Started off WTA's Hike-a-Thon 2022 with Maovador on the PCT from Snoqualmie Pass past Lodge Lake and up to Mount Catherine.
The trailhead is at the end of a small, dirt road right off Summit at Snoqulmie's Summit West exit from I-90. The road was easy to navigate for any type of vehicle, and when we started our trip around 7am, we were the first car there.
From the trailhead, the trail heads into the forest for a few yards before quickly existing the trees and traversing the ski slopes. There were a ton of wildflowers here still in bloom with great views of the flowers, chairlifts, and surrounding peaks.
The trail takes a gradual climb up the ski slope and flattens out before reaching Beaver Lake. From there, the trail heads into the woods for a few miles before reaching Lodge Lake.
About a mile from Lodge Lake we started to notice the bugs, and the bugs were intense through the remainder of the trip. They were particularly bad at Lodge Lake, and even through we coated ourselves in bug spray, it did nothing.
Despite the bugs, we carried on as the trail meanders through the woods, popping out from time to time for roads. The trail was very easy to follow.
Once the trail hit FR9070, we took a left and headed a few yards down the road to the trail for Mount Catherine on the left. The trail to Mount Catherine had a decent amount of uphill and switch backs to get you there. There were a few false summits along the way. The views from the summit were great but hazy, with decent views of Rainer and surrounding peaks.
But the bugs! We didn't stay long on the summit because of them, only stopping for a few short minutes back on the road where a stiff breeze kept the bugs away.
Uneventful out-and-back back to the car. The trail was not busy; we passed 5 people on the way in, and we only passed a handful of people on the trail on the way back.
Trip Stats
- 12.22 miles
- 3,063 vertical
- 4:30 moving time and 14 mins stopped time (4:44:41)
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