I did a loop from a path just across the road from the Mount Catherine trailhead, to Twin Lakes, the Cold Creek Trail, Mirror Lake, Cottonwood Lake, and back along the PCT to Windy Pass, then down the road to the car. I did not go up to Mount Catherine, but I’ve tagged it for notes on the road. 

Road: this was the roughest I’ve seen this year. Please do not take this road unless your car can handle a lot of unavoidable potholes, plus very uneven sections of rocks much too large to be called gravel. 

Trailhead: no signs, no bathrooms, just a slightly wider section of road. Would have missed it if I weren’t tracking the distance. Just me at 8 AM; 13 cars between there and Windy Pass at 1 PM.

Cold Creek Trail: starting very slightly downhill and across the road from the Mt. Catherine trailhead is a narrow, brushy trail that connects in 1 mile to the Cold Creek Trail near Twin Lakes. I could only see one of the Twins; pretty, but honestly probably not worth the effort from there to the PCT. 

I kept thinking, “This isn’t so bad.” Then the trail got steeper and brushier. I thought, “This still isn’t that bad,” and it got steeper and brushier again. Ok, ok, the trail description was accurate. 🙂 I’m glad I went up rather than down; more likely to get tired, but less likely to get injured, and I’d rather be tired than injured. Thankfully the brushy parts were in patches, but the final mile or so was very steep and narrow, all dirt, needles and pinecones. 

PCT and Cottonwood trail: in great shape. Cottonwood was my favorite. Small, green, quiet, lovely reflections of trees and rocky ridges above, and much less effort!

Berries: so many everywhere! Fall foliage up there is going to be amazing.

People: 10 times, all on the PCT, all but once between 11:30 and 1. Didn’t see tents; sites available at each lake. I bet you’d have a lot of peace and quiet at Twin, just one brushy mile from the trailhead. 

I might try Mirror and Cottonwood from their own trailhead for upcoming fall colors, but I don’t think I’d take this particular route again. I enjoyed the one-time challenge, though!

HELP!- Hi fellow hikers. I was out on this beautiful hike today and lost my favorite and meaningful bracelet. It’s not worth much in value, but is really special to me. It’s thin and gold/gold plated. I’m happy to pay anyone a finders fee, convenience fee and to ship it back to me. Your help would be much appreciated! You can email me at olenikheather@gmail.com

Got up early on a Saturday morning to beat traffic and crowds on the trail. Google Maps gave good directions to the trailhead. Road was rough with a few really deep potholes, best to avoid or slow way down.

Arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 AM. First car at the pullout. Trail is obvious to the right side of the road and well-signed. Fairly rocky and steep for the first third or so. I keep reading that thru-hikers prefer trail runners due to the weight savings, so I tried mine for this short hike. I have decided that boots with stiffer soles are more my style.

Flattened out a bit with softer ground underneath after that. Well-shaded with good tree cover the majority of the way up. A few side trails to modest views through the trees looking north. Counted 3 downed trees to navigate around - 2 over and 1 under.

Last little bit of the trail was steep. I used poles, otherwise would have probably used hands. Not scary exposure but definitely some soft/loose dirt which was a bit more treacherous on the way down.

Reached the summit at 8:20 AM and enjoyed the solitude for about 30 minutes. Nice breeze and only a few bugs. Gorgeous views of Keechelus Lake to the east and Mt. Rainier to the south.

Saw three groups of 2-3 hikers each on their way up as I made my way back down. Pullout was full when I got back down at 9:40 AM. Gaia GPS read 3.6 miles, included the little trips off on side trails.

Before departing, hiked an extra 0.25 miles up to Windy Pass, where the Forest Service road intersects the Pacific Crest Trail. North all the way to Canada or South all the way to Mexico if you've got the legs and the logistics. Have done a small portion of it, passing through this spot going south from Snoqualmie Pass, a long time ago. Perhaps again some day...

Took our dogs for a quick romp up Mount Catherine! Road was definitely pot-holed and bumpy but taking it slow any vehicle can make it up there. There's a small pull-out with space for 2-3 cars depending on how close together they park, but there was another car parked off the side of the road on the shoulder without issue.

Only saw three other groups along the trail which was wonderful, and the views through the trees and especially from the peak were incredible! Tons of ripe blueberries and several people had bags and buckets to collect them. It was a great quick hike to stretch the legs!

Parked at the Mount Catherine trailhead. Road in is rough but passable. One higher clearance area that I think you could get by with low clearance if you picked your line nicely. 

Trail up to summit and back is about 3 miles/1300'. Well graded. More popular than expected. Saw a few groups on the way up, and more on the way down. Cloudy & gloomy day in Western WA, blue skies in Eastern. This intersect them. Best of both weathers. Drips from trees in clouds on way up. Wet trail. Socked in. Clearer and dry at top. View of Rainier to South, Alpine Lakes peaks to North. Shark fins in ocean of clouds. Great view for payoff - even if not perfect vis. Bit steep on last 100', but two ways, found way to climbers right easier. Used hands, class 2 scramble. Lotta exposure once at top so hold onto dogs/kids. Plenty of space to safely have a snack. 

When I returned to car I continued down #1348 that was about 100' down the road. Trail descends, wet and rocky and very overgrown. Low use. Fun to explore. Never before seen orange dandelions. Down about 700' vertical from car to Twin Lakes campground. Very nice campground in woods, quiet. I always sleep like a log at campsites like this, will return. Great lake access with views of the basin (Tinkham & Silver Peaks). Plan is to circumnavigate this basin. Second twin is missing, hidden in woods with no trail. Left the lake and crossed a downed tree over the Cold Creek outlet steam. Easy crossing, stable tree with cut marks in surface for better grip. Then the "character building climb" began. Up about 1400' to the PCT. Really rough and rocky and overgrown trail. Lots of sticky plans and ripe berries. No animal signs. Crossing talus fields and steep forest. Gaining elevation fast >1000'/mile. Eventually reached the PCT. Big dichotomy to the previous trail. Smooth, fast sailing. Pondered checking out Mirror Lake, but didn't want to descend to it only to reclimb. Saw a few PCT hikers - jealous. Took the Tinkham Lakes bypass, rough fisherman's trail but well worth it. Gorgeous. Went skinny dipping and fished. Hiked out along the PCT. Always a highway. Cruised out smoothly down to Windy Pass and then another quarter mile to the car. 6.5 more miles and ~1500'.