Headed up to the summit of Cashmere Mountain via Windy Pass. Trail is completely snow-free and easily traveled to Windy Pass at 7200'. Noted one large blow-down on the trail before Little Eightmile Lake and some over-grown trail conditions for the first couple of miles of 1554 after leaving 1552. Followed the south side of the ridge from Windy Pass to the north side of Cashmere crossing 4 small patches of semi-steep snow on the north side of Cashmere. Traversed the north side of Cashmere until the ridge drops away on the eastern side into the valley below. Scrambled to the summit block via the ridge on the northern side going between the eastern and western sides of that north running ridge. Trick is to stay at 8000'-8100' as long as you can before getting on that left hand (Northern) ridge before heading to the summit. Scrambling to the summit was actually fun considering the exposure was minimal with the hand and foot holds being plentiful and solid. Summit block provided a gorgeous view of Stuart, Rainier, Baker, Glacier Peak and Little Annapurna just to name a few. There is enough room for a couple of people to sit comfortably on the summit. It looked like there is quite a bit snow left on Little Annapurna up in the Enchantments. Overall an excellent trip on a gorgeous trip. Saw 3 other people on the trail the whole day, one of which was at Windy Pass upon my descent from Cashmere. Some may consider this hike strenuous. Left the car at 5:40am and got back to the car at 5:45pm with some 20 miles of hiking behind me with 5200' of elevation gain to the summit from the trailhead. I had an ice-axe and crampons but never used the crampons. A trekking pole could've been substituted for the ice axe if steep snow doesn't bother you.

Had a few hours from a meeting in Leavenworth and hiked up to Eightmile Lake early on Wed morning. Easy trail (7 mi RT, 1400 ft, under 3 hours), no impediments, no bugs, no people, but nothing awe inspiring either. Flowers pretty much dried up. Nicest plants on the trail were the blue elderberries attracting a lot of birds. The lake is OK - I wonder why there is a strange rock wall along one side. If you have more time, Lake Caroline is definitely worth the extra miles.

Hiked this trail yesterday in anticipation of a traverse over later in the year to Caroline Lakes. I have been to Trout Lake before, but never to Windy Pass from this side. The first 5 miles from the trailhead are pretty pedestrian eastside timber walking, with no real views and gradual elevation gain. At about the 4 mile mark you traverse through the edge of a large clearcut, and get some views down Trout Creek and across Icicle Creek to the north, as well as easterly views of Cannon Mtn. and the minor peaks around Windy Pass. The trail is wide, dusty and mostly dry until near the intersection just prior to Trout Lake. A pair of easy creek crossings gets you to a large campsite on the east side of Trout Creek and the start of the 2000 foot elevation gain. Stay left at the campsite. A well used trail to the right quickly ends in swamp. The climb up is on steep and not well maintained trail. This route does not get a lot of use. Switchbacks are the exception to straight-on climbing. Overgrowth, rocks and small deadfall litter the trail. After a mile or so of steady climbing, a traverse leads to wonderful open meadows and water below the pass itself. Another 500 foot of rocky talus trail, steep and exposed to south facing sun with little shade, leads to the airy rock of Windy Pass with excellent views of the Cascades to the west, Glacier Peak in the distance to the northwest, Mt. Cashmere to the north, and a direct line of sight to Aasgard Pass, Little Annapurna and Dragontail to the east.

16 miles round trip, 3000 foot elevation gain. Mosquitoes nowhere to be seen, but deerflys and horseflys abundant.