Hiked to Peggy's Pond, ascended Mt. Daniel by the Daniel Glacier route (technical climb), and descended by the Southeast Ridge (scramble). JW and I set out from Seattle at 7 am and reached the Cathedral Rock TH around 9:30. The forest service road in was in pretty good shape, but we were glad to have a high-clearance vehicle for the ford. From there we took about 6½ hours to get to Peggy’s Pond. Mostly clear trail to Squaw Lake then intermittent snow then almost all snow approaching Cathedral Pass. From there the trail to Peggy’s pond was mostly snow-free except for some potentially problematic gully crossings. Peggy’s pond was surrounded by snow. We found maybe the only two good bare-ground spots for tents on the tree-covered knoll just north of the Pond. Next morning we started climbing at 4:45. Headed up the Hyas Creek Glacier, and climbed the steep snow field on the right to the ridge overlooking the Daniel Glacier, just to the right of the prominent spire to the right of the East Peak. This early in the morning the snow was firm and good for cramponing. Roped up and descended to traverse the top of the Daniel Glacier between some crevasses to the saddle to the right (northwest) of the East Peak. This traverse is on very steep snow. Climbed over the mound directly ahead then to the West Peak (true summit), keeping to the left of the Middle Peak. Summitted around 9:15 am (4½ hours camp to summit). Started down around 10 am via the Southeast Ridge route. After going back to the saddle northwest of East Peak, we traversed fairly steep snow and talus to the right (southwest) of the East Peak to the saddle above the Hyas Creek Glacier, then traversed the top of the Hyas Creek Glacier to get on the Southeast Ridge. Descending the Southeast Ridge involved some rock scrambling, some plunge stepping down moderately steep snow, and a little glissading. Got back to camp by 12:30 (2½ hours for the descent), packed up, and hiked out, 4 hours back to car. Burgers at the Brick in Rosalind were delicious.

Snow on the trail. Our attempt was to day hike Trail 1345 to Cathedral Rock and we turned back before making it to Squaw Lake. The trail is still covered with snow at around the 2.5 mile marker (4500 ft) where the trail splits into trail 1322 and trail 1345. We met some guys coming down who spent the night at Squaw and said you needed to be an orienteer to actually make it to Cathedral Rock... as the trail is completely covered. Lots of melting going on, which made the trail below Squaw quite muddy. The drive in on Fish Lake Road is bumpy and full of potholes and there is a stream that crosses the road. We were able to cross it in a Toyota mini van... but only after watching a few others do it. I recommend all wheel vehicles or sturdy autos for this back road trip of 11 - 14 miles to the Tucquala Trailhead.

It’s *that* season, the season where you have to pack snowshoes, microspikes, gaiters, crampons and a pair of backcountry skis, because you have no friggin’ clue what the conditions are going to be like. It’s the season between fall and winter, which I hereby dub “falter.” And it was in full evidence on the way to and beyond Cathedral Pass last weekend. In this current weather pattern we’re locked in, the skies in the mountains are infinitely more welcoming than the ones in the city. Four miles outside of North Bend, someone waved a hand and snatched away the blanket of gloom I’d been laboring under for a week. The sun! I finally saw the sun! There would be not a cloud in the sky in any direction all day. The road to the trailhead was mostly dry, until the last six dreadful miles. In between the numerous alignment-wrecking, progress-slowing potholes and the two creek fords (one dry, one half a foot deep) were a few cavernous mud ponds. No matter – we were at the trailhead and ready to head out, maybe a few minutes later than intended, but with plenty of daylight ahead of us. For the first three miles or so, the trail was clear of snow. Within a half a mile of passing Squaw Lake, we were traipsing through ankle-deep, then knee-deep snow. The temperature was that perfect balance of “not hot enough to melt” and “not cold enough to freeze.” The last mile to Cathedral Pass was the beginning of what would prove to be a long wet slog. We got a reprieve from Cathedral Pass to Peggy’s Pond – southwest-facing slopes in general seem to have melted out quickly, even up to 8,000 feet. From Peggy’s Pond, though, we were on east-facing slopes with soft, wet snow up to our thighs and sometimes hips. It was laborious hiking. Snowshoes might have helped, but we of course didn’t have those. We occasionally found firmer snow and kicked steps, but for the most part, it was a posthole parade. We were granted some nice stretches of bare rock along the south side of the ridge on our way towards the east summit of Mount Daniels. Thereafter, it was back into the deep snow as we made our way high above the Hyas Creek Glacier. Our intended destination was the west summit, but the snow had slowed us down so much, we had to content ourselves with the east summit. Still, on a day like Sunday, what a view. (A contributing reason we stopped on the east summit was because my GPS labeled it “Mount Daniel” and had no markers for the other two summits. Guide book descriptions - of which we had two with us - left a lot to the imagination. I’ve now corrected this sorry state of affairs with clear waypoints and unambiguous pictures of the route all the way to the middle and west summits here: http://zerotosummit.com/view/66.) And in a sure sign of the half season, it's two days later and my boots are still drying out.

The plan was to hike in towards Spade Lake on Thursday night and set up camp somewhere between the trailhead and Waptus Lake, then move camp to Spade Lake and explore the area on Friday, allowing for an alpine start on Mount Hinman on Saturday, and then a leisurely return past Deep Lake and Cathedral Rock on Sunday and Monday. I usually avoid scheduling summit bids more than a week in advance whenever possible, but 4 days would help relieve some of the pressure from our 13+ mile approach, so we each took a long weekend from work. We pulled up to Tuquala Meadows Trailhead just after 10 pm Thursday and chose to sleep in the truck to avoid breaking down camp in the rain the next morning. We awoke at 3 and started up the trail later than planned at 4:45 under clear starry skies. From the Cathedral Rock Trail 1345 we took the first left onto Trail Creek Trail, losing 1500' over 5.5 miles down to Waptus River. The footbridge is currently out, and we briefly considered going off trail to avoid fording the river just to cross right back over a mile later. In the end we choose to grin and bear it, after all both bridges couldn't be out could they? Of course they were, and to top it off light rain began to fall as we started our second crossing. A huge, flat campground sits to the East of Waptus Lake. We rested on the shore and imagined what Bears Breast Mountain might look like through the clouds across the lake. The rain steadily increased as we continued on toward Spade Lake. I realized that I had dropped my beanie shortly after crossing the PCT, and when I returned to grab it I met two backpackers who had started in Mexico. They were also in a hurry to make camp and get out of the rain, and we said goodbye after a short chat. I expected the trail to Spade Lake to be overgrown and poorly maintained, but nothing could have prepared us for the slog we were in store for. We climbed over and under dozens of downed trees while getting rained on by surrounding vegetation as well as the clouds above. 2000' and what felt like a lot more than 3.4 miles later we were looking at Spade Lake. FYI, the Green Trails Maps shows the trail climbing directly up the mountainside, and then staying mostly level for the last 2 miles - this is not accurate. We passed several decent campsites, but settled on the last one where the trail stopped on a rock outcropping on the SW shore. We chose the dryest of three tent pads and set up a tarp for more coverage so we could hang up some soaking wet gear. After a hot meal we hit the hay well before 8 o'clock, hoping for better weather to accommodate an alpine start on Mount Hinman. I awoke several times to the sound of pounding rain. Stars were visible in the sky and some of the rocky ground was dry when I stepped out around 1 a.m. And then an hour later snow was piling up on our tarp. I awoke at 5 with my head in a puddle and woke Colin up to assess the situation. The tent spot we chose the night before had become a pond. We played triage with all of the gear in the tent and got some hot breakfast going while scouting for a better spot. It turned out what we had was as good as it would get, so we discussed our options while rain continued to pour around us. Snow was sticking to some of the rock a few hundred feet above us near Venus Lake, and it was looking like the weather we had hoped for would not be coming. We decided to pack up and start back, leaving open the possibility of camping at Deep Lake a little over half way back to the truck. Our packs had each gained more water weight than they had lost in food and although it was disappointing to abandon the summit goal so early on, by the time we were through with the soaking wet bushwhackdown to the PCT, a dry bed and some heat sounded too good to ignore. We returned via the PCT to the Cathedral Rock Trail, adding 2 miles but saving about 1500 feet of elevation gain. About a mile before Deep Lake we took a long break under a rock overhang 6 feet wide and 2 feet deep. We changed into dry socks and hung out our rain gear for about an hour before bidding farewell to our temporary sanctuary from the rain. Above Deep Lake the sun was nearly set when we passed through an open meadow from which we could see the silhouettes of Cathedral Rock, Mount Daniels, and The Citadel. Once over the ridge the final 5 miles downhill flew by. We drove away from the still empty trailhead on Saturday night at 9:30 and the rain was all but gone when we made it back to I-90. We consoled ourselves by assuming that it was still pouring in the mountains, and that we had made the right choice by abandoning the trip when we did. I guess we will never know for sure. 13 miles, 5300' elevation in 15 miles, 4200' elevation back more pictures and route map @ http://www.jebsjourneys.com/2013/10/2013-9-27-spade-lake-mount-hinman.html

Colin and I pulled into the Tucquala Meadows Trailhead around 8:30 Saturday night with just enough light left to see a gaggle of geese in the marshy lake. A clear starry sky looked promising until light rain began to fall. After dinner and a gear check we crashed out with four hours left before the planned 2 am wakeup call, hopeful for better weather to come. We were climbing up the Cathedral Trail by 2:45 and to Peggys Pond before sunrise. After leaving the PCT there are two short cliffy sections where the trail fades into the rock. We topped off on water while the morning light crept over Cathedral Rock. We had our first glimpse of Daniels East Peak and Hyas Glacier as we began up the SE Ridge. A few steps later Spade Mountain and Circle Lake came into view, and the the true summit of the highest point in King or Kittatas Counties. After passing by the top of Hyas Glacier we crossed below the East Peak and the "Middle Summit" or false summit on a narrowing boot path through crumbling gravel. We paused to admire the massive Lynch Glacier before we continued up the gentle rocky summit slope to the base of a small pinnacle. A decent bootpath leads up to the top, but we elected to take advantage of a couple fun class 3 moves on climbers right. From the summit Mount Daniel seems to tower above Hinman though it's obvious that it doesn't have much height over the rest of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Strong gusts of cold wind broke through the still morning air as we neared the large snow fields covering Mount Daniels glaciers. At 10 am we had the top to ourselves and the sun was just beginning to warm up. We ducked behind the summit block and relaxed in the sunshine for about 2 hours. Before scrambling up the middle Summit Colin convinced me to follow him down the South Ridge for a closer look at Venus and Spade Lakes. They both look prime for camping and as a mid point to climb Mount Hinman. The steep spire on the North end of the Middle Summit looked like it may be a few inches higher than the southern bump we topped out on, so I eliminated any doubt. 3 skiers/splitboarders who's camp we passed that morning reached the East Peak while I was taking pictures, and as we headed down they launched into the Hyas Glacier and out of sight with a "whooo!" The East Peak also offered some optional scrambling, and we jumped on the opportunity. A USGS plaque marks the summit, I believe it is the only one on the mountain. Low clouds poured over the true summit with the increasing wind while we plotted our decent route. We decided to descend via the East ridge, visiting 2 more small peaks along the way. This provided a great perspective on Cathedral Rock in the afternoon light, as well as an unobstructed view of Granite Mountain and upper and lower Hyas Lakes. We made it back to the trailhead just before dark.We were lucky to have such perfect weather and a heavy melt out this season, or we may have had difficulty reaching the summit even with such an early start time. More pics and route map @ http://www.jebsjourneys.com/2013/09/mount-daniel.html