snow lingering in some sheltered stretches of the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011. Here they cross a snow-covered foot bridge over Lodge Creek.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Hikers from the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group found much of Bead Lake frozen on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Kathy Kalich, center, and Mark Turner, right, are leaders for Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group. Here they are leading a group in the Colville National Forest on the trail along Bead Lake, which was still partially frozen on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Hikers from the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group check out the hair and mess where a deer was killed along the Bead Lake Trail, apparently by a cougar, which pawed up sticks and debris onto the few remains from the carcass.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Kathy Kalich, left, leads a group Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Hikers from the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group found plenty of snow lingering in some sheltered stretches of the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011. Here they cross a snow-covered foot bridge over Lodge Creek.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Colville National Forest crews didn't have a chance to get out and clear blowdowns off Bead Lake Trail 127 before the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group hit the trail on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Kathy Kalich was a leader for this Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trek along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Water was flowing in steams and creeks from runoff along Bead Lake on April 3, 2011. Many of these streams will be dry by summer.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Portions of Bead Lake Trail 127 wind through pleasant stands of mixed conifer forest.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
A dog fetches a stick for one of the hikers in the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group as they hiked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Footbridges piled with icy snow made for treacherous footing as the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trekked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Footbridges piled with icy snow made for treacherous footing as the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trekked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
One hiker slips and falls on a footbridge piled with icy snow as the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trekked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
One hiker slips and falls on a footbridge piled with icy snow and then rolls completely into a snowmelt stream as the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trekked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Companions come to the aid of one hiker who slips and falls on a footbridge piled with icy snow as the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trekked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
A hiker climbs out of a snowmelt stream after slipping on a footbridge piled with icy snow as the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trekked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011. His pack and other group members provided him a change of clothing to safely hike the remaining 2 miles to the trailhead in the cold weather.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Mark Turner was a leader for an Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group that trekked the trail along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Bead Lake was alternating from stunning to moody, still partially covered with ice, as the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group trekked Colville National Forest Trail 127 northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 2011.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review