Meander Meadow - Dishpan Gap - Cady Ridge Loop — Friday, Jul. 15, 2016

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

This was an overnight backpacking trip over the weekend with 40 pound packs. We started at the Little Wenatchee trail head around 6:40pm on Friday night. We decided to go all the way up to Meander Meadows to set up camp. We arrived around 10:00pm. We were so happy we went all the way to Meander Meadows even though that wasn’t the original plan. We passed the last campsite and we had to trek on. Most of the trail is bushy so be prepared to weed whack and hopefully it’s not wet. The bushes were almost to our chest at some points of the trail. If it’s wet you will be soaking wet from head to toe. We met some people with horses at camp Saturday morning and they were soaked even with the horses. It rained overnight. Saturday we went up Meander Meadows to the Blue Lake trail off the PCT. WTA said it was a short 2 mile hike up to Blue Lake. It might be short but it’s STEEP! We went the High Trail to Blue Lake. You can take the easier trail so make sure to go the other direction once you see the trail sign. Once we got up to the top of the mountain we had to descend to the lake. It was foggy and misty and there was snow on the trail so it was very difficult to navigate. It was very steep especially with the snow and the mud. We slipped a few times so be careful if you decide to attempt Blue Lake. Once we got to the Lake it was nice but there wasn’t much of a view since there was so much fog. The lake was so clear. Our original plan was to go back the same way we came to get back to the PCT but it was nearly impossible how steep it was with the snow. We decided to head the other direction towards Little Blue Lake and connect to the PCT from there. This added a few more miles to our hiking day. Our 4 mile RT hike from the PCT to Blue Lake left us with a 10 mile day. It was exhausting but we conquered it. Little Blue Lake was my favorite. The fog disappeared for a while and it was so pretty in that area. I would love to go back once all the snow is melted and on a clear day. Once we got back to the PCT we headed to Cody Ridge where we set up camp. Cady Ridge doesn’t have any water source so before you head down from the PCT fill your water bottles. Sunday morning we left Cady Ridge to head back to the Little Wenatchee trail head where we parked. We read the map and thought there was water source but we didn’t see any until 5.5 miles into the trail which was a bummer so again make sure you fill up on the PCT. There was a lot of blown down tress on the trail. I think I counted at least 45 trees that were down. They were all passable but a lot. It took us about 4 hours to trek down and it was about 7 miles. We would’ve been faster but one of us got injured on Saturday so we were a bit slow. The trail was quite beautiful!!! Good luck and make sure you bring a map!!!