I read a couple trip reports dated a couple years back mentioning a snow-free hike to Deep Lake mid-June, so we gave it a shot. The drive up the forest road was littered with pot holes - plan for a long drive.  I saw one passenger car with it's bumper half off from all the bumps. Long story short, we got to Scatter Creek and it was running about 3 feet over the road. We didn't take the chance and just car camped nearby. Regardless, the snow level appeared low enough that we'd be trekking through a bunch of snow.  Looks like July is a better month for problem-free trip to Deep Lake.

The last 12 miles of road leading up to the trailhead are gravel. Extremely bad wash boarded in a few places complete with potholes and an creek crossing. I couldn't tell how deep the crossing was but it seemed like a couple of feet deep to me. I was in my truck so it was no problem for me but anyone in a low clearance vehicle might not do as well.

I started this hike with the intention of just going to Peggy's pond but I made such great time hitting up all the of side treks on the way up it seemed wrong not to continue on and go all the way to the top.

The beginning of the Cathedral pass trail is in great shape beyond being a bit muddy and slick in places. Once you get up to the pass the trail is pretty well dry. 

The Spinola Meadows are beautiful and full of wildflowers, it was a great spot to stop and enjoy for little while before continuing on. 

All of the trail junctions are very well marked so navigating to Peggy's pond was a breeze.  Once you get to the turn off for Peggy's pond from the PCT the trail gets a little sketchy. Definitely passable but with some caution, there are a few steep sections with dry loose rock and a few areas where the trail really narrows and you're kinda hugging the mountain side. Fortunately that's a fairly short section and then the trail levels out again. 

Didn't really notice the bugs until a little before getting to Peggy's pond. Once there I felt like I was swarmed even though I had covered myself with repellent. There weren't many people at the pond, only came across 4 other hikers on the way there and maybe a dozen all day. There were plenty of spots to camp by the pond.

While resting and letting my pup have a drink a few friendly hikers stopped by who's just come from Mount Daniel and convinced me to go a little further for the spectacular views. I was sold and continued on.

Unfortunately there are a ton of trails crisscrossing on the way up to the talus field so navigating was a little tough. From there again through the talus fields it was about the same, the trail kept disappearing. There were some cairns but they were far and few between. As I would discover on the way down that was because I was a little off the established trail.

The rest of the trail which runs along a ridge was a little precarious and involved multiple scrambles. The views leading up were spectacular! However the summit was socked in and there wasn't much to see. No regrets though it was amazing trek and I couldn't believe how well my pup did, I swear he must have some mountain goat in him. 

Side note, there are snow fields on the way up to Mount Daniel but they're completely avoidable as the trail that runs the ridge is snow free.  It did look like there had been foot traffic across the one of the fields which you could take and avoid some of the precarious scrambles along the ridgeline.

We got to the Tucquala Meadows TH at 7:08a. The drive out the 10 mile road took an hour. Some years they grate the road not in 2019. The Scatter Creek water crossing was doable in my Outback. The TH parking lot was already pretty full. The 3 pit toilets have not been in use since last year. It seems that they can’t get a septic truck pass the boulder creek bridge. Weather was perfect and no rain. We hiked up to Squaw Lake and found that there is a toilet just before the lake. We headed up to Cathedral Rock and found that they have placed the sign for the turn where you can see it. We headed down to 3 miles to the water crossing and found if you follow the cairns that the water was only mid calf deep. After Deception Pass heading down to Hyas Lake we ran into at least 40 backpackers heading to Tuck and Robyn Lakes. I have never seen that many people on that trail! Another beautiful day in the PNW! It’s a great 15 mile loop!

Summary: The scramble up to the top of Daniel is virtually snow-free, no ice axe or traction required. Air quality in the alpine area around Daniel (anything above 5000 ft) is noticeably hazy and smokey, courtesy of wildfires. Bugs at Peggy's Pond were unpleasant but not unmanageable.

To Trailhead: Cle Elum River Road is long and bumpy, but passable with any vehicle, since unbridged Scatter Creek is basically dry. The TH's privy is locked, and parking can be tricky (though we lucked out and snagged a primo spot).

To Cathedral Pass: The trail up to Cathedral Pass is well-graded and unremarkable. There is a brand-spanking new toilet at Squaw Lake, and there were a few families camped there. There's been some recent stock use, as evidenced by a decent amount of horse droppings, but otherwise my companion and I had no trouble getting to the junction with the trail to Peggy's Pond.

To Peggy's Pond: As the description suggests, the trail is mildly exposed, and has some rather annoying up-and-downs. We ran into a man who was struggling - possibly due to dehydration - and helped him to the best of our (limited) ability. After that bit of Good Samaritan-ism, we quickly found ourselves at the glorified tarn that is Peggy's Pond. It boasts a web of social trails and two privies, which seems a bit extravagant to my primitive sensibilities. The photo below shows the campsite we chose, perched in a large flat area next to a creek and small waterfall. We kept an eye on distant Daniel's summit, and with the cloud cover soon turning into surprisingly heavy rain we opted to wait until the next day to make our ascent. Luckily, the wind and rain kept the bugs at bay, and we largely survived bite-free.

To Mt Daniel's Summit SE Saddle: As day two dawned, a friendly ranger wandered by to alert us about the fire ban and inquire as to our itinerary. As I talked with her, the clouds dispersed somewhat, and soon we started the long trek up to the summit ridge. There's a few ways to gain the SE summit ridge - featuring various amounts of steep scree, rock-hopping, and dirt - but they all converge around 7000 ft. From there, it's a standard ridge-line traverse to 7200 ft, at which point you can either cut right across a snowfield to a saddle south of Mt Daniels' East Peak or continue scrambling the ridge up to around 7600 ft, at which point it drops down to the same saddle. We opted to take the ridge, as did most of the other parties we observed that day: unsurprising, as the snowfield would be a bad place to take a fall.

To the True Summit: There's a gnarly scree slope to traverse, but it's doable with a trekking pole, and after that it's mostly a matter of walking at varying levels of steepness to the summit pyramid. There's a single small snow patch, but it's hardly more than 20 feet across, and relatively flat. Between the wildfire haze and the persistent cloud cover, our views from the summit were minimal, and we did not linger long. As we descended, the smell of smoke grew stronger, and the haze increased noticeably, no doubt due to shifting winds.

While it was a shame our views from the top weren't better, we had a peaceful camp, plenty of whiskey, and a strenuous (but not overly technical) summit as a reward.

What an adventure. Awesome country, pristine meadow, very challenging terrain. Few people. Trail free areas.

Day 1

*Drive to Tucquala meadows TH
* Cathedral Pass Trail , #1345

* Squaw Lake, 2.8 miles

* Junction with PCT, Views of Cathedral Rock, Spinola Meadows, 4 miles

* Junction with Peggys Pond trail, views over deep lake.
* Off trail cliffy meadow traverse to Circle Lake. My traverse started around 5800' and I climbed the ridgeline first behind peggy's pond and made a lot of the traverse a bit higher near 6100'. Watch for cairns, and be very careful. This section is extremely exposed, with awesome views above deep lake
* Circle lake, has very limited camp spots, only three dirt patches near the outflow, and a couple patches along the ridge over deep lake. Mosquito number are phenomenal 

Day 2

* Mount Daniel summit blocks. I started by picking my way up the green, and trees up to the high point above Circle Lake, around 7000'. This is the southernmost/ westernmost high point along the Mount Daniel summit ridge. As you approach the west summit the scrambling begins. Expect prolonged hiking along class 2 and 3 terrain with excellent hand holds and great though sometimes exciting foot holds. After the center summit, back track and find boot path descending toward scree field. This is most dangerous part. conditions are often changing, the scree features gullies of loose scree that slide at the slightest touch. You will need to down climb a particularly bad spot using the boulders for hand holds. Don't try it alone. Final summit block is fun and scrambly with room for two people to stand at the top, plus summit register. The summit ridge also is gorgeous featuring stunning views of Venus Lake, Spade Lake, Pea Soup Lake.... My how i love Mount Daniel.
* Went for a swim in squaw lake on the way back. The route back to Peggy Pong was very difficult and I almost got cliffed out, most stressful. I was also attacked by many swarms of 100s of mosquitos after the sudden hail storm and downpour that soaked my camp making everything very heavy. The mosquitos chew on me while i packed as quickly as possible. But when I got to Squaw, sun was out, no bugs either so I took a dip to clean my wounds, mental and physical, and finish the hike to the car in peace.