Did the hike to Janus Lake (not all the way to Grizzly). Looks pretty wintery up there - probably 1 to 2 inches of snow on the ground, temperatures in the mid-20s. The road from US2 to he trailhead wasn't a problem at all in a 4-wheel drive. We did the hike in snow boots, without any extra form of traction. There are still enough spots with bare rock, dirt, or streams of water on the trail that crampons or snowshoes wouldn't work too well. There were a few slippery patches of ice, and a couple stream crossings, but with trekking poles we did fine. Besides some running water, the trail was in good shape. Not too much of a climb, but definitely more work in winter gear than it would be in the summer. Saw a bird that really wanted our Clif bars and was not happy when we didn't share. Also a few deer, rabbit and maybe fox tracks on the PCT, but no other live wildlife. Overall, not the most spectacular scenery, but a nice length and degree of difficulty for getting used to winter outings. Should be a nice showshoe outing in a few weeks if the road remains passable.

A nice stop for a short hike off HWY 2 and a beautiful walk in the woods to a pretty little lake! Once the ridge is reached, the trail does go downhill almost all the way to the lake. What? a hike downhill? but you have to come back up. It's not a hard trail though. No real mtn views on the way to the lake, but nice green meadows AND ripe berries everywhere! It was disgusting to find so much trash at the lake, however. Pack it in, Pack it out people! We packed out what we found, but nobody should have to clean up someones elses mess! Rant Rant. Anyway it is a nice lake hike.

For a gear / food / fitness test before a week in the Enchantments this September, we wanted to put in some miles and spend at least three nights out. This relatively long hike fit all our requirements, and exceeded all our expectations. We started from Smithbrook Creek trailhead Friday morning -- one of only three cars (all Subarus, surprise!) in the parking lot -- and made the mostly-forested hike to Lake Janus in fairly short order (for us). We had a great visit with a pair of "melancholy 26-year-old men" (the incarnate answer to the question, "Who does this work, anyway?") who were busily cutting blowdowns on the PCT. The PCT is in great shape here, all the way from Union Gap to the cutoff to Pear Lake above Wenatchee Pass. We stopped for lunch at the overlook above Glasses Lake. Take note: There is no reliable water source between Lake Janus and Wenatchee Pass. After providing great views of Glacier Peak, the trail winds its way around the west side of Grizzly Peak, with views of Lake Margaret and Grizzly Lake, before breaking out into stunning displays of lupine, bistort, and valerian -- the entire rounded summit of Grizzly is carpeted in wildflowers and blueberry (very few berries yet). Turning around, the clear, clear day offered views of Daniel, Hinman, Rainier, Stuart (and all his buddies!), Mt. Cashmere, and the unending rolling vastness of the Cascades. Coming up just over Grizzly's summit, there are straight-ahead views of the imposing Glacier. One thing we hadn't thought about when picking this stretch of trail is the endless up-and-down. From Grizzly at about 5,600 feet, you lose around 1,400 in less than two miles down to Wenatchee Pass -- most of which you promptly gain again up to the cutoff to Pear Lake. Lots of elevation change on this hike. The gorgeous Pear Lake has many small fish and limited campsites (we found three fairly large ones), but going in on a Friday helped ensure a spot. Best of all -- no bugs to speak of! When we were at Caroline a few weeks ago we went through an entire bottle of bug spray. Here, we used less than an ounce. Waking up to a cool, clear morning on the shore of an alpine lake cleanses the soul, empties the mind -- and prepares you for a day of wandering! Thanks to my mom, and in memory of my grandfather, we felt it was our duty to get to Fortune Ponds to determine whether they were, in fact, ponds, or her "trip report" from 36 years ago ("don't camp there; they're all silted in") was still valid. I'm happy to report things change, and both upper and lower Fortune Pond exist today, though there is no trail to the upper pond. We both experienced a remarkable sense of historical completeness here, knowing we represent the fourth generation of backpackers in my family to visit Fortune Ponds. We'll be back in coming years, hopefully with the fifth generation. After an afternoon of contemplative wandering, it was back over Frozen Fingers Pass to Pear Lake. Interestingly, it seems campfires are OK at Pear, and we VERY carefully indulged on our second night. A note for those seeking alpine solitude -- Pear Lake is busy on Saturday nights (there is a much shorter way to get there -- look up the lake on the WTA hike finder for the "normal" route). Sunday morning we briefly debated spending a third night at Pear in preference to anywhere else on earth (it's that beautiful), but decided to head back toward Lake Valhalla instead. After two nights in paradise, we'd forgotten how much *up* there is from Wenatchee Pass to Grizzly, but that only made our wildflower-strewn lunch spot the more appealing. It's interesting what you see on a longish out-and-back hike that is different each way. On the way in we missed, for example, views of Peach Lake (Pear's difficult-to-reach sister) and a large patch of Elephant's Head between Pear and Wenatchee Pass. When you have a new appreciation for the terrain, gained from the hike out, the hike back is just as rewarding. It was a cloudy Sunday, and I learned a valuable lesson of photography -- if the light is right, don't wait. None of the peaks we saw on the way in were as clearly visible on the way out, and Rainier was missing entirely. We appreciated the slightly cooler weather, though, as we slammed out the 13 miles to Valhalla. Initially, we were not as impressed with Valhalla as we were with Pear, though in retrospect it's because we're misanthropes and simply wanted to be alone. Valhalla on a Monday morning is as lovely as any other alpine lake, as there is an ineffable beauty in solitude itself. Valhalla is an excellent destination for families with small children, especially from Smithbrook (it's more than twice as far if you take the PCT from Stevens Pass), and I expect we'll be back to there, as well. With the long part of our hike finished on Sunday, we had a very short hike back to the car Monday morning, and despite a leisurely morning, made it home in time to unpack and get out for the requisite post-hike burger and beer. No PCT-focused trip can be complete without mentioning the wonderful chance meetings along the way, especially in the Stevens-to-Canada portion this time of year, when section hikers, through-hikers, and short-distance rabble like us are all sharing the trail. Other than the much-appreciated and highly entertaining trail crew, we met: - A young through-hiking couple still going strong at a 30-mile-per-day pace who overtook us at Grizzly and will be in Canada in under a week - A friendly, middle-aged, vaguely Iberian man coming up over Frozen Fingers Pass who assured us Fortune Ponds were no map-maker's joke - A UW math professor and his friend's enthusiastic lab mix, who were bush-whacking down from Fortune Mountain and showed us the way to Upper Fortune Pond - Bill and Helen Thayer of AdventureClassroom.org, an extraordinary couple (she, a 74-years-young New Zealander who keenly admired my kilt; he, a clear-eyed and spry 85!) who hike to Valhalla twice a week, and have also walked to the magnetic North Pole and across both the Gobi and Sahara deserts, among other exploits - A pair of llama-packers day-hiking from Valhalla to Janus, and their trio of recently-shorn llamas (including Moss, who is in training and seemed certain everything might eat him) - Best of all, we unexpectedly ran into our friends Marybeth and Jason (two of our September Enchantments group), leading a 10-day, 100-mile Sierra Club PCT trek from Stevens Pass to Stehekin. We thought they might be out there somewhere, since we knew they were headed for Stehekin, but they had no idea we were out wandering the same trails -- only that Marybeth couldn't borrow our ursacks for the weekend. All told, we hiked about 32 miles of well-maintained trails, covered over 15,000 vertical feet, and opened our eyes and minds further to the myriad possibilities that await, simply by going out for a walk in the woods.

Did the hike out to Grizzly Peak and back - it is just over 16 miles round-trip and took 7h15m including ~25 minute lunch stop on Grizzly plus numerous photo stops along the way. The wildflowers on the final approach to Grizzly Peak are epic right now. The trail is in great shape (other then quite a few blowdowns, more numerous past Lake Janus, all easily negotiated) and it is snow-free all the way to Grizzly. The views really start around 4.25 miles in (and then don't really stop all the way to Grizzly and beyond), but the hike to Lake Janus and the mile or so beyond it are nice forest walking, with mostly easy (soft biomass) tread in great shape - and on an 85F+ day, the shade of the trees is quite welcome. The first (and last) mile between Smith Brook to Union Gap is a quick 650feet of elevation gain (and loss on return), but the trail crews have done a fantastic job here, so the descent back to the trailhead is easy on the feet. The only real downside currently is the bugs. It's the Nason Ridge area, and it's August, so there are mosquitos - a lot of mosquitos. You will want mosquito repellent when you step out of the car at Smith Brook, and you will want to re-apply during the hike. I used Natrapel, once at the trailhead and then re-applied copiously at Grizzly Peak, and emerged mostly unscathed.

Our family, with 7 and 11 year boys, and our friends, with a 4 year old girl and 7 year old boy, did the hike to Lake Janus. The trail was in great condition. There were a few logs to cross, but nothing too complicated. We didn't encounter any snow. The plants along the way were great. Still some Red Columbine, lots of Lupine, and some Pink Monkey Flowers, among others. No ripe blueberries or huckleberries, though. The mosquitoes were out, and there were a lot of flies of some sort at the lake, but all in all, not too bad. This is a great hike for kids. The first mile up climbs, but the switchbacks are very gentle. After reaching the PCT, the trail descends roughly another mile, then a bit of an ascent again to the lake. There's a beautiful waterfall shortly before the lake, where we saw some frongs. The lake was gorgeous and is very accessible on the end of the lake where the trail meets the lake (but I didn't see many other access points. It's easy to enter the lake from there, and our whole party went for a dip. The water wasn't too cold. For a beautiful Saturday in mid-August, the trail wasn't at all crowded. We came across about 10 other hikers all day. A wonderful trail and hike.