Spade Lake, Deep Lake, Cathedral Rock & Waptus Lake via Waptus River — Friday, Oct. 10, 2014

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

Did spectacular 42 mile loop in 4 1/2 days from Salmon La Sac - to Diamond Lake - then Polallie Ridge - camping a few nights at Waptus Lake, day hiking to Spade Lake - wrapping it up passing Deep Lake near Cathedral Rock and exiting at Salmon La Sac. Rain was in forecast but that didn't stop a friend and I from doing this completely people-free hike in mid October 2014. We were lucky rain-wise - just a few day showers. Miles and miles - and not a fellow hiker to be seen - yet - one could imagine this slice of the Alpines Lake Wilderness inhabited by folks in summer. We picked a good time. Nice fall colors...a quick overlap with Pacific Crest Trail. If you want to move north to Spade and Deep Lakes from Waptus lake - you can expect to ford the Waptus River - year around - so bring some sneakers. Both Spade Lake - a side trip - a grueling 3000 elevation hike from Waptus Lake and Deep Lake - are truly magical storybook alpine sites. Both worth the price of admission for sure. The view from Polallie Ridge - earlier in the loop - is also special and gives you a sense of what's in front of you should you decide to do the whole loop. Bug free - and mostly mammal free - we hung up the food...but didn't get too much indication that bear's were roaming. All said - another great hike within reasonable reach of Seattle - so many splinters and detours. You can assemble multiple variations of the loop with a Topo map in front of you.