The two of us got a late start on Friday (changed plans due to the Jolly Mountain fire), so on day 1 hiked the 2 mile Smithbrook trail to connect with the PCT and continued 2 more miles to set up camp at Lake Janus. At this time (~4pm) we were the only campers there, with a few through-hikers stopping for a late lunch. The lake was a fine water source, but the waterfall 0.4 miles before the lake was much better if you have the flexibility to stop there instead. The mosquitos were a nuisance at Lake Janus in the evening (starting around 6pm) so we called it an early night and spent the last of daylight in the tent reading. By morning three other tents were set up, but there were still a couple open campsites. The next morning we left our camp set at Janus and did a day trip to Pear Lake and back (18 miles roundtrip). It’s a beautiful hike, especially on a clear day. At one point we could see Mt. Rainier in the south and Mr. Baker to the north! We took a leisurely pace, and with the switchbacks ended up averaging 30 minutes/mile. The climbs are gentle but steady until you reach the ridgeline past Grizzly Peak. We saw ~2 dozen people that day, and probably 10 were through-hikers. Ripe huckleberries lined the path for the majority of the hike (pleasant reason to go slow, especially when we started running short on water!). Pear Lake was beautiful – crystal clear – and we spent about 45 minutes there eating lunch and cooling our feet before the return hike. There were about four tents set up on the lake, with folks swimming and some had even carried in floaties. When we returned to Lake Janus all but one of the campsites were being used, with about 10-12 other folks there for the night. We departed camp at 8:30am on Sunday and reached the car by 10:30am, where the lot was overflowing with day-hikers. In brief: Ideal for the day Or a good place to spend weeks Lakes, views, tiny frogs

SO BUGGY!! As soon as you hit the split where you turn right to go to Janus the bugs start. And I mean if you even stop to tie your shoes they will be all over you, small flies, big flies, mosquitoes, bees. I did not have bug spray on but honestly there were so many everywhere I don't know if you can avoid them.

The trail is in good condition except for the brushy part mentioned in the trail description. There are tadpoles in the lake as promised. I continued on the extra 1.5 miles to get the view of Glacier Peak. It was an amazing view, but again, I couldn't even stop to eat my snack or the bugs would be all over me.

Saw some spruce grouse on the way back down, a mother hen and her chicks. It was at one of the boulder fields just after the Valhalla/Janus split (so on the main Smithbrook trail on the way back down, not on the PCT)

Nice trail, met some nice folks on the way! Patch of berries smelled so good it was like walking into a bakery full of blueberry muffins! Very literally! Tasted very good too. Saw a live vole at the junction of the trail with the PCT. It ran into a log.

It was a great day for a hike in the late summer sun! My 2 friends who don't get out to hike much joined me today so I went somewhat easy on them and we hiked to Lake Janus. We started from the Smithbrook Trailhead just east of Stevens Pass on FSR 6700. The road is rough in a few places but nobody in a standard car should have trouble reaching the trailhead right now, really the road is in some of the best shape I've ever seen it right now. There were several cars at the trailhead when we arrived but we saw less than 2 dozen people on the day including some through hikers. We made good time into the wilderness area and up to Union Gap on the PCT where we turned right and headed north for Lake Janus. There's a bit of a drop after getting on the PCT and the trail rolled up and down from Union Gap to the lake. Along the way we found patches of ripe berries, emerging fungus and a great view of the Rapid River Valley. The highlight of the hikers we ran into was a younger German couple who were hiking to Canada after starting in California! They had been on the trail for 6 weeks! Once we arrived at Lake Janus we found just one tent in a campsite near the lake but nobody home. We had the lake to ourselves for nearly 1/2 hour before another couple arrived. There were some bugs at the lake but they weren't too bad. It was nearly silent with nothing but an occasional breeze to break it. You could see the beginnings of fall color on the ridge to the south of the lake, this place is going to light up in a couple weeks. It was nice to sit near the lake in the warm sun and enjoy one of the last days of summer. All too soon it was time to head back, I will be bringing my overnight bag to this gem in the future.

Excellent hike. The access road was in good condition, gravel with only a few potholes, wide enough in most points to allow passage of oncoming traffic. We arrived at noon. The trailhead parking lot was full with an additional six vehicles parked on the side of the road. We took the 1 mile access trail to the PCT and turned right and continued on to Lake Janus. The trail was is great condition, a bit wet but provided safe rock and root footings with few exceptions. The elevation changes were manageable. Although the parking lot was full, we encountered more through hikers than day hikers - I assume most of the day hikers turned left towards lake Valhalla. The lake was beautiful and peaceful.