In June, the Trophy Meadows start to clear of snow and the first wildflowers are blooming.   By the end of June we can usually hike onto the upper ridge to Plateau of the Lakes.   In 2015, the snows melted early and the route to the summits was already open.   When we hike to the Trophies, we can go to the meadows only, but mostly we go above the lower meadows to the many tarns found on the Plateau and above.

We can continue up to the summit ridge of Long Hill or Trophy 2, but on this last hike, we climbed above to a series of tarns in the large Trophy Mountain cirque.

At the last tarn on the Plateau, the big cirque of Trophy 2 looms above to the north.

A waterfall streams down the slopes to the ponds so we followed it up the rocky cliff bands.

Above are a series of small tarns all fed by meltwater from the snow slopes of the cirque.

A viewpoint on the south side of the cirque makes a good place for a lunch stop with fine views in every direction.   Below are the braided streams that feed the larger tarns.

We returned down to Plateau of the Lakes, framed by the Trophy Mountain summits.   Sheila Lake lies in a basin on the west side.

The hike into the tarns area is about 2 hours each way, but if we climb up to the upper tarns, we can add an hour.   On the way back down, there are some small tarns in the meadows too.

A hike into the Trophy Mountains is always a prime event every year.   We return 2 or 3 times every year, whenever conditions allow us to return.     Our next hike will be to two of the summits right in the middle of summer.