Route: I did a 25-mile clockwise lollipop loop from the Pete Lake trailhead. First to Pete Lake, to Lemah Meadows, joined up with the PCT and headed north up to Escondido Ridge where I camped. Continued north on the PCT in the morning until I veered off on the Waptus Burn trail which connects with the Waptus Pass Trail. From there, connected to the Polallie Ridge Trail before finally catching the Tired Creek trail for a 2,700 foot descent over 3 miles before catching the Pete Lake trail 1.25 miles from the trailhead. 

Road: Paved most of the way. Last mile or so fairly potholed, but easy to negotiate with most vehicles. 

Water: Plenty. Water almost the whole way until you hit Tired Creek (and little on this portion of Polallie Ridge). I didn't get my feet wet over any creek crossing. However, on the Waptus Pass trail shortly before it connects with the Polallie Ridge trail, there were a couple of flooded meadows. There was no way to avoid getting your feet soaked on one of them. The last 4-5 miles is short on water sources. It was no trouble for me on 1 liter, but it might be wise to pack some extra on a hot day. 

Snow: Many snowfields above 4,500-5,000 feet. No trouble with poles. Had spikes and never broke them out. 

Blowdowns: Intermittent (50ish over 25 miles?). I am a 48-year-old moderately agile person and didn't have any trouble. A couple required a bit of a workaround. 

People: Except for the Pete Lake trail, I only saw one hiker. He was headed southbound from Canada on the PCT and was hungry for intel. Might be helpful to post snow/other conditions info here or even better on FarOut. 

Views: Great up on Escondido, even though it was pretty misty for me. That whole section of the PCT is beautiful subalpine territory. There are also peek-a-boo views from near Lemah Meadows. There are also some very nice meadows at the top of Tired Creek and the Waptus Pass area. 

Vegetation. I would say about 10-15% of the trail had overhanging vegetation. Mostly below the knees. The lowest 1,200 feet of Tired Creek was most overgrown, especially near the lowest 200 feet. The trail was invisible at times. 

Misc: There are other ways to make this loop. By heading up Polallie Ridge and down Tired creek, I think I added a lot of "fun" with an extra 1,000' ascent over 1 mile and the added descent. One could take the Waptus Pass trail down to Pete Lake and then out instead and probably shave some elevation gain. 

Total ascent was about 5,000 feet by my watch (trip planning had me thinking it would be closer to 5,500+). There are long flatish sections in the beginning, middle and end so the ascents and descents were more intense and prolonged. 

We set out to do Section J, discovered that it was harder than we'd thought, and instead hiked the Pete Lake - Waptus Burn - Waptus Lake - Waptus Pass - Pete Lake loop. Blueberries were at their prime, as were the remarkable PCT through-hikers, all of them a week away from Canada.

We met three people who were doing Section J southbound; a man with industrial-strength eyeglasses, a woman who complimented our Black Lab, and a man with a satellite transponder on his pack strap. They left a large phone charger at a tarn on the ridge above Waptus Lake. If this is you - if you can identify the type of charger, give us your three names (only one of which I remember), and you're willing to pay the postage, I'll mail it back to you.

3 day/2 night trip...PCT at Stevens Pass south -> Icicle Creek trail to Josephine Lake -> Chain Lakes Trail stopping at the second lake.  Then day trip from second Chain Lake -> Doelle Lakes -> bushwhack ~half way to Frosty Pass and back.  Third day was returning the way I came in.

Chain Lakes are amazing...highly recommend the trip.  Trail conditions are pretty decent from Stevens Pass as the PCT and Icicle Creek to Josephine Lake are pretty well-traveled trails.  Ran into a lot of NOBO PCT hikers, and a surprising number of parties coming down from Chain Lakes.  But it wasn't crowded at all.

Icicle Creek past Josephine Lake has some pretty brushy spots and muddy/marshy patches.  All traversable, but thick in places.

Chain Lakes trail itself from Icicle Creek was in decent shape, but a workout...come prepared for a huff-n-puff!

Once at Chain Lakes there's a bit of a maze of user trails all over to camping spots, side trails, etc. that can be a bit confusing, especially from the second lake through the Doelles.  Had to back track a few times and at the Doelles ended up with the GPS a couple of times to navigate around.  Once you get to the end of the second Doelle lake, the trail is there, but super overgrown; a bushwhack for sure, but actually clear enough to follow with a sharp eye.  Got about half way to Frosty Pass and turned around due to running out of daylight.  Trail is manageable, but a slow go in places.

Weather was pleasant, then turned hot and smokey.  Bugs were tolerable with spray.  Lakes themselves were clear, cold, and beautiful.  However there was biodegradable waste on the shores of the second lake (like someones had washed cooking gear out), which was both sad and gross.  Lots of chipmunks running about, and could hear but not see Pikas.  Caught a few Marmots scurrying about, including one that ran right out in front of me without notice...'bout had a heart attack!  Birds a-plenty as well.  Didn't see any other larger wildlife, or even signs (scat, prints) until at the Doelles (deer).  Again, more fellow backpackers than I was expecting...on the second night there were at least 4 other parties camped around the second lake.

Again, highly recommend.  The Chain Lakes basin is downright stunning, and if you can, and the moon isn't full or too bright, check out the night sky, it's breathtaking!

Tips:

* Long pants and sleeves.  Save your skin.  I even worn rain pants in spots where it was brushy and wet to save getting both cut up and soaked.

* Bug spray a must, but didn't need netting.

* If you venture beyond the Doelles, have a good map, compass, GPS, and your eyes sharp.

* Make it at least a couple of days if you can.  Set up camp at Chain Lakes and save your back with a light day pack and trip over the pass to the Doelles.  Personally I thought camping at Chains Lakes was more of an experience...Doelles are pretty but not quite as stunning.

Took advantage of the long weekend to hike Section J – a longtime WA bucket list hike for me! We hiked in 4 days going SOBO which averages over 18 miles a day which retrospectively was a bit more aggressive than we would have liked.  The trail condition was great, weather was great, minimal bugs, and there were lots of other hikers from PCTers, to day hikers, to other folks doing section J. The vistas were top-notch and everyday had multiple stunning sections.

Many other folks have written up trip reports for this section but I’ll add a couple call outs given our experiences. One aspect that surprised me was the trail grade was quite shallow compared to trails in the Olympics or otherwise which made the climbs/descents feel much longer and take more time than expected. Other notes: (1) We used bear canisters which may have been overkill but had no issues with mice around our camp which we heard other campers had. (2) Deception lakes were smaller and buggier than expected but do have a privy – follow the orange flags on the tree up a short steep trail and you will find a wood one in good condition. (3) Deep lake is amazing and perfect for swimming. (4) Had to be more conscientious of water than we expected. There's plenty of water but we needed to plan around the good water sources. (5) North Park lake was quite shallow and BUSY but we managed to find some nice secluded sites on the far side of the lake following a small footpath. (6) The whole trail is FULL of blueberries and huckleberries! (7) Our dog was (once again) a crusher; however, we wished we had packed extra food since this was the longest trip he had ever been on.

We liked going SOBO to be opposite of PCT "traffic" and loved the views from that direction. We did a key swap with friends and I don't think our camping locations (due to the requirements of 4-day spacing) were as nice compared to their NOBO itinerary. Nevertheless, finishing with DruBru is always great! An amazing gift to have such wilderness so close to where we live. Happy trails!