Fastpacking overnight: Ran from the Deception Creek TH through Deception Pass, down to the Deception Pass TH, then up the Cathedral Rock trail to Squaw Lake. Slept, then ran up to Cathedral Pass/Rock on back to the Deception Creek TH by reverse route.

Deception Creek trail was nicely maintained with some overgrowth in areas but nothing unreasonable given the time of year. Once you pass Fischer Creek, the Deception Creek will have to be forded (the foot log is out.) This is not a difficult ford so kick of your shoes and enjoy the refreshing water. Beyond this the trail will get a bit trickier as you begin to climb up towards the pass. There are several stream crossings which are initlly easy enough just walking along a log of skipping rocks. But as you reach the section where you criss cross Deception creek, you will have to ford at times. Further up the creek you will run into snow patches as the sun hasn't fully baked out this area due to the creek valley shade. These sections are pretty self-evident though you will have to pay attention in order to not lose the trail (a couple times it may actually lead down to cross the creek although you can't see that routing due to the snow patch.) Some foot traffic may reveal the way but be sure not to get too reliant on that (not too many people were heading this far up.) Once you finish the creek crossings you will come upon a mountain meadow which is very quaint though there'll be some muddy/wet areas up here due to recent snow melt. Again some snow patches but easier to sort out direction wise. The Pass itself is fully snow covered with patches of clear spots. Still, it seems relatively reasonable snow wise and is easy to navigate. Once through the pass, the snow patches quickly lessen as you head down towards Hyas Lake via Deception Pass trail (I think the angle here allowed for a bit more sun bake.) The trail does have a few downed trees to hurdle but is well maintained. Down towards Hyas Lake there are couple creeks to skip over but this section of trail is very nice and you'll notice how accessible Hyas Lake is to novice hikers (a beautiful spot to reach.) BUt beware: bugs! With some nearby water and marshy zones, there were a fair amount of mosquitoes out for blood. I took on up Cathedral Rock trail from here.

Cathedral Rock trail is a steady incline but well maintained with just a few downed trees to hurdle (and simple ones at that.) Once at Squaw Lake, I was surprised to find the lack of snow since it's at 4800' but this allowedfor a beautiful campsite. But, alas, again: bugs! Be sure to have head to toe coverage in this zone if your staying for the evening hours because nearby wet areas provide a nice zone for mosquitoes. I stayed the ngiht along Squaw Lake.

In the morning, I took off for a closer look at Cathedral Rock and to check out Cathedral Pass. After some climbing up from Squaw Lake there will be some snow patches then a bit more of a snow field to cross. This is possible with your ordinary boots (I had on my trail runners) and the route is very noticeable. Several folks use this route to ski tour so plenty of feet mark the way to Cathedral Pass. Once at the Pass, it is surprisingly less snowy despite being up at 5600'. The views are beautiful as you can look across the Snoqualmie region.

Naturally, I reverse ran this route (I decided against the PCT return route since the river crossing would be potentially gnarly and some snow questions lingered in my mind: I wanted to charge it on that return trip.)

Happy trails!

The road: FS 4330 has a number of potholes which can be managed by speed (i.e. driving slowly, with patience); the crossing at Scatter Creek however isn't recommended without high clearance. The water level in one spot is at least 10-12 inches and there's another bit of standing water just beyond Scatter Creek that's definitely 12 inches deep. We were able to clear it in our Subaru Forester & Crosstrek and saw other SUVs and trucks - be careful.

The trail: the trail up to Squaw Lake had a few blow downs that are simple enough to get up and over or skirt around and only the last half mile has very intermittent snow. The toilet is not yet operable. The campsite was great!! Our night there was minimally buggy but by morning those skeeters (aka mosquitoes) were starved!! Pack your bug repellent.

Above Squaw Lake, up to Cathedral Pass still has at least 18-inches of snow. It's melting but still requires navigation support as the trail is covered completely.