18th annual summer backpack trip with friends. Three of us hiked to Cathedral Rock and Pass, camped at Peggy's Pond, and did a day hike to the inter-glacial moraine area of Mt Daniel. Aug 2-4.  Very hot days!  Baking on the first day, cloudy morning and slightly cooler day on Sat, and hot day on Sunday. Bugs were level 4/5 except when we hiked up to the base of Mt Daniel.  Started at 10:30 am on Friday, up through the switchbacks of the forest, rested at Nosh Nosh Wahtum lake, then along the ridge to Cathedral Pass and the junction with the PCT. Then the very exposed and full attention .7 boot path on the mountainside and into the Peggy's Pond basin. Arrived at Peggy's--only one other party there.  Made camp right by where the trail meets the lake, not realizing it would become a major thoroughfare for people heading back and forth to Mount Daniel.  Much busier camp than I was expecting. Had no idea this many people climb Mount Daniel! Beautiful lake beneath the massive Cathedral Rock. Had a great swim in the lake, a wonderful evening, and lots of stars. Headed up to the rock and glacier base of Daniel the next day and spent most of the day getting up to and exploring and resting in that bug-free area. Took a quick dip in one of the icy pools.  Very stunning landscape. Another great evening in camp, talking with quite a few people as they walked through our camp. Got up early the last morning to try to beat some of the heat. Took the "upper way" (instead of "lower") down to the boot trail which made the going a bit easier to start, but still requires much focus on handholds and footwork. A hot trek out, stopped again at Nosh Nosh, and arrived back at car at 12:00 pm. Diners: Red Bird Cafe in Roslyn, Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum; Miles: 13; Wildlife: Marmots, Columbia Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks.

Decided that despite the heat, it was time for me to finally visit Spade and Venus Lakes deep in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.  I wanted to take the scenic route so decided to start my trip from the Cathedral Rock trailhead and make my way over the course of the day to the lakes, spend the night and then return.

Road to the trailhead was in decent shape.  No huge potholes but some sections of washboard.  Creek ford was about 18" deep but passable in a passenger vehicle if taken with care.  Restroom at the trailhead was open but not stocked.  There are no garbage facilities at the trailhead so you will have to pack out everything you pack in.

The trail to the PCT junction is in good shape and there is nothing really of note.  Frequent water sources are available whether through running water or Lakes.  Completely snow free.

PCT from Cathedral pass to the junction of the Spade Lake trail is also in great shape.  The outlet at Deep Lake cannot be rock hopped at this time but there is a log jam about 100 yards downstream you can use to cross. However, I the crossing about a half mile south of the lake did not have an immediate way to get across (I didn't look too hard up or downstream) so I just walked through it.  Water did not even reach my knees.  Also, a couple of bushy sections but nothing major and pretty typical for summer Alpine Lakes Wilderness Trails.

Got to the Spade Lake Trail right about one and knew I was in for a hot one.  The trail is steep and partially exposed so you have your work cut out for you.  There were some water sources as you complete the big climb and start the traverse over, so I took advantage of those to refill my water frequently.  Lots of blowdowns to get around, or over ... or under.  But, did encounter a Forest Service trail crew and they had put in a lot of work to get the bigger stuff cleared out.  Huge appreciation for the hard work they were putting in in that hot afternoon sun! 

All the hard work starts to pay off though as you start to get peek-a-boo views of the Cascade Crest.  Some very dramatic and compelling stuff!  Then you find yourself working through open meadows with Spade Lake in front of you and I found myself asking why it had taken me so long to visit this lake!  Absolute gem tucked away and surrounded by such beautiful and rugged terrain.  I slowly made my way along the shore towards Venus Lake, taking it all in.  A few groups of people passed me as they headed back to their basecamp at Waptus but I could see I was going to have the place to myself.  Trail is easy to follow to the base of the waterfall coming down from Venus Lake.  There is a bit of a rock scramble to access Venus Lake but it is well marked with cairns and no hands are needed.

Venus is even more dramatic as it lays directly below Daniel.  I had to cross one small patch of snow to get around the lake but that was the only snow for the day.  Made my way up to the saddle west of the lake (there is a social trail) and found a spectacular campsite with stunning 360 degree views and running water was still available just below the saddle.  Huge views of Daniel, Venus Lake, Bears Breast and Hinman all from one spot.

Some notes:  Wildflowers are out and beautiful!  Mosquitoes:  day one, hardly noticed them.  The second day?  Wow!  I felt like they might carry me away a few times near the lakes.  Highly recommend a bug covering for your face as even with repellent, they were flying into my ears, nose and even somehow got between my sunglasses and eyes.  

Highly recommend taking some time to visit these lakes.  You could spend a day just exploring around the lakes and there are so many fantastic campsites to take advantage of.  I also believe it is one of the most remote sections of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness with a spot just above Lake Rowena being the most remote, see link below.

A challenging hike in spots, but the view was worth it. We did the extra few yard on the PCT for the view spot, which was amazing, but we didn't want to linger too long due to a surprising number of biting insects so early in the season. 

We were unsure if we were on the right road because the driving directions here are a bit vague and we didn't see a road sign where you make that "slight right." If you get to the Salmon la Sac campground, you've gone too far. 

There was plenty of parking at the trailhead, and the trail was not too crowded for the holiday. 

Picked a nice day to hike with sun and light breeze. The gravel road to the trailhead had some washboards but not as bad as late summer. The large parking lot was full by 8:30am. Based on the limited hikers I saw, it appears most were on the Deception Pass trail. I saw 15 total hikers (8:30-1:30) and a few camping. The mosquitos were active at both lakes so if they like your scent, bring feet.
The last 1/2 mile is mostly a snow field making parts of the trail challenging. Micro spikes would be nice but not necessary. This hike will be better mid July but still will worth going now.

Decided to go up to Cathedral Rock. Lots of streams and water access along the way for the dog. There was snow about 3/4 of a mile from the top. We decided to go up the rock a little ways, but did not go to the top without climbing gear. Beautiful day out the mountains