I hiked Section J last week, leaving Snoqualmie on Tuesday at 8:30am and getting to Stevens Pass on Saturday at 11:30am.
Day 1: Trail was clear, dry, and not too busy. Make sure you have a couple of liters of water when you leave Ridge Lake as you won't reach another reliable water source until a stream crossing on your descent to Park Lakes area. The trail through the Chikamin Peaks area was very rocky, steep, and exposed. There were plenty of camping sites in the Park Lakes area, where I ended up staying, although I think many push on to Spectacle Lake.
Day 2: I really enjoyed hiking through the Lemah Meadows area. The push up Escondido Ridge was long and of course around midday, but there are places to sit and rest in the shade. Once you make the push up, the pond at the top was a great place to refill water, rest, and even swim. I decided to take a break from 2-4pm then pushed on for another few hours of hiking. I found a campsite off the trail on the descent to Waptus Lake that had a beautiful view.
Day 3: This was my farthest hiking day (apx 21 miles) but it also felt like my best day. Around Waptus, there are TONS of huckleberries all nearing ripeness. While there is deadfall along the trail as you start to approach Deep Lake, it is fairly easy to navigate around or over the fallen trees (although a bit tiring). The fish were very active at Deep Lake and I saw a fisherman catch a couple trout. I waited out the afternoon heat before ascending Cathedral Pass, but much to my content, I found it way easier than getting up to Escondido Ridge. It was dry at the top but I heard a short detour towards Peggys Pond would lead you to a stream crossing where you could refill. I was carrying a ton of water, so I pushed on. I reached the river crossing around 6pm and while it most definitely looked intimidating, I followed behind a thru-hiker who quickly walked across the couple logs propped for the crossing. I found a campsite as I was arriving to Deception Pass. There aren't many places to stay between the avalanche area a few miles before the ford and Deception Pass.
Day 4: The approach to Deception Lakes and Pieper Pass was a cool and shaded one. I didn't bother stopping at Deception Lakes on the account of how many buggy stories I had heard from southbound hikers. I did a water refill at a stream crossing and continued on. Getting up Pieper Pass was fairly straightforward, although the descent to Glacier Lake gave me a ton of empathy for the southbound hikers- it was a difficult and sun exposed boulder field. Glacier Lake had a couple beautiful camp spots but no easy/obvious lake access which was a bummer because that meant I had to push on to Trap Lake for my afternoon "siesta". The uphill push was no fun. Even though it was only .6 miles, it took me about 25 minutes to muster the energy at midday to get up the near 1000 ft of elevation gain. Trap Lake is about .3 miles off of the PC and while it didn't have the nicest beach area, it was nice for a cool break. I camped at Mig Lake which offers a couple of beautiful sites. Mig Lake is also surrounded by wild blueberries that were absolutely delicious.
Day 5: Easy push out to Stevens Pass but make sure to fill up when passing Lake Susan Jane.
Overall: The bugs south of Cathedral Pass were not bad. I heard from several hikers including those who stayed at Deception Lakes that the evenings were tolerable, it was the mornings that were pretty crazy. The smoke changed directions and affected the views for Days 3-5 and only seemed to be looking thicker as I was on my way out. Most groups I ran into were planning on doing the section in 6-7 days, while most thru hikers were finishing it in 4. On Day 5, I did run into a couple trail runners who were doing the section in a day, which I can't fathom. I think 5-6 days feels like it would be a good pace, and 7 if you were hoping to check out Spade Lake or do another side trip. While the trail is clear and navigable, it is often narrow and has a steep drop off side. I found it ok to travel along quite quickly on my own, but if you have vertigo or are uncomfortable with your footing, this is a tough section of trail.
Comments