Meander Meadow - Dishpan Gap - Cady Ridge Loop — Saturday, Jul. 18, 2015

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

Little Wenatchee River Trail is brushy. It is NOT impassable as some trip reports say, just wear long pants. Bugs were pretty bad, biting flies, especially at Lake Sally Ann. Bug were TERRIBLE there. We stayed a few minutes to swim then left immediately. Bugs were not as bad on if you camp on the ridge on the PCT, they were worse near Meander Meadows and the Cady Ridge Trail. Wildflowers are already done, but berries everywhere! Salmon and thimble berries at lower elevations, then huckleberries, and tons of alpine huckleberry/blueberry species in meander meadows and along the rest of the loop in patches. Best berries were in the meadows though. Water: VERY LITTLE WATER. Due to low snowpack this year, almost all of the little streams are dry. We brought our pump filter instead of a squeeze or gravity filter, this was very useful. There is plenty of water on the Little Wenatchee River trail until Meander Meadows. Meander Meadows is the last reliable water source on the loop until you get almost to the bottom of the ridge on the Cady Ridge Trail. You can make a short detour by staying in the PCT to Lake Sally Ann to get water. There is 1 stream with a small amount of water past meander meadows and before the trail intersects the PCT. There are also a few very very small streams right before the PCT intersects the Cady Ridge trail, but these will likely be dry in a few weeks. The only places to get water along the trail with a gravity or squeeze filter are Meander Meadows and Lake Sally Ann. Campsites: plenty of campsites along this entire trail, though few are near water sources. There's a great site on the cady ridge trail right before it intersects the PCT, looking out over the ridge and back at Glacier Peak. There's also a great campsite on the trail to Kodak Peak with epic views.