First off, the road conditions. Fortunately, all of the road along Cle Elum Lake is paved. Unfortunately, once you reach the end of the lake, you have about 12 miles of gravel road to contend with. Expect this to take about 45 minutes best case, probably over an hour in a car without much clearance. We did see some regular cars at the trailhead, but not many - most were trucks, SUVs, and crossovers with better clearance.
When we arrived at 9am on Sunday, we got the last parking space next to the Cathedral Pass trailhead, though there might have been some spots up the road a bit. Plenty of room along the road for overflow, and a few overnighters were already parked there. The toilet at the trailhead was clean and well stocked.
The Cathedral Pass trail is in great shape. There is one blowdown before you reach Squaw Lake, but it's easily stepped over. Anyone with a small trail saw could take care of it.
The tarns just below Cathedral Pass are quite nice, and there are more of them just off the trail beyond the ones you can see. Most are too shallow for swimming, but they are pretty! Once you crest the ridge and start down the west side, the views of Daniel and surrounding peaks are astounding. Truly, it's like you've left one world and entered another when you cross that ridge.
The trail to Peggy's Pond is well signed, though the sign is laying on the ground. The trail itself is a boot path scraped out of cliffsides and steep scree on the edge of Cathedral Rock. It's not one I would recommend with little kids or anyone who is afraid of heights, or isn't comfortable with a bit of scrambling. There wasn't anything too crazy to climb over, but there was exposure in places, where if you slipped and fell down the slope it could be pretty bad. Note - there is one place where it's a bit hard to tell which way to go. Fortunately, someone placed a cairn to lead the way - you need to stay high to be on the trail.
Peggy's Pond was incredibly gorgeous with the deep bluish green water, and the backdrop of Cathedral Rock. Bugs were not too bad as long as the wind was blowing a bit. This lake is perfect for swimming and has lovely deep, cool water. Quite a few places to camp. We didn't have time to explore around but this would be a great place to overnight and explore the area, whether or not you're planning to go up Mount Daniel.
We saw mostly backpackers on this trail, and just a few day hikers like ourselves. Some climbers with ice axes who were probably returning from Daniel or other adventurous pursuits. Given the number of cars at the trailhead, I was surprised at how much solitude we had on trail - we had some 30 minute stretches where we didn't see anyone. I suspect many/most of the people parked here were heading toward Hyas Lake or Tuck and Robin Lakes.
Stats: Time 5.5 hours, distance around 10.5 miles, elevation gain about 2500'. Our Garmins said there was more climbing (about 2900') but I don't believe it since there was only 200-300' of counter elevation, and it's only 2200' of gain to the high point of the trail.
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