Cathedral Rock, Deception Pass & Hyas Lake — Sunday, Jun. 25, 2017

I "ran" the Squaw Lake/Cathedral Peak/Deception Pass/Hyas Lake loop. I was probably a bit eager, because this route is way more snow-covered than I expected. Wait a month if you want to avoid snow and tricky routefinding. I was significantly off route twice because of the snow, and many times I almost lost the trail. I hit snow at the turn-off to Waptus Lake (4500'), and was in significant snow for several miles. Coming off Deception Pass the snow level appeared to be a bit lower. 

The biggest hazard though was the creek crossing between Cathedral Rock and Deception Pass. The hot day undoubtedly unleashed the flood waters, but it was a gnarly crossing. Where I could get across, my dog couldn't; where she could get across I couldn't assist without getting navel deep in the water. We made it, finally, but it was borderline irresponsible to do that crossing. The rest of the PCT to Deception Pass was mostly clear (though overgrown and in bloom). Hit a few dicey snow-slide patches, and the stream crossing at the turn to Deception Pass was just past a massive avalanche path so again wayfinding was tricky. 

I'm not convinced I made it all the way to Deception Pass - I think I dived off toward Hyas a bit earlier. Eventually re-found the trail and the rest of the way out was smooth sailing, aside from a few swollen creeks that will definitely get your boots wet. 

Between Deception Pass and the trailhead I saw maybe a dozen parties of backpackers, so I guess I wasn't alone in being eager. All told, I covered around 14 miles, probably a third of that where I could actually run, and finished the loop in 4  1/2 hours. Hikers should probably allow a couple more hours.

Road conditions: 

This is a nasty road start to finish, but things get really exciting at Scatter Creek (no bridge), and a high-clearance vehicle is highly recommended. Almost immediately after the creek you hit a large puddle/pond to cross, and then a wash-out to detour around. Once you've navigated that trifecta, it's just more garden-variety road nastiness to the trailhead. Count on at least an hour of travel from Roslyn to trailhead.