We took 5 days to do the Circle, Venus, Spade, and Deep Lake loop. This does take some off trail route finding experience to do.
Day 1: We hiked from the trail head past Peggy's Pond to Circle Lake. Following the trail to Peggy's Pond is pretty easy. Once you are at Peggy's Pond be sure to find the boot path to Mt Daniels behind Peggy's Pond and follow it up. Don't follow the trails that start to cut across towards Circle Lake. Those trails will stop once you get to some deep gully's that are super hard to get across. When you take the boot path up towards Mt. Daniels you eventually get to a junction where you can go up to Mt. Daniels or over to Circle Lake. Take the trail towards Circle Lake Once you are on this trail it isn't hard to follow. On the attached map, it is the route in red from Peggy's Pond to Circle Lake. (About 8.5 miles)
Day 2: We hiked from Circle Lake to Venus Lake. We found that the best place to go over the ridge was just below the ledge coming off the Citadel. (We called the ledge "Pride Rock".) It is very steep and loose, but not too bad if you are used to this type of mountain travel. As you are climbing up to the ridge, you will come across a snow field that you have to cross. The crossing isn't very long or steep. When you do come to this snow field, we dropped our packs, and went up onto "Pride Rock". It is not difficult or technical to get onto this ledge and the views are well worth it. Also, once you get on the ridge, it is worth walking along the ridge to take in all of the views. (About 3.5-4 miles, but it was difficult travel.)
Day 3: We dropped down to Spade Lake. This was super easy. (About 1 mile)
Day 4: We dropped down to the PCT and hiked up to Deep Lake. (About 7.5 miles)
Day 5: We hiked up to Cathedral Pass and then out to the car. (About 6-7 miles)
Comments
ameliarehm on Cathedral Rock, Peggy's Pond, Spade Lake, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section J - Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass
Hi there! Great report. Could you share a little more about the trail from Peggy's to Circle? It's been an area I've been really interested in but previous trail reports have made it seem daunting.
Thanks!
A
Posted by:
ameliarehm on Sep 01, 2021 02:44 PM
Stephen Johnson on Cathedral Rock, Peggy's Pond, Spade Lake, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section J - Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass
I have done this trip twice and the first time we took the lower route and it was terrible. It was hard to follow and the gully was just about impossible to get through without ropes and gear. The high route was really easy to follow. At Peggy's pond you will see a number of boot paths. Follow the paths that go Northwest towards Mt Daniels. Do not follow the paths to the west. Once you start climbing there is really only one trail to follow until you come to junction with the trail to Mt. Daniels. When you hit that point, keep going west to Circle. If you send me an email (stephen at glacierpeak.app) I can send you more information. Once you get on the right trail, it is pretty easy and the views are awesome.
Posted by:
Stephen Johnson on Sep 01, 2021 02:55 PM
ameliarehm on Cathedral Rock, Peggy's Pond, Spade Lake, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section J - Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass
Much appreciated. Will shoot you an email shortly!
Posted by:
ameliarehm on Sep 01, 2021 04:53 PM