Cold Creek/Silver Peak Loop Summary Looking for a new trail we picked this out of the 100 hikes South cascades book, where its description is not glowing. We found it to be a very scenic loop hike, through lots of mature forest, with lots of lovely views across the mountains. The 2 paths that link Twin Lakes to the PCT are in need of brushing. Large snow patches on the PCT occasionally made route finding a little challenging, but we were able to find the route fairly quickly. Details The trail head is at a large bend in the road, the sign is in the trees to the left of the road. Parking is along the road edge and with no trail head facilities so you don't need a parking pass. We did note 2 recent piles of window glass so leave no valuables in your car and consider leaving your doors unlocked. The trail to Twin Lakes is slightly over grown but flat and well used. Once at Twin Lakes we chose to do the loop clockwise, which I would strongly recommend. The trail up towards Tinkham Peak is steep climbing 1300', in need of brushing, and rough in places. There are a number of blow downs, all of which can be scrambled over or under. On the plus side the trillium were massed in groups, in full flower, and every so often you'd get superb views across the mountains. Just before we met the PCT the snow patches became much larger so finding the trail was more challenging. As you reach a pass there are large PCT signs. We followed the PCT north as it traverses under Tinkham and Silver Peaks. It was the first mile here where we met most of the snow. Poles were very helpful and careful observation meant we avoided post holing into streams under the snow. The second part of the PCT was snow clear and easy hiking. There was only one blow down on the PCT which was no trouble from humans, but could be problematic for pack animals. We slowly dropped down to the logging road 9070, which is at a recovering clear cut. 400 yards down the road a little cairn marked the trail back down to Twin Lakes. Again very over grown, but no where near as steep as the route up. You quickly drop back to Twin Lakes and then you retrace your steps to the trailhead.

this snowshoe trip was selected from the mountaineer's snowshoe routes washington by dan nelson. another disappointing mountaineers trip description. the parking lot is called ""hyak snow-park"", not keechelus. park at the far end of the lot to start on FR 9070 [there is no sign for this]. unfortunately, after the restrooms at about 2-3 km, an avalanche has blocked access to the mt. catherine road. instead, after passing the first trailhead all covered with snow and the twin lakes 2 mi sign, look for a blue plastic diamond stapled on a tree trunk on the right. scramble off the road, and after 10-15 minutes following the blue diamonds, you will run into the mt. catherine loop cross-country ski trail that parallels FR 9070. there is no sign for route 59. go left and head up the groomed ski trail, past the orange yurt at 4 km, to windy pass. look for the 8 km trail sign. there will be another blue diamond on a tree trunk. take a right. that's mt. catherine in front of you. unfortunately, there is no sign on the loop trail. at about 100-150 ft, you will see a sign for nordic pass that will confirm that you are on the right route. i tested the snow, but by 1:30 pm, even with snowshoes i was postholing--not fun. concerned about the daylight running out, i scrapped the summit bid. there were signs of wildlife-- mainly footprints both along/across and on the trail, and one howl. i was hoping for more. the guidebook says the route is 8 mi roundtrip and takes 8 hours total. closer to the truth, its more like 11-12 mi roundtrip and takes probably 9-10 hours total. time the trip to get to mt. catherine no later than 11 am if you want to try a summit attempt. because the mt. climbs 1200 ft in maybe less than a quarter of a mile, go on a cloudy day so the snow will stay crunchy.

Two friends and I decided to do a late afternoon hike after work on the I-90 corridor. What hike is a short distance, has some decent elevation gains along with great views? This hike does. Located about 5 miles from Hyak on a gravel road, the trail is marked with a narrow brown delineator with the #1348 on it. A well groomed trail leaves the road and a few hundred yards up you can see a Mount Catherine Trail sign on a tree. The trail gains the summit over about 1.5 miles and gains some good elevation (1,500+/-) that is gradual almost throughout. From the summit you have views of Mount Rainier, Puget Sound and numerous local peaks. I would definitely recommend this hike, especially since we never saw another person and none of us had ever heard of this hike until recently (another great reason to come discover it). If you don't have much time but want some great views, this hike is for you!

Mount Catherine 1348 is a short and delightful trail that was just recently brushed and worked on. Views on top are excellent in all directions and I would recommend it for anyone who has just a few hours time. Its located near Windy Pass on the road which we XC skiers often use going toward Ollalie Meadows. Gate near the beginning of the road (after the turnoff at Hyak) is closed in winter. No bugs that day.

While scouting out snow conditions in the Cold Creek Valley, we thought it would be nice to bag another peak. So, despite the 91 degree reading on the car's thermometer, we headed up. Snow was encountered once up on the ridge; the trail was about 60% snow covered... enough to get someone lost on the return trip. We found our way alright though, and were actually able to find a bushwhack route for the last 40 or so vertical feet to the summit, which were up a snowfield. Awesome views!