With good weather guaranteed, I figured this was my shot to scale Mount Daniel. That's done, but not without a lot of supplemental information and OPINIONS I want to tack onto the WTA directions so people don't get as confused as I did while routefinding!

Left the trailhead a little before 8:30 AM, setting 4 PM as my strict turnaround time. My headlamp failed on me the night before, and I didn't want to trod down in the dark with my phone light. Consider this foreshadowing

The Cathedral Rock trail makes for standard going over roots and rocks up long switchbacks to eventually reach the PCT. You meet with another trail on the way up, hit Nosh Nosh Wahtum, go up a ways, then meander through the woods and meadows on a gentle, scenic path. I spent perhaps an hour in total filling up with water, taking pictures, and snacking around here

When you get onto the PCT, head left for a somewhat short span until you reach the sign warning you of the hiker's trail. This is the path to Peggy's Pond, and it is a pain in the keister. Loose scree is abundant, and there is a point at which the path looks to drop down an uncomfortable ledge, then leap back up farther along. I took the lower route only to find on the way back that an upper route along a ledge was an improvement; so, if you're headed to the pond and the path seems to require ledge hopping, head a little up and to the right to get onto that upper route

Peggy's Pond was a delight. There are many desire paths meandering around, and several "Y" junctions toward the northwest side; I took the one most accordant with the WTA directions. From here, you can snake upward through trees on a number of routes, but eventually you should reach an intersection where the trees clear out and one path heads uphill to the southwest. Take this one!

You ascend a series of ledges with sweet views of Cathedral Rock, with some lovingly cared for mini-switchbacks. The trail can be tough to find at times, but keep aiming for the ridge and you should be back on track

Refer to the last image uploaded here. This corresponds to the WTA instructions "Gain a short ledge on its left side and continue aiming high once back on the ridge crest." I thought that was past and this was "Aim for the rounded high point above a gully that is wide enough only for single file traffic." That's much later! This caused confusion, especially considering the little gendarme and slightly uncomfortable path around it to the right, shown in the second image. This discomfort is meager compared to later

You plod upward with numerous sections of loose rock and branching desire paths. Generally, stick to the ridge or a little to the gentler side of it. After working your way up high, you come to the real technical section. As you approach a massive outcrop of basalt, the path drops down and up several times in the scree; keep heading toward the real rounded high point in the instructions, close to the sheer dropoff

You then get to the gendarme. I tried to go around it below and to the left, but it was too loose and steep. So, I took the uncomfortable path shown in the third image here, and hated it, especially with a pack. You have to squeeze your way through to position yourself such that you don't fall off the mountain. Not fun!

From here, it's a little ways on angular rock, then traversing a steep section along the side of the East Peak with loose soil. Once that's done with, the anxiety-inducing parts are done for now. You more or less keep heading toward the true summit, off to the west with a small black crown of rock. Once at the true summit, it's a quick scramble up to the top of that crown. I stayed for half of an hour and began heading down at 3:50 PM

At the gendarme, I took another look and said NO. That's not a move I felt confident to pull off on the way down. There was a possible shortcut to the side of the gendarme, but what I wound up doing was climbing over it diagonally, which did the trick. The holds are solid and the climb isn't tough or too exposed, so I'll be climbing over that chunk if I'm ever back

At the massive basalt outcrop, some desire paths go to the left by the cliff's edge. I tried taking one of those before it started to descend so quickly that it was apparent nothing good lay here. Taking the high route was what put me back on the right track to keep stumbling down the ridgeline again; definitely avoid venturing too far too the east, toward the cliff dropoff

Routefinding wasn't too bad from here, although several times I got turned around as punishment for straying from the ridge. At the end, especially, overlooking Cathedral Rock, I wound up far down a somewhat suboptimal desire path after overshooting the ridge which wound up intersecting with the trail. (If you've reached a campsite at the end of the ridge, you've gone too far!)

My big screwup this hike was that my rusty old headlamp died the night before and I didn't know the battery pack I brought was empty. The latter became apparent at the summit after wasting much of my battery life on pictures and attempted tweets. So, I wanted to beeline back to my car, but past Nosh Nosh Wahtum it became uncomfortably dark. Luckily, however, I reached another Daniel climber with a headlamp who let me follow his illumination to the trailhead. I got there around 9:30 PM, exhausted

Next time, I'd set up base camp at Peggy's Pond before summiting, if only for the wonderful scenery! This is a long hike to do in one day if you don't have laser focus to get to the summit and back. Wildfire haze added a nice atmosphere, but clear air conditions are ideal

Stunning, gorgeous hike. This place is amazing. The route is super fun.

Snow-free trail all the way to the summit. The trail is not too hard to follow, but it's a decent amount of scree in the last two miles. No running water past Peggy's Pond.

I started at 6 am to beat the crowds and heat. Summited at 9:40, took a long break, and started down. It was getting real hot by noon but I was back under canopy by then, and got to the car by 2. I got some bug bites but hardly saw any bugs flying around outside of the few swampy spots.

That crux section on the ridgeline was fine with a light pack and climbing experience. I could see it being dicey if you're carrying some weight or haven't done that kind of thing before, but as the WTA description says it's "uncomfortable but passable". It's basically a squeeze-through move with narrow footing but you have an excellent wall to hug/hold as you do it.

The gravel road to the TH is 7+ miles and is perhaps the best unpaved forest road I've been on. No potholes; just smooth, even gravel. There was one rocky washout 3.1 miles before TH that my sedan has no problem with.

   I challenged myself to a loop hike starting at the Cathedral Pass TH, with a side trip to Peggy's Pond, back to the PCT to Deception Pass, then taking the Deception Pass trail back to the TH. My mission was to delivery some cold snacks to the WTA crew working near Hyas Lake in the afternoon.
   Parking was crowded at the TH when I arrived at 07:15. I had to repack some things and finally got going at 08:00. Cathedral Pass trail is in good condition. I was able to steadily gain elevation to Nosh Nosh Wahtum. I wish the WTA hiking guide would mention the meaning of the lake name. More steady elevation gain to the junction with the PCT. Head south for just a bit, then branch off to Peggy's Pond trail, which is a narrow boot trail traversing around the base of Cathedral Rock. You get a great view of Deep Lake below.
   I arrived at Peggy's Pond around 10:45. I saw two groups had set up camp, and two guys were fishing. I took some photos and headed back to the PCT junction. There I started to cold soak my lunch and continued on. 
On the PCT, berries were ripe! I snacked on a few handfuls at a few good patches. Delicious! On the map there are seasonal streams but the first one I came across had dried up. I checked the Far Out app and saw that the next stream was also dry and the next water source was  3.3 miles from the junction, the stream/creek feeding into Hyas Lake. I started with 1.75 liters but I had drunk it all. Thankfully it had been all downhill from the junction. The sound of rushing water sounded heavenly when I arrive around 13:15. There I filled up on water and took my lunch break. 
   After lunch I continued on, crossing the creek on rocks. The PCT started to climb again but a few more berry breaks helped me ignore the climb. There were portions where the tread was slipping. Some brushing would also be helpful. I arrived at Deception Pass at 14:30. From there, the trail would be all downhill! I kept a steady pace. The trail is in good condition but could use some brushing. I started seeing brand new puncheons and finally saw the WTA campsite at around 15:35. I delivered the cold goodies to the seven member BCRT crew. We chatted for a bit, exchanging volunteering stories.
   I bid the crew farewell and headed out around 16:05. I was back at the TH parking at 17:15.
   Total miles walked, according to GaiaGPS was 16.9 miles with 3828 ft of ascent and descent, and 9hr 15min on trail.

The road to Tucquala Meadows Trailhead crosses through Scatter Creek and this crossing is passable by any vehicle, even a Honda Prius. A NW Forest Pass is required to park at this trailhead and the annual pass or daily passes can be purchased at the Cle Elum Ranger Station during office hours or at several stores in Roslyn and Cle Elum (list of these stores posted on the door of the Ranger Station). Also, daily passes can be purchased self-pay at the trailhead parking lot. $30/annual (not available at the parking lot) and $5/day (available at the parking lot, you'll need 2 Day passes to park overnight, and you'll need 3 Day passes to park for 2 nights)

The trail up to Nosh Nosh Wahtum (previously named Squaw Lake) was in great shape and snow free. The lake and the surrounding area is snow free. The mosquitos here were minor.

The trail up to Cathedral Pass and the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail #2000) was in great shape with short sections of snow. Traction devices (snow spikes, Yak Traks) aren't needed, but poles are slightly helpful.

A short bit south on the PCT we arrived at the intersection with the short spur trail to Peggy's Pond. The PCT continues left and down to Deep Lake. I spent time and reset this sign so that it was upright and had a good base of rocks supporting it.

This Peggy's Pond trail was snow free, but has several technical sections that some hikers do not enjoy because of the scrambling / climbing nature and the exposure (possibility of falling and tumbling down a steep slope). At the end of the technical traversing sections that go slightly downhill consistently, there is a trail intersection. Up steeply to the right is the more popular trail that arrives with a spectacular reveal of Peggy's Pond, but there is a very steep section which is so unwelcome with a backpack.

I prefer to continue straight, continuing to traverse, rather than taking the very steep trail on the right. This trail passes an historic cabin foundation with unbelievable view. Passing a very small tarn (small mountain lake, often very very shallow and sometimes seasonally dry) to the right and finally reaching another large tarn in the shape of a "U" and also the outflow creek from Peggy's Pond. Hang a right and gain elevation following the creek and then it's right branch reaching Peggy's Pond.

Mostquitos here were annoying

Peggy's Pond is mostly covered with slush / snow / ice with a ring of blue water along the shore. It's easiest to fetch water from it's outflow. The general area is mostly snow, but there are several places to pitch a tent on the dirt. But you might be camping on the snow if there are several other parties already there.

We left the trailhead at 4pm and arrived at Peggy's Pond 7pm, with light packs at a moderate rate. There were only a few people on the trail coming down.

The next day we reversed the traverse trail to the PCT and took a right, heading south and down to Deep Lake. This trail is marvelous! It dispenses with significant elevation change in a very modest and consistent manner. Crossing the outflow of Deep Lake we changed into water sandals, the water was over ankles but not much deeper than that, easy to cross. Then we followed the trail to campsites on the west shore, past a trail to an outhouse, and continued further until arriving at a small grassy area on the shore with a small rock outcropping sticking into the lake.

Great place to access the water, since much of the shore has sunken logs that are slippery and make it difficult to get in and of the lake. The lake water was not cold for an alpine lake, but only a few people choose to enjoy its refreshing nature.

The mosquitos here were minor

Trail is mostly snow free, but patches in the last half mile are easy enough to manage without any snow gear.  Lots of standing water on trail around lake, waterproof shoes would be helpful.

Still probably need decent clearance on your car to get across Scatter Creek, but pickups and small SUVs are no problem.