The road in was pretty bumpy, the creek was running too high for sedans, but posed no problems for my buddy's Suburban. Parts of the road were flooded as well, but were no problem for high clearance vehicles. Camped at the trailhead and set out early on Saturday morning for Peggy's Pond. Very little snow until about 4,500 feet, but the warm temps meant a lot of a lot of runoff. The ground was pretty muddy in places and the larger stream crossing were running high. Squaw Lake is ice free and a few of the campsites were mostly snow free, but the stream crossings after the lake were quite difficult and all were much higher on Sunday when we made our return trip. Probably a dozen fallen trees, many of which made for slow going with a full pack of gear. Constant snow from just above Squaw Lake and along the ridge leading up to Cathedral Rock. Mix of snow and bare ground along the trail to Peggy's Pond. Most of the snow patches won't last long. Deep Lake was at least half melted out. Found a dry campsite in the trees at Peggy's Pond, but pretty much everything else was still covered in snow. The pond itself was melted enough to collect water, but will still take a while before it's icy free. Beautiful sunset, only a few bugs but they weren't really biting. On Sunday we were up at 2am to beat the heat. Left camp just after 3am, crossed the Daniel Glacier without any problems. Made it up to the west summit at 7:30am. The snow was a bit slushy, but held fine for us.

TL;DR: Creek crossing on FS Road 4330 - not all vehicles could pass (picture) Snow fields from Squaw Lake to Cathedral Rock - water running beneath the snow, unsure footing (picture) Downed trees across trail - pass easy with care (picture) Trail creek crossings - pass easy with care Trekking poles and boots were helpful If its sunny out, take sunscreen, the snow reflection will get ya The full story: Drove out of Seattle Friday after work and made it to a camp site near Fish Lake on FS road 4330 (the road that Cathedral Rock trail head is on) around 8pm. The road has a creek without a bridge you must ford that might be difficult in vehicles without much clearance (see picture). The rest of the road was not much of an issue. It had lots of potholes/ruts as most dirt roads, but with a little care most any vehicle could make the drive. Make sure to slow down through the private property areas. I hit the Cathedral Rock trail, #1345, at 8:15am the following morning. The trail switchbacks through the trees for a little over two miles to Squaw Lake. This portion of the trail had many trees down across the trail that required you to duck, hop over, or go off-trail around them. There was also intermittent snow and a lot of melt water running down the trail due to the mid 80's weather. There was also a stream or two that required crossing, you can find easier routes over if you walk up or down them a ways. Roughly a half-mile before you reach Squaw Lake, Trail Creek Trail # 1322 breaks off to your left and heads down to trail #1310 and Waptus Lake. Squaw Lake itself was mostly absent of ice and a nice stop for a quick snack. From Squaw Lake, I tried my best to follow the trail around to the north west side of the lake, where my map showed the trail heading up towards Cathedral Rock. I couldn't really locate where the trail diverged from the Lake and ended up just following a boot path in the snow hoping those before me knew the way. The snow is patchy at this point so I soon lost the boot path and just hacked my way through the woods in the general direction of Cathedral Rock. I ended up heading straight up a fairly steep pitch for a short while unintentionally, where I came upon a burned down tent on a small rock ledge... odd. Its worth noting that as you are heading north west from Squaw Lake, there is a steep wall that gets cliffy on your left and a similar drop-off on your right (that leads down to the Cle Elum River), with a large relatively flat portion between them. Thus, if you just stick in the region that its relatively flat, you will head in the correct direction towards Cathedral Rock. The relatively flat region was snow covered and you won't see much dry ground for the rest of your trip up to Cathedral Rock. Be careful through this portion, the snow is melting and there is a lot of water running beneath the snow fields (see pictures). You could easily punch through into whatever lies beneath. Many of the boot tracks I saw were walking down the middle of open areas where it was obvious the melt water was running directly beneath, yikes. I stayed closer to tree lines where I could see patches of ground and gauge the snow depth while listening for areas where the water was running. After a couple miles on snow, I could see Cathedral Rock and basically just headed straight for it. Without the snow, I believe the trail would continue and link to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT #2000) before turning left and passing by Cathedral Rock. I hiked to the base of Cathedral Rock, ate lunch, and saw who had left the boot prints for me; another solo hiker with a split board looking to get a few turns. We exchanged pleasantries and he noted that he had been watching snow break loose on the peaks across Deep Lake and that it might be a little unsafe with how warm it had gotten and all the movement. He headed on to Peggy's Pond while I decided to call it a day, get back over the snow fields before conditions got wetter and make the drive back to Seattle. By this time it was almost noon. Even after a mere 30 mins at the base of Cathedral Rock, I struggled to find my boot path as the sun had melted, and camouflaged, my tracks into all the other snow dimples. I picked my way back over the snow fields and knew if I stayed on the shelf I would end up back at Squaw Lake where I could pick the trail back up. I cliffed myself out by being a little too high on the ridge that lies behind Squaw Lake but was able to back track and get down to the lake easily enough. Depending on how much snow is melting and where you think the trail is, you might find yourself crossing substantial streams running down to Squaw Lake. After Squaw Lake, I quickly descended back to the trail head and on my way passed a group of four skiers, one rock climber, and a couple hiking groups all on their way up. It was around 2:15pm when I got back to the car. After a short break at the car, I was zipping back to Seattle and destined to sit on the 520 for too long due to i90's construction. All-in-all, it was a great outing with just enough questionability to make for a tiny adventure.

Went to the Hyas Lake trailhead on May 28th. Road getting in is in good condition. Only trouble is about 2-3 miles from the trailhead, there is a stream crossing over the road. Some low clearance vehicles made it over, but many stopped there. Would recommend high clearance for the time being as its deep in spots. No snow for the first 3/4 of the trail to Hyas. Once snow begins, its continuous. Not a very defined set of footprints through the snow, but if you just keep walking in the same direction towards the lake, you will eventually see Hyas. Snow is about a foot deep but compacted and easy to walk on. Very cloudy day with rain. Saw people camping along the lake even though plenty of snow still on the ground. Lake was clear. On May 29th we had hopes of getting up to Cathedral rock. Initial part of the trail, at the base before you hit switchbacks, is covered in snow still. Couldn't find a defined footpath on the snow to the trail, but head up the mountain and you are bound to run into the switchback quickly. No snow along the switchbacks until right at the top, close the trail junction. There is a defined boot path in the snow that is easy to follow to Squaw (not sure about the other trail to Waptus). Squaw is still in the process of unthawing from the winter, but is starting to clear up around the edges. We decided to stop the hike here and enjoy the lake. Climbed up the rocks on the opposite side of the lake to take this picture. Left at about 3:30 and had no trouble finding the path in the snow and getting back down. Enjoy!

Had planned to head out and do the loop around hyas lake, but an way up to squaw lake encountered some snow that made the trail more difficult to find and to keep pace. Our group decided to make it an easy trip and simply relax at squaw lake. give it a week or two and the trail should easier! get up there and have fun!

This is becoming a habit with me... sunny weather sends me out to try the Cathedral Pass/Peggy’s Pond trail. I tried in late March and could not get off the pavement because of snow on the logging road. Today 5.5 weeks later I was still blocked off about 5 miles from the TH (at least for my Subaru outback’s 8 inch clearance). Davis Peak was my fallback, and a fine climb it was. Convenient, accessible, and a nice trail with good views at the end. The good news is that I covered 8 miles on the gravel road. The road was in great shape up until I got to a small but deepish patch, maybe 10-12 inches deep, and me without a shovel! I could see clear road 30 feet beyond (as you can tell from the photo). There were tracks from a bigger vehicle but when I tried them I scraped a lot and elected to back out. The WA State Snotel website indicates that a week ago we had 36 inches more snow that the same date last year, and as of May 11th, we were still two feet ahead of last year. Looks like it's losing snowpack at a rate of one foot per week, so in a couple weeks the road should be clear. The trails, however... I guess I'll have to go check them out once more. Like I said, it's getting to be a habit. I guy I ran into on Davis Peak was pretty confident that by Memorial Day the TH would be open.