Lake Janus and Grizzly Peak — Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019

Needed to get a long hike in before my hike through the Enchantments this fall to help get that endurance built up.  Left Central District around 8:00 and got to the trail head just before 10:00, to about 12 other cars.  Road is great, a little rocky at points, but I only saw one pot hole on my way up.  No privy, but the trail register was open.

We were on the trail 5 after 10:00, and it is in great condition along the entire way.  A few wet and/or rocky parts, but nothing a good pair of shoes or boots can't handle.  We booked it up the Smithbrook trail and reached Union Gap just before 11.  Another quick hike down to Janus and we took a short snack break when we reached the lake just after 11:30.  We passed one pair of hikers with a dog up Smithbrook, and 3 solo hikers along the PCT to Janus.  One was on day 9 out of 9 on their journey!

At around 11:45 we headed across the stream and up the forested switchbacks towards Grizzly.  There is one downed tree along the way, but there is a carved foothold and it was easy to navigate.  There were so many mushrooms along the way, some of them HUGE!  I need to get better at outdoor education so I can identify more of them.  Almost all of the gain you do along the PCT is here (the rest of it is along Smithbrook).

Once you get to the top of the ridge, the views are incredible.  There were still quite a few clouds when we got up at 12:30, but you could still see the entire valley.  Glacier Peak was pretty hidden in the clouds, and I didn't even recognize it from the South - I'm used to seeing it from the West in Mountain Loop.  But the entire valley was visible and it was a sight to behold.

The trail weaves back and forth along the ridge, and there are blueberries seemingly along the entire way.  Honestly, they were some of the best blueberries I've ever eaten - so juicy and the perfect balance of sweet and tart.  We were able to see both Heather and Glasses lakes.  The water in Glasses looked absolutely incredible and inviting.  After a bit, you start to climb again up a few switchbacks with a great view of the valley to the West.   Again, the clouds made this not the best this morning, but it was still a sight to behold with the clouds racing up around us.  We passed one pair along the weaving, and another group up the switchbacks.

After the switchbacks, it was only a short way to the Meadow past Grizzly.  Unfortunately the wildflowers were on their way out.  A few of them were blooming, but nothing like it would have been a couple weeks ago.  We found a nice clear spot at 2:00pm and sat down for some lunch and beers.  Glacier was still pretty hidden, but it was therapeutic watching the clouds move across.  One solo hiker passed us while we were sitting.

By 2:50 we were ready to head back to the car, and the sun had burnt off most of the clouds.  At a quick pace we headed back south along the PCT.  By this point, you could see the small unnamed lake in the West valley, and Glacier was out entirely.  The view of the East valley with Glacier was breathtaking, and one of the best panoramic views I've ever seen.  We passed about 10 groups along the route back to Janus, almost of them along the ridge before heading down into the forested switchbacks.

We reached Janus by 4:45pm, and stopped to use the toilet by the lake.  There was one other hiker there who was on a long journey along the PCT as well.  We set out to try to make it back to the car by 6:15.  We passed about 5 more groups, most of them solo hikers, up the PCT to Union Gap.  The trail looked almost completely different in the twilight than it did the late morning, so it was refreshing and didn't feel old like some of the out-and-back hikes can.

We managed to get back to the car at about 6:10, with only about 5 cars in the lot remaining.  There were a few parked along a turn-out area just up the road as well.  Looking at the registry when checking out, we were the only group who registered Grizzly.  Everyone else was on a long PCT journey, or chose to got to just Janus or Valhalla.

All in all, this was one of my favorite hikes I've ever done, and would love to do it early spring when all the mountains are snow-capped.  It would also be a fantastic spot to watch the sun rise.  But 17 miles later, and ~4,500 feet of total gain, it was nothing but happy trails.