Our original itinerary was to begin on the cathedral trail, pass squaw lake then hike on to Deception Pass on the PCT and camp for two nights before hiking out by Hyas Lake. Due to snow we were unable to make it to deception pass from Squaw Lake, but it would be no problem to get there from Hyas Lake.
The road leading to the trailheads is very rough, and for most of the way all vehicles would be okay. About three miles before the parking lot a quite significant stream flows over the road which you have to drive through. It was higher when we arrived on Saturday, and was lower when we left on Monday (6/29), our midsize SUV was fine crossing both days.
We hiked to Squaw lake and noted some brief snow fields that pose no real problem on the way up. They are shallow and when the trial disappears beneath one there is a well-trodden footpath showing the way. there are some downed trees that we had to crawl under and generally the trail was very wet with lots of small stream crossings. We initially continued past Squaw lake towards the trail's intersection with the PCT. Once you pass 5000 ft the snow fields are much larger but still have well-established footpaths showing the path all the way to the PCT at Cathedral Pass. Unfortunately we were unable to follow the PCT once we found the intersection as there were no foot-paths to follow and we did not bring a GPS. We returned to Squaw Lake for the night.
The following day we went back up to the intersection with the PCT and had some fun ascending part of cathedral rock and then using our rain jackets as sleds to head back down on the large snow fields.
The final day we hiked out on the cathedral trail which we came in on, and left our packs in the car while we hiked to Hyas lake to eat lunch. On the way down from Squaw Lake the snow fields were considerably smaller and if they keep melting that fast they should be gone in the next two-ish weeks. the trail to Hyas lake is beautiful and flat, really a pleasant stroll through the woods.
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