"Snow and ice on the trail. Long day...We left at 8ish from the trailhead, took an excursion from the trail to look for the Honeymoon mine that we were unable to locate. There were several spots that were covered in ice on the way up so be careful. We ate a snack at the lake then headed up the mountain. There was a clear trail in the snow all the way to the summit. To reach the summit you have to trek a long way cross-country gradually climbing up to get to the true summit. We did not get back to the car until 5:30. " — rebecca1 • Jan 17, 2013

"Having just recovered from an injury and looking to avoid any avalanche danger on Friday, I wanted to find a moderate snowshoe day trip. With clear skies in the forecast, there would have to be views and of course I was also looking for a summit I had yet to visit. Philadelphia Mountain off of Highway 2 fit the bill. I missed the sunrise under a thick fog on hwy 522 and pulled into the Lake Serene trailhead parking lot at 815. There were two inches of snow at the trailhead and around 3 or 4 feet at the summit of Philadelphia Mountain.The first mile of trail follows an old road and the few inches of inconsistent snow is fairly well packed. Just before the junction to Bridal Veil Falls fresh powder begin to obscure all but the occasional hint of a trail, and my lack of familiarity with the area provided several minor route-finding challenges on the way to Lake serene. I donned snow shoes to cross the open snow field just before the lake, which was frozen over and covered in a solid blanket of snow. As I made the remainder of the ascent a light fog would periodically roll over the top of Mount Index and into the basin, obscuring the sun add it approached the ridge. I was p..." — Jeb • Jan 11, 2013