This trip included Beano, Steve, and B. the wonder dog. We negotiated the Mill Creek Road to about 1/2 mile before the spot where the PCT intersects it saving us a couple of miles and lots of elevation gain. This road is very rough and soon will be undrivable. Don't even try it without a high clearance vehicle. The PCT is........the PCT.........a very nice and well maintained trail. At Lake Josephine we took the Icicle Creek trail which was something else entirely! Trail crews have been working hard and will soon have it cleared, but for us........we suffered a bit. There is a blow down area that is the worst I've ever seen in all my years of hiking. Someone had kindly marked "the path of least resistance" through the mess, but it was still a struggle. Past this, the trail continues about 1/8 mile to the junction to Chain Lakes. This trail is OK, but steep as all get out. It mellows out as you get close to the lakes, but then the tread begins to slide out and get brushy. It won't last long without some maintenance. Finally, we were at the lakes. There were three other parties camped at Chain Lakes, but they seemed to be hunters and were gone from early morning until dark. On the second day, we did a little fishing in the middle Chain Lake and then hiked over to Doelle Lakes where we fished some more. Lots of fish in Chain Lakes, but fewer in Doelle. Still, Doelle held the larger trout......Cutthroat. We caught dinner and released lots too. The third day was rain, rain, rain, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway fishing and exploring the basin. The fourth day was sunny and gorgeous...........and the trip out. This is an especially beautiful area with scrambling opportunities of Bullstooth and all the summits around. I had scrambled the peak on a previous trip, but this weekend's weather was not so friendly to peak bagging. Still, a great time was had by all. We stopped at Xtapa for dinner, but was unimpressed. If there's a good place to have an after hike dinner on Hwy 2, I'd love to hear about it!

Great hike, with lovely campsites.

First day: a fairly easy hike in Stevens Pass to Josephine Lake (about 4.5 miles). We were the only group camped there. Saw three rivers otters in the lake in the early evening - one caught a fish and sat obligingly on a log in full view while eating.

Second day: a harder stretch to Chain Lakes (about 7 miles?). The portion of the Icicle Creek trail we hiked was fairly overgrown, but passable. After leaving the Icicle Creek trail, a hard steep couple of miles up the Chain Lakes trail. We encountered about three small blowdowns, but they were easy to step over. Chain Lakes were very beautiful - found a great campsite by the second lake.

Third day: back down the hill for another night at Josephine Lake, before heading back to the car on day four. Blueberries are beginning to ripen - should be fantastic in a week or two. Met a few PCT through-hikers on that first stretch of trail - wow.

Bugs were fairly bad all over (mostly black flies, and some mosquitoes), although much better on the last day when the breeze picked up. Pit toilets at both campsites (thank you, Forest Service!).

Took PCT to Icicle Lake Trail to Chain Lakes Trail to Doell Lakes. Barney the 7 year old Cairn Terrier led the way. Weather was cool and cloudy on the way in, Saturday, with full sun on the way out the next morning, but still pleasantly cool. Huckleberries were abundant on the south side of the Stevens ski area, on the PCT. A few salmonberries (mainly unripe) in the thick schwack along much of the Icicle below Lake Josephine. Barney had an advantage in the schwack as he was mainly under it. The only bugs were a few skeeters around the Stevens Pass ski area, and an occasional biting fly. Some mud along PCT and Icicle, made noticeably worse on the PCT coming out by one or more horses (shorty gaiters recommended) that passed on Saturday, after us. Lots of water for drinking along the way. The 1600 foot climb to the lower Chain Lakes was stout,as advertised, but mercifully, was only a mile or so. Best views from the col between Chain and Doell Lakes. Very uncrowded. No one seen at the Doells, although there was one set of footprints that looked recent.

July 26th, we took the Trailways bus to Steven's Pass and set out for Chain Lakes by way of Lake Josephine, PCT and Tr 1551 to Chain Lakes Tr 1569. Trail is good to Josephine, and good but brushy in places to waist deep on Tr 1551. Most logs are cleared and trail not hard to follow. We camped at a small camp along the trail near the junction with Tr 1551. Small unmarked stream is still flowing there. Tr 1569 ascends steeply, easy to follow, to Chain Lakes, and beyond to Doelle Lakes. We ate lunch on the shoulder east of the pass looking down on Doelle Lakes. Still a snow patch below pass but barely on the lower trail. Trail was hard to find between upper and lower Doelle Lakes, and we lost it among the campsite trails. While it is possible to find a way down along the outlet of the upper lake as we did, the actual trail stays high and east away from the shore of the upper lake and campsites. We picked up the trail again at the lower lake. The Icicle Ridge Trail cuts off circling a flat marsh clockwise below the lower Doelle Lake a half mile or so. Some cairns visible through the grass. The trail turns abruptly up into the woods on left side of marsh and climbs steeply for a ways, then begins to traverse right around into the next basin and descends below a rockslide before climbing to a pass, then following the ridgecrest roughly over several tops toward Frosty Pass. (See Trekking Washington, Mike Woodmansee) We lost the trail in a basin on the north side of the ridge where it descends and camped there, about a half to 3/4 mi from Frosty Pass. Good water for now. In the morning, we worked over toward Frosty Pass and picked up the real trail above the level of our camp and toward the Pass. Trail from Doelle Lakes also brushy in places, thin, rough.
From Frosty Pass toward Lake Edna, trail is good and more open. Much water still in small streams. Avalanche debris blocks trail for a bit above Lake Margaret, easily skirted. The snow slope that can be an early hazard rounding Cape Horn above Lake Edna is no longer on the trail. We camped near Lake Edna. Here and everywhere above about 3000', bugs were fierce when we were not moving, and there was little breeze. Mosquitoes, black flies and horse flies. Worst in the highest camps. Bold marmot hung around our camp at Lake Edna and chewed the water bag plug.
From Lake Edna, followed the Icicle Ridge Tr to the junction with Chatter Ck trail 1580 and turned south on it, descending more, crossing a basin with much snow over trail in center, and climbing to a pass. There the trail descends 4000' to Icicle Cr Road. Good trail, heavier used and more clear than the Icicle Ridge Tr beyond the junction to the east. Brushy in places, more logs across trail than earlier trails, but some trail work done this year. Trail comes out on the road above the closure/washout and a bit downstream from the Chatter Ck Guard Stn (empty.) We saw a couple mountain bikers on the road, but its not getting car traffic this year except official traffic. From the guard station we took the Icicle Gorge Tr upstream along the south shore of the creek in the shade up to Rock Island Camp Ground. Only two parties there (including us.) Both walk in. Restrooms open, garbage and water not open. Luxurious to have a picnic table for cooking, sitting.
Next morning, up Jack Ck Tr 1558. Excellent shape for first few miles, with near ripe blueberries down low, and ripe salmon berries of excellent quality, juicy, sweet further along. In mile 4-5, trail was very brushy, and this was much noticed because thunderstorm cell had soaked the brush the night before. We got soaked from hips down and then were out of the wet. Further along, passed the site of the fires that closed the upper Jack Ck trail above Meadow Cr last year from Aug until snows. Many trees survived, many fell, ground is covered in dead needles. Interesting. All logs are cleared through here on trail, but further up is a messy challenging crossing of Jack Cr or an easy wade. Probably a rock hop when water falls a bit more, rocks in Jack Cr are very slippery. We continued on to Stuart Pass and over the rock scramble to area around Ingall's Lake. Camped below the lake (no camping permitted at lake). Many mountain goats at lake, we saw 14 at once, all pretty unafraid of people and looking for salt.
Our plan was to find the scrambling route around Ingall's Lake to the Ingall's Lake Tr but after an hour of looking, we were not successful and decided to descend to Ingall's Ck trail 1215, then up over Longs Pass and down to N Fork of the Teanaway, Esmeralda Basin trailhead. We lost a lot of elevation to the junction with Longs'Peak trail. The latter is steep, short, and more of a climbers trail than a full on hiker's trail. Lot's of gravel and loose rock on a steep tread. Dry. The descent down to trailhead is also dry. Fill up at Ingall's Ck. Finished July 31st about noon.
We highly recommend the route as a great one-way, multi-day backpack alternative to the crowded PCT for experienced hikers. Great views, much time above timberline, few people, and a strong feeling of covering a lot of ground in about 45-47 mis and nearly 13,000' of climbing. The camps along the Icicle Cr are very pleasant this year without cars, and provide a continuous sense of wilderness that would be interrupted once the road is rebuilt sometime in 2010.