Set out to explore Cathedral Rock and summit Mt. Daniel this weekend. The snow was soft and the post holes a many! Didn't end up making it to the summit but had two fabulous days snow camping and playing around at Cathedral Rock and the alpine lakes wilderness with James Ronning. Warning- the road beyond Camp Creek was pretty bad and not recommended unless you are in a high vehicle such as a raised jeep. Ran in to two other groups that had to park 2-3 miles out and hike in to the trailhead due to the road conditions.

The road to Cathedral Pass has a significant access problem with semi-frozen creek about 1.5 miles from the TH. We managed to get through with difficulty in a high clearance SUV but the water / ice is running about 18 inches deep. In addition about 0.5 miles from the TH there is a very deep pothole section where our car completely bottomed out. The trail itself is in OK condition but here are a lot of icy sections which require poles to navigate safely

The drive to the trailhead was absolutely gorgeous - tons of fall colors, fog, and a few lakes. The dirt road was filled with many potholes and about 3 deep puddles that filled the entire road and one place where you have to drive through a flowing creek. Trailhead was easy to find - it's labeled Cathedral Pass - got to the trailhead at about 10am and there were only 4 other cars in the parking lot. The beginning of the hike is all in forest with no views but there were endless varieties of mushrooms and some fall colors which made it interesting. Someone had posted a warning note that there was an active yellow jacket nest at the base of a boulder; thankfully I didn't see any yellow jackets when I passed by. Squaw lake was very beautiful- some fall colors around the sides, ducks swimming across it. Heard a woodpecker and some frogs croaking. After squaw lake you pass by a few more small scenic ponds. As you near the top of the hike the views become absolutely breathtaking - great views of mountain ranges, cathedral rock, and looking down at deep lake. There was mist/fog/low clouds that morning that had mostly burned off by the time I got to the top. Saw a very long waterfall originating from snow melt then coursing down the side of the mountain all the way to deep lake. The turn-off for the PCT north trail is on the right and I missed it on the way up because the sign on the tree is angled but I saw it as I came back down - it's before you get to the view of deep lake. There were some nice rocks to eat lunch on with an amazing 360 degree view. The trail to Peggys Pond looked pretty sketchy so I turned back there; so did another set of hikers. Only came across 3 other sets of hikers the entire time - this is a nice hike for those who enjoy solitude :)

Did spectacular 42 mile loop in 4 1/2 days from Salmon La Sac - to Diamond Lake - then Polallie Ridge - camping a few nights at Waptus Lake, day hiking to Spade Lake - wrapping it up passing Deep Lake near Cathedral Rock and exiting at Salmon La Sac. Rain was in forecast but that didn't stop a friend and I from doing this completely people-free hike in mid October 2014. We were lucky rain-wise - just a few day showers. Miles and miles - and not a fellow hiker to be seen - yet - one could imagine this slice of the Alpines Lake Wilderness inhabited by folks in summer. We picked a good time. Nice fall colors...a quick overlap with Pacific Crest Trail. If you want to move north to Spade and Deep Lakes from Waptus lake - you can expect to ford the Waptus River - year around - so bring some sneakers. Both Spade Lake - a side trip - a grueling 3000 elevation hike from Waptus Lake and Deep Lake - are truly magical storybook alpine sites. Both worth the price of admission for sure. The view from Polallie Ridge - earlier in the loop - is also special and gives you a sense of what's in front of you should you decide to do the whole loop. Bug free - and mostly mammal free - we hung up the food...but didn't get too much indication that bear's were roaming. All said - another great hike within reasonable reach of Seattle - so many splinters and detours. You can assemble smultiple variations of the loop with a Topo map in front of you.

Did spectacular 42 mile loop in 4 1/2 days from Salmon La Sac - to Diamond Lake - then Polallie Ridge - camping a few nights at Waptus Lake, day hiking to Spade Lake - wrapping it up passing Deep Lake near Cathedral Rock and exiting at Salmon La Sac. Rain was in forecast but that didn't stop a friend and I from doing this completely people-free hike in mid October 2014. We were lucky rain-wise - just a few day showers. Miles and miles - and not a fellow hiker to be seen - yet - one could imagine this slice of the Alpines Lake Wilderness inhabited by folks in summer. We picked a good time. Nice fall colors...a quick overlap with Pacific Crest Trail. If you want to move north to Spade and Deep Lakes from Waptus lake - you can expect to ford the Waptus River - year around - so bring some sneakers. Both Spade Lake - a side trip - a grueling 3000 elevation hike from Waptus Lake and Deep Lake - are truly magical storybook alpine sites. Both worth the price of admission for sure. The view from Polallie Ridge - earlier in the loop - is also special and gives you a sense of what's in front of you should you decide to do the whole loop. Bug free - and mostly mammal free - we hung up the food...but didn't get too much indication that bear's were roaming. All said - another great hike within reasonable reach of Seattle - so many splinters and detours. You can assemble multiple variations of the loop with a Topo map in front of you.