April 15, 2011 in Outdoors

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.

Hikers from the Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group found much of Bead Lake frozen on April 3, 2011.

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.

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.

Kathy Kalich, left, leads a group Inland Northwest Hikers Meetup group along Bead Lake northeast of Newport, Wash., on April 3, 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.

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.

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

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.

Portions of Bead Lake Trail 127 wind through pleasant stands of mixed conifer forest.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.