Bring poles, waterproof shoes/boots, sunglasses, extra socks, and maybe an ice axe. Sunscreen too! The trail is now covered in snow, so trailrunners won't cut it.
I set off at 9am and kept a measured but not rushed pace. The sky was clouded and the trail misty when I began, but it burned off moments before Cathedral Rock came into view. Cathedral Rock appears quite suddenly as you round a corner and is simply magnificent. I stood and gaped for a good 10s.
But the views only got better! After crossing over the PCT to the way to Peggy's Pond, Deep Lake painted itself onto the horizon beneath The Citadel and Mount Jerry Garcia, a deep, dark blue unlike that of the other bodies of water in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
I made it to Peggy's Pond after ~2.5h and took a short break to once more soak in the views of Cathedral Rock, which was doused in sunlight.
There are several boot paths from Peggy's Pond up the ridge toward Mount Daniel. Just know that you should head for a large boulder/outcropping to the NW. After reaching this landmark, follow the trail until a fork, then take the left (SW) direction. This path is much more heavily trodden and easier to follow, as I learned on my descent.
The snow starts rather soon. I did not expect so much, based on recent trip reports, but it did rain a ton last week! I was wearing my Hoka Speedgoats and had only my trekking poles (no ice axe). I quickly became grateful to the inventor of Gore-tex because I was punching through snow even on the boot path, which follows the ridge before dropping below the southeastern point beneath the eastern peak.
A few of the scrambles along the ridge become sketchy when wet, so take care. Crossing the snowfield beneath the southeastern point felt pretty safe with only poles; I initially lamented not having my ice axe, but the snow was so soft the only time I slipped was while making a snowman! You will walk through snow for hours, so bring appropriate footwear and a change of socks.
I considered going for the true summit, but stopped at the saddle before tackling the eastern summit instead. Ironically, there was not enough snow, so following the ridge from the eastern summit looked tedious, if not dangerous, as there was a ton of partly exposed rock that was undoubtedly slippery. The eastern peak was a good choice. There was not a cloud in the sky and I could see all major peaks except Mount St. Helens—Rainier, Adams, Glacier, Baker, Sloan, Stuart, Cashmere, and so on. I could not have asked for a better day to start the fall hiking season.
About 9.5h C2C with quite a few breaks, so under 8h of moving time. The Scatter Creek fording was fine in my Mini; the road is so washed out for the first few miles your car's suspension will weep.
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