Husband, yorkie and I dayhiked the Smith Brook trail to the 2000 and then north to Janus Lake. It was nice day, warm with some clouds which kept the temp comfortable for hiking, we love hiking the 2000!! The trail is in fairly good shape but there is quite a bit of water and mud from the melting snow, so wear your water proof boots or shoes, I didn't and my feet and shoes got wet and muddy. My husband has a pair of water resistant hiking shoes and he stayed dry. We saw some little frogs in some of the mud puddles on the trail, be careful not to step on them! There are several patches of deep snow on the upper part of the Smith Brook trail and more on the PCT especially as your near the lake, it made finding the trail difficult at times but thankfully there were other boot tracks for us to follow. There is a spot about 3/4 of the way up the Smith Brook with about 6 big trees down right over the trail so you have to find a way around them. We met a Father/son duo at the junction with the PCT on our way up who had stayed at Valhalla the night before and he reported that there is a lot of snow there and the lake it frozen. The trail that branches off the PCT to the lake is very wet, more like a tiny stream, and muddy but there is no snow around the lake. Most of the run off streams were easy to cross but there is one that was more difficult as it is bigger and running fast, there are some rocks and logs but not all the rocks are all the way out of the water and the logs are slippery but we made it across just fine although my feet got wet. Lovely day, nice, moderatley easy trail and the lake is beautiful.

With a forecast of cool, clear and windy, I picked Minotaur, normally a blistering, sun baked trial that has fried me many times over the years. As noted in the other reports, this trail stretches the calves and thins out the crowds by climbing from 3800 to 5100 in less than a mile before easing up in the meadows below the lake. The snow starts before the 5500ft high lake. I continued on towards Labyrinth via the EAST or right side of Minotaur and went up the descending foot prints. Just above the lake, I switched from running shoes to boots. At the summit, the wind blew the baseball cap right off my head - luckily I had clipped it on. Gorgeous views all around. The summit register is a couple of feet west of the surveying monument. On the drive out, I passed the Smith Brook trailhead with one car in the lot. Since it was just 2:30, and I figured this might be one of the last incredible hiking days of the year, I decided to check out Valhalla. As I was heading up to Union Gap, however, it appeared to me that Valhalla must already be deep in shadows while the Janus trail should continue to enjoy the setting sun. Lake Janus was a tranquil delight until a fighter came in so low, so fast, and so loud that my head spun like an owl’s and I found myself flat on the ground. Two weeks ago I was on Alta looking DOWN on two fighters screaming up Gold Creek. This being a Monday, I saw no one on either trail. My video from a stunning autumn day: https://vimeo.com/78190948 .

Another great fall day for hiking. Smithbrook road to the trail head is full of potholes but not too bad. I have seen worse. Trail to the Pacific Crest turnoff (Union Gap) is in great shape. Took the right turn at the junction to head to Lake Janus. Looks like a war zone with all the blow downs from last winters storms. Everything has been cut/cleared so the trail is in great shape. A little water/mud here and there along the trail but nothing not expected on a hike. Lake Janus was surprisingly a large lake. Very peaceful and quiet. Hiked the extra 1.5mi up to Grizzly Peak to the viewing spot of Glacier Peak. Well worth the extra climb. I have never seen an unobstructed view of Glacier Peak before. Magnificent!!! This was the first spot we encountered snow on the trail but it was also our turn around spot so it worked well.

Snow! We had on our list this year 4-5 miles north on PCT from Union Gap for a hoped for fantastic view of Glacier Peak. Two weeks earlier we made it past Janus in the rain when the forecast was for clearing by mid-day...rain just got worse so we turned around and it was still raining at the Smithbrook trailhead. This time we had beautiful weather, but the snow started about 3900' and got deeper all the way to Union Gap (4700' or so). We were not ready to go another 4 miles in the snow, so maybe next year! If we had known the conditions we would have gotten an earlier start and carried traction. As it was the paw prints and boot prints through the snow were easy to follow, and there were so many blowdowns that had been cut you were assured you were in the right track. The road to the trailhead has developed quite a few pot holes, nothing impassable for our low clearance compact, just enough to make the 3 miles slower. I am sure we have hiked a lot of this stretch snow free much later than this in the past......

As the Lake Valhalla description already mentions, the trail head is literally right across from Stevens Pass. At 10 am, parking was no problem and you do not need a parking pass. Trail conditions are great, although there was quite a bit of manure from stock animals. Lots of hikers on both Saturday and Sunday including a few solo PCT through-hikers. There were new parents, adorable dogs, and children all around. We set up camp at a designated site overlooking the lake and went in for a swim. Lake Valhalla has some nice sandy shores. We also took a day hike to Lake Janus about 4 miles away. Lake Janus is beautiful and serene with meadows around the lake, lily pads, and only one occupied campsite. Some water on the trail there, but not a big deal. All in all, a good moderate hike for anyone.