Matt & I hiked up Cady Ridge over Labor Day weekend, using FR 6700 to reach the open portion of FR 6500. It took about an hour to navigate the forest roads. 6700 was in moderate condition. 6500 began with smooth pavement, but the last few miles were very rough gravel. On the way out, we encountered a car that had blown a tire on this road, so be careful. There were relatively few cars at the trailhead, a welcome change from the overcrowded trails of previous trips. The hike begins with a steep downhill to a bridge, then a steep and partially overgrown uphill. After this warm-up, the trail mellows out quite a bit with little incline. One of the first things we noticed was the variety of mushrooms lining the trail. The mellow flatness transitioned into some mellow switchbacks, uphill, but nothing too crazy. This area was loaded with flies and bees. After completing the switchbacks, we skirted to a side of the ridge and prepared ourselves for the steep section of the trail. The steep grade and erosion made this part exhausting and tricky. Our legs were burning after this, so the more gradual uphill that followed didn’t feel like much of an improvement. Certain sections of the trail on the ridge were overgrown, but the trail was still followable. This ridge hike also provided some stunning views of Glacier Peak and other surrounding mountains. The trail was loaded with delicious blueberries and other berries that I couldn’t identify. Despite the plethora of berries, we saw no bears. About a mile out from the PCT, we had an awesome view of Mt. Rainier dominating a vast ridgeline. We camped at the last site on Cady Ridge just before it intersects with the PCT (as marked on the Green Trails map). The site was in great shape and offered an unobstructed view of Glacier Peak. That night, the moon was nowhere to be seen and the stars and Milky Way were out in full force. This was perhaps the best night sky we’ve had while backpacking. 
We left our camp the next morning to explore the PCT without our full packs. Our first stop was Lake Sally Ann to filter water. The lake itself looked pretty clear, but was full of fish and bugs swarming the surface. We instead filtered from an inlet stream just up the hill from the scree on the southern edge of the lake. After filtering, we hiked up just past Dishpan Gap before heading back towards our camp. We were able to filter water from an unmapped stream on the PCT just north of the Cady Ridge junction. We were hoping for a colorful view of Glacier Peak as the sun set, but the peak was quickly hidden by clouds. The night’s sky was just as impressive as the previous evening’s, with no clouds to be seen. We began hiking out the next morning, departing our site around 10am. The steep and eroded downhill section was especially rough on our already tired legs and feet; we were excited to reach the tamer switchbacks. We reached the car around 2pm and were swiftly on our way out. For more details on our experience hiking Cady Ridge, please check out my blog post at http://curioushungry.blogspot.com/2013/09/backpack-cady-ridge-august-31-september.html

Overnight backpacking trip on the PCT North from Stevens Pass (actually Smithbrook, which reduces the trip by about six miles.) Hit the trailhead at 5:30 AM in a cloud of mosquitoes. The one-mile Smithbrook access trail had a few blowdowns up to the intersection with the PCT, where there were numerous blowdowns over the intersection. A side trail is developing to intersect the PCT with just two or three to crawl over. The descent along the PCT to Lake Janus is pleasant, with numerous small streams crossing the trail. There is a small waterfall at a bend in the trail. Around Lake Janus, I've never seen so many mosquitoes. A headnet is essential, if you cross near dawn or dusk when they are at their worst. Switchbacks and blowdowns as you climb up and pass Glasses Lake and Heather lake, on the way up Grizzly Peak. Fantastic views of Glacier Peak from Grizzly Peak. I continued past Pear Lake (about 15 miles from Smithbrook), past Pass Creek, and stopped for dinner. As I was cleaning up after dinner, PCT through-hiker Trent "Dog Catcher" came by, and we hiked together for a few miles. There are numerous blowdowns between Pass Creek and Lake Sally Anne. Trent was on a 30 mile/day pace, so we eventually seperated, and I caught up to him again at Lake Sally Anne, around 9PM. There was a hiking pair that had spent the day there, Trent was there, and he expected Marco. The lake is mostly frozen, and lots of mosquitoes. I elected to proceed another 20 minutes, and camped in a saddle along the Cady Ridge Trail. The breeze through the saddle kep the skeeters away, and there was even a pool of solar heated water for washing up before bed. Started hiking the next day at 4:30 AM, got back to the Smithbrook parking lot at 8PM. There are still a few sections of trail buried by snow, but they are short enough that route finding is not an issue. Blowdowns present occasional route finding challenges, where the obscure the trail. 44 miles round trip, starting pack weight 33.1 lbs.

We started mid/late afternoon on Friday, July 16 for a 2-night backpack on this loop, counterclockwise (2 hikers & a dog). The hike up to Meander Meadow was essentially a bush-whack. Lots of bear scat and signs on this trail, but no sightings. The trail was not muddy, but there were a few (2-3) snow crossings on the way up to Meander Meadow (should melt soon). Meander Meadow was still soggy but out of the snow. It's difficult to find a place to hang a bear bag. There are some great campsites here, and a toilet (2, according to the ranger with whom we spoke, though we only saw one). There was no precipitation over night (Friday) but definitely some wind coming from Sauk Pass (junction of Trail #1525 and the PCT). From Sauk Pass, the views of Glacier were terrific. The hike from there to Cady Ridge (and to Lake Sally Ann) was mostly covered in snow. Although there had been folks on the trail earlier (even that day), the sun melted out the tracks so some route-finding was necessary. Some areas were somewhat steep, but definitely passable (trail should be fine in a week or two.) The wind the night before took out two big trees in a snow field. Wear sunscreen while on the snow! We took a side trip to Lake Sally Ann - was all ice and snow (see photo) - no camping here right now. The transition from the PCT to the Cady Ridge Trail (#1532) was rough - the trail virtually disappeared in all of the snow. However, we found it after about 2 miles. Just stay at 5500 ft on the right (S) side of the ridge. Wildflowers are starting in the meadows about 5500 ft. Beautiful. The hike along the ridge was gorgeous, but pretty buggy. They swarmed when we set up camp. Awoke early (awesome sunrise) the next day to avoid the bugs and get a start on the day. The final jaunt was quick though, we were back at the car by 9 a.m. We wished it had lasted a little longer.

Frank, his dog Zoe and I headed to Lake Sally Ann. The border of the Henry M. Jackson/Glacier Pk Wilderness is my favorite area in the state. The Cady Ridge trail is in excellent condition thanks to a facelift it received a few years ago. It's steep in places, and turns into a series of quick zig-zags near the top of the ridge. But once you huff up to the ridge, you are rewarded with the finest idyllic meadow-walks around. The fireweed is partially in it's late scarlet stage and partially still bright pink. The hellibore is partially in it's yellow fall stage and partially still brilliant green. This makes for a beautiful geometric burst of colored strata in the sloping meadows. The color in the dim rainy light was so bright and vivid , it was like walking in a cartoon! The fog made wonderful moving sculptures across the landscape, and we were happy to spend a lot of time gazing out at natures art. The final meadow walk rolls on for what seemed about a mile, before hitting the PCT. Hang a left and a few minutes later you're standing at Lk Sally Ann. NO SNOW at Lake Sally Ann this year. I was so stunned, Frank coulda knocked me over with a feather. I didn't tell him that, of course, 'cause maybe he woulda done it. It was cold, cold, cold, and rainy, but we had a great time anyway. We were just happy to be outdoors, and rain is just a part of the whole picture. Saw a black bear on the road on the way out.