The Index-Galena road was in good shape, but the unpaved road had many large potholes and sharp rocks. Any vehicle should be able to make it with care. The pup and I started on the North Fork Skykomish trail which was in good condition all the way to Dishpan Gap. The walk through the woods at the beginning feels pretty long but it gets better when you break out into the meadows. There are some nice campsites along the way, but the nicest is probably near the top after you cross a creek. At Dishpan Gap, I had planned to head south on the PCT, however, my dog really wanted to take the Bald Eagle Trail so plans changed. We passed through meadows filled with fall colors and eventually dropped down to Little Blue Lake where we made camp soon after dark. After a cozy and pleasant night, we hit the trail and headed up Johnson Mountain and then to Blue Lake (where we filled up on water). After enjoying the views and fall foliage, I packed up my gear from the campsite and we headed up to June Mountain. All the trails in this area are rugged, but in good shape. They are signed except for the initial cutoff for the Pilot Ridge Trail (towards Little Blue Lake) from the Bald Eagle Trail. We headed up and down along the Bald Eagle Trail to Curry Gap and turned onto the Quartz Creek Trail to return to the car. The Bald Eagle Trail is in moderately good shape with a few large trees and sections of poor tread. It is also ultra dry. Quartz Creek is a very relaxing trail with nice water sources including one cool little waterfall. This was a fun overnighter. The dog and I ran into only three people total and no other dogs in two days.

Berries everywhere! We did a 2 night overnight from the North Fork Trailhead. After spending the first night at the campsite of the first river crossing, we packed up in the morning and headed uphill, through the wildfire smoke, reaching dishpan gap about 11am. A steady stream of northbound PCT hikers, and a brief rainshower, lightened our mood as we made our way south from dishpan, past lake sally ann, and down to to cady pass, and then back down pass creek, all in all a 12 mile day.

Overnight showers and thunderstorms got everything wet and dampened our enthusiasm to take on more miles on day 3, so we hiked back down to the trail head after helping ourselves to a few liters of ripe huckleberries around camp. 

A beautiful area! Road was in good condition with only a few potholes to slow down for. We counted a dozen treefalls across the trail, but nothing too exciting or inconvenient. The sky and pass creek trails were in good shape but lightly trafficked, especially when compared to the 20+ hikers we saw during our few miles on the PCT. The berries were unbelievably thick from about 4000ft up. Yum! 

For Labor Day Weekend, I did a one-night lollipop loop from the North Fork Skykomish River -> Pass Creek -> PCT -> North Fork Skykomish River trails, camping at Lake Sally Ann. 21.4 miles and 3500 ft elevation. This follows the hike description of "Dishpan Gap" in Craig Romano's Backpacking Washington, 2nd edition.

Road: The Index-Galena road is smooth sailing, while Forest Service Road 63 has some bumpy potholes and one rocky section before the Blanca lake parking lot.

Crowds: I arrived 10am on a Saturday and there were maybe 15-20 cars at the trailhead. There was still space to park. I saw no one on the North Fork Skykomish & Pass Creek trails, then saw ~10 parties on the PCT. Lake Sally Ann was completely full of campers by evening. There were two off-leash dogs, but luckily they seemed well-behaved. The next day I saw ~3 groups at the lake, ~4 groups on the PCT and 1 on the North Fork Skykomish trail. The guidebook mentions campsites at 0.5 miles (Cady Ridge trail), 1.3 miles (Wards Pass), 1.8 miles (Dishpan Gap), and 2.4 miles (creek below Dishpan Gap) from Lake Sally Ann. These might've been better options to avoid the crowds on an otherwise quiet trip, but I was tired and the lake was very pretty!

Water: Plenty of water sources on the North Fork Skykomish and Pass Creek trails. On the PCT, there was water at the Pass Creek/PCT junction, Lake Sally Ann, and a little north of the Cady Ridge trail junction.

Water crossings: All fords of the N Fork Skykomish River were easy (two on the Pass Creek trail, one on the North Fork Skykomish River trail). I did change into sandals for the first Pass Creek crossing just because I'm not very balanced with rock hopping and didn't want to get wet feet, but it was pretty shallow. I rock hopped the other ones, getting slightly wet on the last one. 

Trail conditions: Some downed trees on the non-PCT trails, especially on the North Fork Skykomish trail between Dishpan Gap and the Pass Creek junction. All could be passed, though some took effort since I have short legs.

Highlights: Bountiful berries! The most I've ever seen on a trail. Beautiful fall colors, meadowy ridges galore, and very peaceful option for Labor Day weekend.

Enjoyed a two night - three day backpack starting at N. Fork Skykomish and exiting the W. Cady Ridge Trail. Short story: Berries, big trees, butterflies, birds, views, and lots of solitude. 

Road/Parking: Forest road in is washboarded in places, but we saw a sedan at the trailhead, so anyone can make it! Parking was almost full when we arrived before 1pm on a Friday. Toilet was clean and stocked. Parking lot was less full when we exited on Sunday afternoon.  

N. Fork Skykomish trail to Dishpan Gap (9 miles): the trail up the river is so mellow and well maintained, it was hard to believe we were gaining elevation. We only saw a couple of parties coming out and we kept stopping to eat all the berries, including the most giant salmonberries I've ever seen. I was nervous about the ford at 5 miles in...I overthought it. My partner did it by stepping on rocks. I put water shoes on, and did manage to slip in but it was all in good fun. There's a log crossing as well, if that's more your style. There was one tent at the campsite past the junction. At this point the trail takes a hard left and is marked by pink tags on trees. There's a few blowdowns but very easy to navigate. Water: we walked down a dry creek bed and found water about .5 miles before the gap because we were nervous about getting water for the night - we found it! And then crossed a creek about 1/3 mile before the gap, which probably won't be there in another few weeks. Campsites: There's not a lot of proper campsites to be had at the gap, we got one just off  the trail from the junction, but we looked off the PCT and many were not really proper sites and in meadows. Bugs were annoying in the evening, but not unbearable and completely disappeared after dark. 

Dishpan Gap to Benchmark Mountain Camp (9.5 miles): We stopped at Lake Sally Ann to filter water and to enjoy some Vaux swifts. There was some folks heading North on the PCT, all backpackers, but we had long stretches of solitude. The surrounding views of mountains are stunning here. Then we dropped down to Pass Creek, where we filtered water for the rest of our trip - this was necessary as there is no water (besides a trickle of a creek) and muddy tarns for the rest of the hike (note 10 miles, so we carried a lot of water!). There's ample tent sites here and a toilet. We turned off on the west cady ridge trail and saw no one until we reached camp. Campsites: we planned to camp at benchmark mountain. We saw the "mountain from the trail" and tried to take a social trail up...it went nowhere. We lucked out when we went to the trail marked on the map (you will be well past the mountain if coming from the east). Just off the trail there are a few tent sites - we met some nice folks who were setting up camp and showed us where the other tent sites were. That evening we made our way up the mountain (a 1/2 mile trail) and there is one proper tent site at the top, albeit very exposed. There are berries everywhere and we enjoyed. The views of Glacier Peak and the surrounds are top notch. Bugs were a little annoying but not bad. 

Benchmark Mountain - West Cady Ridge Trail - trailhead (6.6 miles): We woke to fog and the mountains around were shrouded. We enjoyed more berries and wildflowers on our way out. The W Cady Ridge Trail is very rocky and in a gully for some parts, until the last few miles, which are in beautiful forest. There are at least seven blowdowns on this portion, all are navigated easily by under/over or around. We only saw two trail runners and a day hiker making their way in. Water: There's some streams in the last couple of miles, but otherwise this stretch is completely dry except for some muddy tarns about 1 mile west of Benchmark. We saw and heard lots of birds on the way out including a western tanager and evening grosbeak. 

We had a nice time making a quick loop from Dishpan Gap to Cady Pass and back down this weekend. We did White Pass two weeks ago and enjoyed that this was a much easier grade up to the PCT! Our itinerary:

• Day 1: North Fork Skykomish trailhead to junction with Pass Creek Junction
• Day 2: North Fork Skykomish trail to Dishpan Gap, continuing to Cady Pass via PCT, camping at Pass Creek Trail / PCT Junction
• Day 3: Back to TH via Pass Creek Trail and North Fork Skykomish

Some brief notes:

• The best part of these trails is the solitude! We saw few other hikers, particularly when we were off the PCT. 
• Tons of bear scat on the N. Fork trail - be prepared to store food properly at those camps. We did not observe bear scat on the PCT. 
• Bugs are pretty nuclear. We spent most of our afternoon and evening on night two in our tent avoiding nickel-sized mosquitos.
• There are some down trees, especially on the Pass Creek trail, but they are not terrible.
• Water availability on the PCT is currently pretty good but I wouldn't expect many of the seasonal streams to last more than a few more weeks.
• Huckleberries are still coming in. There are some bushes with berries that appear ripe along the N. Fork Skykomish trail but they are unfortunately quite tart.

Last note, the WTA website may be slightly out of date in that the Index Galena Road is open again. This road is paved all the way to the FS 63/65 junction, is a pleasant drive, and gets you off US 2 earlier if you're coming from the west.

Happy to answer questions in the comments!