Arrived at Eightmile parking lot at about 8 a.m. on a beautiful cool but sunny morning. Within a mile I was taking off my down jacket and was down to just a long sleeved shirt by the time I reached Eightmile Lake at 9 a.m.. The colors of Fall surrounded me as I made my way along the trail. At Eightmile Lake I followed Eightmile-Trout Trail reaching snow about a mile from 5000 ft elevation sign. With snow covering the trail the trail is a little tricky to follow in places so be sure to bring a map. Even with a map it took me awhile to find the trail behind the Highline Day use sign at Little Caroline Lake (?). Up to this point the trail was fairly easy with elevation gain being gradual. My only complaint was the occasional downed tree that required climbing over. Beyond Caroline Lake the snow depth increased and the going became steeper. The larches along the later part of the trail were gorgeous. I eventually started traversing towards what I believe is Windy Pass ridge. Once reaching the ridge I only had another 30 minutes before my turn around time and there was no way I was going to reach the summit so I took a break and headed back down. I am guessing I would have needed at least another hour to summit. With the available daylight hours decreasing I would suggest making this hike an overnighter. My legs were fairly useless by the time I got back to the car, but I would definitely attempt this amazing hike again. Snowshoes or crampons and trekking poles would definitely be useful for traversing the trail beyond Caroline Lake.

  I spent the night in Leavenworth for an early start on the longest day hike of my life. Beginning from the Eight Mile Lake Trailhead at first light I reached Little Eight Mile Lake in a little over an hour. The trail from there to Lake Caroline is marked as Trout Creek Trail #1554 and the real elevation gain begins. At 5.5 miles I reached Lake Caroline and got the first view of Cashmere Mountain.
  The trail continues past Little Caroline and up to Windy Pass. Flowers are still blooming everywhere but the first signs of frost were appearing around the lakes. For me the most enjoyable part of this hike was the next section of ridge walk from Windy Pass towards the summit block. (see pic below) The views were breath taking in every direction and I took nearly 60 photos on this hike.
  The class 3 scramble route to the summit takes you around the north side of the summit block and you have to cross a fairly steep section of rock and hard snow to the eastern most gully leading up to the summit. I found this scramble much more difficult than Three Fingers, Mt. Pugh, or The Brothers and I will not repeat this one. (But the part to Windy Pass I hope to repeat some day.)
  I was back at the car by 7:00 pm after a round trip of nearly 18 miles and about 5,600 feet of elevation gain for the day. (A car seat never felt so good!)
   
  

The hike up to Lake Caroline through the burned out forest above Eight Mile Lake was hot, without a lot of shade. But there were cool breezes on the way up and the wildflowers are still amazing. The mosquitoes were the worst at Lake Caroline.

We spent the second day up on Windy Pass. The meadows below Windy Pass are what we truly enjoy, cool breezes, beautiful flowers, meandering brooks and peace and quiet. We did not see another person the entire day (Friday)! The views of the surrounding peaks in all directions are really something. We walked along the ridge to the base of Cashmere Mountain, and then climbed carefully to the top. On the way down we saw a herd of deer, many marmots and various other critters.

Despite the bugs, and the hot sun, we would highly recommend this area.