Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section K - Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass — Monday, Sep. 7, 2020

Distance: 107 Miles
Direction: Northbound
Start: Stevens Pass
End: High Bridge
Time: 5 days

We hiked the first 107 miles or so of PCT Section K from Stevens Pass to High Bridge in North Cascades National Park. In short, it was a great, extremely difficult hike that allowed for some amazing views in some of the most remote sections of Washington's Cascades. Stehekin functions as normal with the Stehekin Valley Ranch shuttling daily between High Bridge.

About our party: two, early 30's men, one of whom had overnight backpacking experience, the other who had done some in high school but not since then. We planned to complete the hike in six days, approximately 20 miles each day, with the sixth day being a relatively light one to catch the first Stehekin Valley Ranch of the morning at 8:50AM from High Bridge. We used a National Geographic Map, not Guthooks or a Garmin inReach that many other hikers we saw had.

Day 1 - Stevens Pass to Campground 1.5 mi before Saddle Gap
We started the morning around 8AM, starting the day relatively easy on the previous Great Northern Railroad grade for about 3 miles. At about 5 miles we hit Lake Valhalla and then started to see many of the day hikers that accessed Valhalla from the relatively easier Smith Brook Trailhead. Many of them stepped aside and were wearing masks. We had a brief lunch stop overlooking Glasses Lake and then continued pressing on, hoping to reach Pear Lake. We reached Pear by about 3PM and refilled our bottles and decided to press on to the next campground, one just before Saddle Gap. We set up camp with two other groups there, one headed northbound, the other south.

Day 2 - Saddle Gap to Baekos Creek
After the windiest night I think I'd ever tried to sleep through, we broke down camp and started hiking with our down coats on we were so cold. We quickly crested Saddle Gap and descended to Cady Creek/Pass, which honestly would've been a significantly better spot to camp if we had to do it again. We stripped our layers at the pass and started to climb towards Lake Sally Ann. At the lake we filled our water again, learning our lesson from yesterday. We received a gift of a half-loaf of bread from some friendly hikers that hiked in through Cady Ridge trail. The ensuing terrain was full of views and marmots but also extremely exposed. We crested Wards Pass, dropped down to Indian Pass and then had a brief lunch stop on the climb up to White Pass. I personally struggled a fair amount on the climb up to Red Pass since you keep hiking diagonally along an exposed ridge, but never can actually see the pass to gauge your effort. The views down into the Sauk River Valley sure are nice though! We crested the pass and then started the descending into the Whitechuck River Valley. We passed a ton of great sites, eventually stopping at Baekos Creek which, based on the destruction caused by it, doesn't seem much like a creek to me but I digress.

Day 3 - Baekos Creek to Grassy Point Trail Junction
Started the morning with some nice, rolling terrain before what would be the hardest day of our planned route. The messiest bit of trail on the whole trip was likely the Kennedy Creek section which was muddy, overgrown and re-routed, only to descend to another broken footbridge. Just like Baekos, I'm not sure this is a "creek." After climbing back out, we reached a junction with the Kennedy Ridge Trail which led to the former Kennedy Hot Springs. If we'd had more time, it would've been great to branch off and see what remained. We pressed on, climbing up Fire Creek Pass, stopping to fill water along the way. The climb up this pass was likely the most pleasant and we were greeted with a beautiful view of Glacier Peak, a nice bit of wind, but also a perfect view of the terrible exposed switchbacks that would meet us on the next climb. We took a quick break at Mica Lake and got a view of the Downey Creek Fire that was burning at the time. After steeply descending 4 miles, we crossed Milk Creek, filled our bottles and started up the next climb. The climb from Milk Creek has to be one of the hardest because you are climbing switchback after switchback, most of which are exposed and require bushwhacking through ferns. The summit doesn't offer much, but there are a few places to fill up your bottles and camp, which we gladly did.

Day 4 - Grassy Point to Suiattle Pass
The climbs of the day prior definitely took a toll on the descent from Grassy pass, but the views were amazing. We descended what felt like a lifetime, transitioning to a slightly more gradual descent once we reached Vista Creek. From there we passed the old PCT route that branched east, instead heading west towards the new bridge over the Suiattle. As you enter the Suiattle River Valley the trail gets significantly more attention from work parties, which makes moving quickly easy. The "new" bridge across the Suiattle River is a sight to be seen! Concrete foundations, metal spans. I can only imagine what it took to build. We refilled our water for the first time at the river and then pressed along up river, passing the Image Lake trail. We floated the idea of hiking up to Miner's Ridge lookout, but with all the fire activity decided against it. We lunched at the base of the Suiattle Pass climb where Miner's Creek meets the river and then started climbing. Suiattle Pass was significantly easier and less exposed than the previous day's climbing, but with all the smoke filling up the valley as we climbed, it was somewhat unnerving. We filled up our water again at the second Miner's Creek crossing about 2 miles from the top. The views from the top of the pass were amazing, especially with the smoke. Make sure to look for marmots after you crest. The first campsite after the pass is likely the best, the second is in the middle of a boulder field & full of horse poop so we ended up hiking about 3.5 miles down to the third, which was nice.

Day 5 - Suiattle Pass to High Bridge
The final day had nothing but descending into High Bridge on the menu, but with all the smoke and tired knees, the day was as difficult as any other. Just like the day prior, initially the descending is steep down to the Agnes Creek, but once you meet up with the creek, you wind along the eastern side after a relatively easy ford. There are many downed trees across the creek that act as impromptu footbridges. From there, there are nice views down into the creek from time to time but the trail mostly stays on the ridge above. We lunched at Swamp Creek, taking our sweet time and making the first hot lunch of the trip. From there, it was about 5 more miles into High Bridge. We didn't have a permit to camp for the night, but I was able to flag down a ranger who radioed for one. Not much of an issue since there was only one other ranger camping there.

Day 6 - High Bridge to Stehekin
We didn't actually hike this section, but I thought I'd include it for people's info. The Stehekin Valley Ranch shuttle is running, it picked us up at 8:50AM, made stops at the bakery (which is open), Rainbow Falls and the garden. All amazing places. We arrived at Stehekin around 10:30, which would give you time to catch either the Stehekin Ferry or the Lady of the Lake express.