The road to Coplay Lake is completely clear and in the best condition I've seen it. Apparently you can also go to within 1/4 mile of the Summit Lake/Bearhead trailhead before contacting snow. What a fascinating journey! We encountered a friendly, trans-gender couple who intended to hike to Summit Lake but their Prius protested with alarming noises short of Coplay Lake. We spoke with an attractive USFS employee who was putting her geology degree to good use picking up garbage piled around the Coplay Lake crapper. We also encountered a seemingly domesticated deer. To my non-hunting companion, she seemed to communicate a message of peace and harmony. I derived an entirely different message...she seemed to say to me: I know what you want, that buck who won't leave me alone in November, if you know what I mean, so if you decide to hunt this area, I will disclose his location and daily routine...gladly....if you will help me get him "off my back". Since we both assigned some kind of deep, ethereal significance to our encounter with this doe, we gave her a name....the ambassadeer.
