If you go directly to Iceberg Lake, the roundtrip is 9.5 miles with 1200 feet of elevation gain. We noticed a number of hikers doing Iceberg Lake first and then attempting Ptarmigan Tunnel but Ptarmigan has more elevation gain, making it even more challenging if you do it second.
We rejoined the Iceberg Lake trail at the split. It doesn't have a lot of switchbacks. There is some climbing, but the trail pretty much follows a direct path along Wilbur Creek. (Wilbur Creek is formed by the junction of Ptarmigan Creek and Iceberg Creek. Most of the hike you are too high above Wilbur Creek to see it.) The trail takes you halfway around Mount Wilbur, so you end up seeing this mountain from all angles - I included several pictures here from different points along the way.
Eventually, the trail takes you to Ptarmigan Falls. A lot of people stop here for a rest to watch the water. You can stand pretty close to the top of the falls and look down. A bridge crosses Ptarmigan Creek just above the falls, and at a point just beyond this the trail split. We took the left branch up to the tunnel (see next webpage for photos) and then took the left branch to Iceberg Lake. The trail takes you along the base of the Ptarmigan Wall; this a giant rock formation that looks vaguely like battlements. The wall extends all the way to Mount Wilbur.
Iceberg Creek has some cascades as it drains from the lake, we couldn't get close to them. Eventually, we came upon a small lake, with a pretty color (due to "glacial flour" in the water), I don't think this small lake has a name. It is just below Iceberg Lake, and it was only a few hundred more yards before we arrived.
For most of the day, Iceberg Lake is shielded from direct sunlight by the presence of the Mount Wilbur and the Ptarmigan Wall. It is at 6000 feet of elevation, so it stays quite cold. We were there in July, and it looked like the surface was more ice than water. We rested here a good long time, and ate some lunch. Some people spotted mountain goats up on the cliffs, and since Melanie had lugged the binoculars in her pack all the way up here, she got some views of these animals way up on the rock face.
The hike back is mostly down hill. You can see Swift Current Lake in the distance.. There is a lot of nice scenery on this hike, which is why it is so popular. It is more strenous than Hidden Lake Overlook or Avalanche Lake, but certainly worth a visit for those than can hike 9 miles.
Combining the Ptarmigan Tunnel and Iceberg trail into a single day hike adds up 15 miles, with maybe 2,700 feet of elevation gain. I was tired by the end of this day, but I was certainly glad we had seen these trails - you never know when you will have a chance to get back there again.
Click on any thumbnail to open photo in new window. My favorite photos have blue frames.
