(Note: This may actually be Trail #1072. I used the trailhead off Highway 2. #1002 may be the trail that begins on the Taylor River Road, near North Bend) Having been raised in another part of the country, it still strikes me funny that here it is, July. Its summer. I'm comfortably attired in shorts and a short sleeve shirt and taking a snapshot of a peaceful lake. But I'm wearing snowshoes and the lake is completely frozen over. Ahhh. . . .hiking in The Cascades! The hike past lakes Dorothy, Bear and Deer on the way to Snoqualmie Lake is a pretty good ankle conditioner. The trail is populated with rocks and roots with a pleasant topping of mud above Lake Dorothy. The trail is not too difficult in that there is less than 2000 feet in general elevation gain and that gain is spread over a long stretch, topping out at about 3800 feet. The scenery all along the way is wonderful with rocky peaks, raging rivers and creeks and lots of lakeshore to view. Lots of campers on pretty and still Lake Dorothy and the long walk along its eastern shore was almost like a stroll through a neighborhood with the residents coming out on their porches to say hello. The climb up to Bear Lake seems to have discouraged most hikers today and at the saddle between the lakes there was plenty of snow. Bear Lake is still almost completely frozen over and the snow covers the banks. It begins to thin out as you walk beside Bear Lake approaching Deer Lake which is now about half frozen The snow gets patchier here and by the time you reach the saddle overlooking Snoqualmie Lake 300 feet down, the snow is mostly gone. The shores around Snoqualmie Lake had only tiny patches os snow. The books indicate that the round trip to Snoqualmie Lake is 13 miles, but it felt more like 15 or 16. The views all along the way are splendid and when the day is as beautiful as today was, it is a perfect, tranquil hike. A few minor blowdowns, non-biting bugs at Lake Dorothy and lots of mud and water over the trail because the snow is melting fast.

Finished a six-day trip from PCT Stampede Pass through Mirror Lake, Snoqualmie Pass, Snow Lake, Taylor River, Snoqualmie Lake, Deer/Bear Lakes and Dorothy Lake this past Saturday at about 1:00PM. Was it too early in this high snow/cold spring year for this trip? Quite possibly, but we did it anyway. The first day out we were able to navigate the snowy portions of the PCT fairly quickly as I had scouted the route the previous week and we made good time to Mirror Lake. The lake was 98% frozen over and beautiful; we were the only campers. Day 2 started out in sketchy snow with no other visible tracks; we missed the cutoff to Cottonwood Lake completely and then lost the PCT abvout half way up Tinkham Peak at about the 4100 ft.level. Some intense bushwhacking led us to the top of the ridge @ approx. 4500 ft. but apparently some distance northeast of the trail. More intense bushwhacking and map work took us down the back side of the ridge with very slow progress and no possiblility of rejoining the PCT due to cliff placement - this route is not advised for the faint of heart! We finally made it to the most easterly of the Twin Lakes and bailed out on the Mt. Catherine road (which I know well from skate skiing in the winter). Still don't know if the PCT around Tinkham Peak is hikeable or not, but the snow had good texture for kick-stepping (would recommend taking an ice axe). Camped along the Alpental Road after getting in at around 9:30 PM after an epic 12 hours of hiking/route finding. Day 3 took us up trail #1013 to Snow Lake (posted as having snow on trail after 1.7 miles and all snow on the back side to the lake - this was pretty accurate). Many people on the trail on July 3rd, but most stopped at the ridge and went back down. We glissaded the back side down to Snow Lake and camped (the only time I've camped there in years due to summer restoration projects) - signs of 1 other skier and a few hikers who ignored the FS warnings of possible 5 ft. snow breakthroughs on the way down. Hard rain and some snow fell during the night - a very cool campsite around the ruins of the old stone shelter. Day 4 was down the ""back"" way from Snow Lake on #1013. I've been to Snow Lake over 30 times and had never hiked this trail, and from the looks of it my experience is pretty typical, it probably gets 1/100th the use the front side does. With the snow cover, you need to find your way over the ridge from the east end of the lake (it helps if you know where the trail to Gem Lake goes, but if not try to do this in clear weather). You need to go east of the knob before the outlet rather than stay by the shore - if you get a clear view of the valley below you should be able to see the trail about 400 or 500 ft. below running off to the NE through a rock slide. The trail itself is magnificent and magical; the upper portions bring to mind parts of the Inca Trail, all stone with moss growing undisturbed by footprints over the trail surface. The middle section conjures images out of a Tolkien novel with the way easily discernable but totally overgrown with vegetation. Unfortunately, as you approach the Middle Fork Trail the lack of use and maintenance becomes more than a casual nuisance - there are probably 40 downed trees of problematic size blocking the way. Still, if you have the fortitude, one of the most beautiful trails I have seen in the state and a better workout than the ""frontside"" way from Alpental. The Middle Fork Trail #1003 is clear and was full of peop[le on the way to Goldmeyer on the 4th, though VERY muddy. Much FS work is being done as we speak. Came across several very polite and muddy mtn. bikers who insisted on torturing themselves on this ride (hey, I'm a biker too, but I know when to switch tools). Day 5 took us from the Taylor River Trailhead up the logging road that is Trail #1002 to Snoqualmie Lake. Quite a bit of traffic on the trail on the long holiday weekend, but most people took the flat road to Nordrum Lake rather than go up the hill. When the trail crosses the Taylor River headwater stream about 1/4 mile from Snoqualmie Lake, follow the rock cairns up the creek bed rather than the ramains of the old bridge which lie straight ahead. Snoqualmie Lake is about 80% clear wiht just the sourthern end still iced over. A few good campsites are clear as well. Went up another 500 ft. and camped at Dear Lake on the snow - again, no other campers (but some at neighboring Bear Lake on the night of the 5th) - below freezing again at night. Day 6 was past Bear Lake and over the ridge to Dorothy Lake (plenty of people and tracks in the snow going nowhere; it is a bit tricky finding the route but by this time the preponderance of the tracks should lead to viable trails on either side). Dorothy was quite busy with hikers, kids, fishermen and what not - we beat it back down to our rides at the Dorothy Lake Trailhead. summary: An epic and memorable trip, made more so by the routefinding difficulties - we had no company at most of our campsites and very few bugs due to the cold at altitude. Good map and compass skills, excellent hiking or mountaineering boots and ice axe or at least hiking poles for balance are highly recommended for the next couple of weeks. You may want to leave the ski pole baskets on the poles as well to deal with the snow. Be ready to camp and travel on snow if you want to avoid the crowds and bugs, it pretty much always works!

We hoped to go to Deer Lake or Bear Lake but there was so much snow on the trail we camped at Dorothy Lake. We found 2 snow-free campsites at mid-lake. However, snow melted quickly from Satruday to Sunday and shoud be gone soon. Some mosquitos in the evening and am. We passed about 40-50 people on the trail in 2 days (5 other backpackers).

Despite years of training to do hikes the safe way, a friend and I started out on what would just be ""15 minutes hiking up the trail"". Well, in track shoes and blue jeans, and with only one of the 10 essentials - a map, we hiked to within sight of Dorothy Lake. After the bridge, there are snow patches. The last one-quarter mile before the lake is the trickiest. On your right side is a drop-off, the river canyon with violently flowing water. You are walking on quite steep snow. If the snow trail collapses, you can fall into the canyon. On our way back we realized that part of the trail we had gone over was a bit of a snow bridge, that was not really looking that thick. So we cut up the ridge more. In a few places on that ridge, we cut uphill more, to avoid the risk of falling into the canyon.

We started out around 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and finished around 12:20 p.m. Unfortunately, we did not make it all the way to the Dorothy Lake due to the snow just past the bridge. We attempted to continue but lost the trail. It's still a bit muddy in places; however the views are spectacular when you reach a clearing (or the bridge). Much better than Snoqualmie Falls!! It was really loud. Incredible! Not too crowded. We only saw about 5 other car loads of people.