Until now I had never hiked the section of the Pacific Crest Trail immediately south from Snoqualmie Pass to Windy Pass which is just south of Olallie meadows.  It is 6.2 miles to Windy Pass.

At Windy Pass I hiked Forest Service Rd #9070 for 0.4 miles to the Mt Catherine trailhead and then the final 1.2 miles to the summit of Mt Catherine.

A very nice hike and fun to see this new area for me.  15.6 miles round trip.

Short and steep hike with a beautiful 360 view from the summit. Mosquitos were a minor nuisance. Pleasantly surprised by the number of butterflies.
We arrived at 9:30am and had the trail to ourselves until the last 1/2 mile.

The directions to get onto FR-9070 were confusing to us and so we drove loops around the Hyak area before finding the right road. Once on the correct route, we were glad of the high clearance RAV4 as the rocky road has numerous pot holes, and one especially hairy hair-pin turn. Trail itself is pleasant and mostly shady, with switchbacks taking you to a killer view. Plenty of space on the rocks for several groups to sit for lunch before heading down. Bugs were bothersome, but wildflowers and butterflies added to the enjoyment of the day.

What a great little hike! It is as advertised: a short, relatively steep hike to a peak with fantastic 360-degree views. We did it on a (initially) sunny Sunday afternoon, and there were a few cars at the trailhead and maybe six other groups on the trail. Hike took about 50 minutes up and 40 minutes down, with a summit rest break cut short by a fast-arriving thunderstorm (and hailstones the size of your fist). A few bugs, which was a surprise, but nothing bothersome. The road was pretty pitted out a couple miles from the trailhead; it looks like some people park there and walk the road the rest of the way. Total drive is about 80-90 minutes from Seattle to trailhead.

Anyway, this is a keeper for folks who want a short hike with a great payoff at the top.

While the Pacific Crest Trail heading southbound at Snoqualmie Pass doesn't send you up into the clouds and the infamous Kendall Katwalk, it's pretty great in its own right. And right now, the flowers blooming under the chairlifts at the pass are spectacular -- I've never seen so many paintbrush in one area (and I've been on many wildflower-laden hikes).

We took the PCT southbound to Windy Pass (no obstacles aside from a bit of brushiness around the Rockdale Creek area). I love Ollalie Meadow (well any meadow honestly) and right now there's some great beargrass in bloom and the meadow is nice and lush. You also have some great views of Granite Mountain and the lookout.

At Windy Pass we headed down the hill to the junction with the Mt. Catherine trail. Since neither of us had hiked up Mt. Catherine and we wanted to add a bit of distance and elevation gain to our trip, adding on Catherine was the perfect idea. And it worked out well. A moderately steep climb brings you to the top of Catherine in no time with some unique 360 degree views -- great views across the valley toward Mt. Rainier, north looking at Red Mountain and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and east all the way to my beloved Stuart Range.

The hike back to Snoqualmie Pass was quick and in no time at all we were enjoying our obligatory ice cream treats from the Chevron at the pass (a tradition for summer Snoqualmie Pass hikes).

In total I recorded about 13 miles round-trip for this hike.