This trip did not actually follow Tr# 1033, which is totally under snow.
Commonwealth Ck --> Cave Ridge --> S. Ridge Snoqualmie --> descend E, traverse ENE, then regain the ridge at Snoqualmie's ENE sub-summit --> follow ridge to Lundin --> descend into upper Commonwealth Basin --> out via Commonwealth Creek. I think this route requires good snow cover. Might last another few weeks.

WARNING: Avalanche danger just the previous week was quite high (photo)! Always check http://www.nwac.us/forecast/avalanche/current/zone/6/ , even in the late spring!
Mountaineering trip, not a hike. Ice ax. No crampons (might be handy if frozen hard). Snowshoes were not very useful today. Snow conditions excellent-to-perfect.

Take Exit 52 from I-5 (1st Snoqualmie exit), turn left under I-5, then park immediately. The PCT/1033 trailhead road is still completely under snow. More snow than I've ever seen here.
Start early. I left trailhead at 7:30 AM, and snow was firm and mostly frozen all the way to Snoqualmie Mt. summit. Ice ax was REQUIRED to cross the double-log bridge across Commonwealth Ck in the morning; steep stream snowbanks were frozen hard; dog needed assistance. The second stream, which you need to cross almost immediately, had only one thin snowbridge at that place; perhaps more snowbridges upstream. Crossing the double log was much easier late in the day when snow was softer.

7:30AM Leave trailhead
9:30AM 4700' basin at base of S ridge. NO OPEN WATER at the basin outfall (I was counting on it)! Had to ascend nasty steep terrain to get water at the one stream coming off the S ridge. Not recommended!
11:30AM summit. Snow was not softening much. It was getting soft by the time I left summit about 2:30. Good dlissading and insignificant postholing on the exit.
6:15PM back at car (via Lundin Peak S slopes and upper Commonwealth basin).

From summit, descended the S ridge briefly, then glissaded E. NOTE: you have to be careful about this; if you leave the S ridge too low, you can encounter the steep cliffs that line the basin between the S ridge and Cave Ridge. That would be dangerous! I left the S ridge at the first opportunity, glissaded a few hundred feet to a wide-open, easy bench, then headed NE to the rib running SSE from Snoqualmie Mountains' NE sub-summit. Climbed back up to Snoqualmie's NE sub-summit, and from there, it was easy (sometimes steep) snow travel NE to Lundin.
Experienced climbers without an awkward dog could traverse Snoqualmie's ENE ridge much higher -- skip the glissade -- traverse as high as you can until you reach the ESE sub-summit.
Much depends on how much snow, and what condition. This route would have been suicidal last weekend. We glissaded a recent avalanche deposit.
Commonwealth Creek's upper west fork forms a big basin between Snoqualmie and Lundin Peaks. I descended this, straight South. Lots of foot traffic following the Right (West) bank. Leads right back to the lovely double-log bridge.
Without good, heavy snow cover like there is now, I don't think I'd want to do this traverse from Snoqualmie to Lundin. If it'snot in-shape, just descend the S ridge back to the basin and climb back up to the Guye/Cave Ridge saddle and go out the way you came in.
I've never done Snoqualmie from the Alpental parking lot. I think the Commonwealth Basin route would be more interesting.

It’s been months since we’ve hiked in Snoqualmie Pass. This week we returned to take care of some unfinished business. Over a year ago we tried to climb Cave Ridge via an unmaintained series of trails through the Commonwealth Basin, only to be stymied by early snows. This time the weather cooperated and we were soon enjoying big views filled with the reds and oranges of autumn.

Most hikers approach Cave Ridge from Alpental following the Guye Peak Trail up to a saddle, then veering left up to the top of the ridge. Instead, we wanted to try an approach that followed an unmaintained section of trail through Commonwealth Basin. Our route begins at the trailhead for Kendall Katwalk and Red Mountain. However, almost immediately you’ll take a left onto a narrow, alder-lined trail. Follow this one-time logging road as it occasionally tries on the role of streambed, a theme that continues for the majority of the trail up to the saddle.

See the full report here:

http://www.hikingwithmybrot[…]via-commonwealth-basin.html

-Jer

Great hike. Lupine meadows near the top; plenty of views once out of the forest (and they only get better); varied terrain; very few bugs!

Set off before 11am, down by 6pm. I was expecting the Pacific crest trail section to be busy, but it really wasn't; maybe on a Sunday no-one sets off backpacking. Plenty of space in the second parking lot (NWF pass).

The forest section is pleasant - shaded but open enough to see some sun, and dry underfoot - and not too steep. There were maybe 5-6 large tree-trunks to go over or under; without a tall hiking buddy I would have found these challenging. There were one or two places we almost missed the trail on the way down, so pay attention when you go up.

I didn't notice it until we came down, but some of the fallen boulders are huge in the next rocky section (~mi 2 before the fork off from PCT). We saw a couple of small mammals (and heard more) in the talus sections, but otherwise little wildlife.

As promised the final section gets steeper but the views are rewarding by this stage. Rainier was right there, even though a little cloudy. There's a decent rest spot with views south if you fork left when the trail levels out before the pond.

But keep on up to the pass and you get views north too. Several possible lunch spots along the ridge. Then having seen others coming down that way, we went on beyond the "Abandoned trail" sign, and went up another 1/2 mile or so, through more lupine meadows, for even better views. It was steep and non-trivial for me (another 400ft?) but still in pretty good condition.

This is my longest hike in a while so I was pleased to do OK with plenty of rest stops. Very tired the day after though!

Summary: 55 mile run / hike, start at Snoqualmie Pass, PCT to Waptus lake, then Lake Ivanhoe to Dutch Miller Gap, Goldmeyer Hot Springs, Old PCT to Red Mtn Pass, Commonwealth Basin back to Snoqualmie Pass. Plan: 11 hours Actual: 16 hours Bringing headlamps was a wise choice....
The entire loop was done in running shoes. No poles or traction devices are needed.
Lots of ripe berries along the way.

The long story, with trail detailed trail conditions for each section:
Adam Lint and I set out at 7:15am on Sunday morning from the PCT trailhead at Snoqualmie Pass. There are several trees across the trail on the climb to Kendall's Catwalk, but easy to get around / over. May be 1/2 mile past the junction with the Commonwealth Basin trail the PCT crosses an open area (avalanche path in the winter). The actual trail just crosses the open area. If you don't pay attention you (like us and many others) might follow a false trail uphill that ends after 50 - 100 yards.
The rest of the way to the Catwalk is in good condition with no snow on the trail.
After the Catwalk there are a few snow patches but the entire PCT section of the trail to Waptus Lake is runable. Got to Park Lakes in about 3 hours, then descended partly through burned-out forest, crossing the outflow of Spectacle Lake (Delate Creek) on a solid bridge. The bridge over Lemah Creek is gone, but there is log across a little downstream. About a mile later you cross another creek (not sure of its name) on a solid bridge. Get some water here as the climb up Escondido Ridge is long and dry (except for a smaller creek near the start of the climb). Eventually the trail flattens out and you pass several small lakes / ponds. The section just above Escondido Lake has seen some recent trail work as the tread is very new. The 3.7 miles (Green trails map) from trail 1329 down to the trail 1362 junction seems to be a little longer than 3.7 miles... got there at 3:00pm.

trail 1362 to Lake Ivanhoe and Dutch Miller Gap. This is where my problems really started. My stomach hadn't been feeling that good before, but after drinking some water it came back out, and then some. Trail is in great shape, but I wasn't, so we ended up walking most of the way to Lake Ivanhoe. It's one of the most scenic lakes I've seen, surrounded by rugged peaks and cascading waterfalls. Just before the Lake the trail splits, and we chose to go around the lake clockwise. You have to cross the outflow of Lake Ivanhoe here on a broken, but still in place bridge. As you begin the final climb to Dutch Miller Gap you cross a creek cascading down on exposed granite, and then down into the lake.

Dutch Miller Gap to Goldmeyer Hot Springs, trail 1030:
First mile is pretty steep down, then flattens out near the junction with Williams Lake. Still couldn't eat / drink much and we jogged most of the downhills, and walked the occasional uphills and the overgrown sections (about a mile total ove overgrown areas, but almost all soft stuff, no salmonberries or other thorny stuff). Trail is easy to follow... Eventually made it to the road and decided to run down the road instead of the trail to the hotsprings. (You have to follow the road for about 1/2 mile anyway, but then you have the option of turning off onto the Middle Fork Trail for the the last 3 miles to the hotsprings.) Go to the hot springs at about 7:10pm. Did not feel good and threw up again. Katie, the caretaker at the hotsprings, was very helpful and made me some ginger tea, and also sent an e-mail to my wife that we'd be later than expected, and not the call S&R. Left the hot springs at 7:30pm.

Goldmeyer Hot Springs to Red Mtn Pass - Old PCT.
At this point we had about 1 hour of daylight left... Immediately after crossing Burnboot Creek on the log bridge (very easy crossing) we turned left on a indistinct looking trail (look for a small sign for "red mtn pass 4 miles") upstream. The trail follows the creek upstream for about 200 meters and then starts climbing unrelenting with many switchbacks towards Red Mtn Pass (1800ft to 5300 ft). Bring plenty of water as there is NO water available until close to the top. There are several trees across the trail, but they pose no problem to the avid hiker. In some sections, especially the upper part of the trail, huckleberry bushes start to overgrow the trail a bit, but even in the dark it was no problem to follow the trail. Eventually you ascent above treeline and the trail switchbacks up next to a snowfield, which as of Aug. 30th was still in part covering the trail. Once you reach the "false summit" you're almost there, at least elevation-gain wise. Now the trail descends slightly and crosses a talus field before the final push up a gully to Red Mtn Pass. There were several snowfields covering the trail leading up the the gully. Fortunately there was about a 2-5 ft gap between the rockwall on the right and the snow fields on the left. At one point the snow was about 10 ft thick, but had a 4 ft high snow cave under it for us to pass through. Would have been super cool if I had felt better. The gully was still partly snow-covered, but even in the dark with just running shoes and a stick we picked up along the way we were able to make it up without too much trouble. We reached Red Mtn Pass at 9:30pm. View of the sky and Milky Way was awesome. Even saw a shooting star.

Commonwealth Basin trail 1033. Trail's in good condition, kind of steep and rocky in the upper part for descenting at night. Commonwealth creek crossing on a log was easy. We chose to descend the PCT rather than the somewhat shorter trail because we didn't know how easy it would be to follow that trail in the dark. Threw up one more time on the way down. Got to the car by 11:30pm.