Road is in good condition, no potholes, but does have slight washboarding. Creek is flowing over the road in 2 parts, about 20 inches deep. Stick to the left of both water crossings in the road with your vehicle and you can make it through the shallower parts. High clearance recommended because of these crossings, though there was 1 sedan at the trailhead. Trail has many downed logs but are easy enough to go over or under. Many water crossings on the trail, only a couple are a few inches deep and rushing water, could be dangerous if you don't have sure footing. Past Squaw Lake, the rest of the trail is snowpack. My party had trouble finding the trail in several places and considered turning around. With some persistence, we studiously looked for footprints in the snow, and found patches of trail showing through when we lost the footprints. Between looking for the trail and actually trudging through the snow, the last 1.5 miles to Cathedral Rock took us 90 minutes. (We did the first 2.5 miles, snow-free, in 90 minutes.) Eventually we got to a point where the footprint trail was easy to follow, so the way from there was clear, but slow going across snow fields. We stopped at a rock outcropping on the right hand side along the way to take photos; after that we made it within a 1/2 mile of cathedral rock and decided we were tired and weren't sure if we could get above the trees for better views anyway (new to this trail and we're not climbers), so we turned around. Highlights included 3 frogs along the trail, and hearing a chorus of frogs along the way! Please remember your Northwest Forest Pass; Discover Pass is no good here. 3 vehicles had tickets when we returned to the trailhead. 

A welcome break in the wet weather got me out for some fresh air and tracks in the snow.

Scatter Creek crossing was 6” at most, no issue for an old Outback. Snow at Tucquala Meadows was 10-12”. No crust at any point; I did ok, “postholing” with gaiters, yaktrax, and a trekking pole. Snowshoes recommended.

Only one spot had a blowdown mash-up, with two larger uprooted conifers and several other smaller trees, but didn’t cause me to lose sight of the trail. Depth increased to 16-18” at Squaw Lake (time for a name-change), my turnaround point just two hours up. Frozen and serene.

Set out on October 16 at 1:11pm to get in a little hike after having a myocardial infarction incident on the Tuesday prior.  Disobeying doctor's orders, but my body demanded to be in motion and the weather was looking amazing!  Once you hit gravel, travel is still pretty smooth.  Beyond that, road is as crappy as always, once you pass the end of the active road work.  Kudos to the workers for this huge undertaking!  Scatter Creek ford was approximately 8 inches deep, so no trouble for my Forester.  First lot at trailhead was packed, but the second lot had only one other car, so that is where we landed.  Trail is in good condition and only moderate climbing.  Pretty soupy in places, but nothing that would slow one down.  "The Lake Which Shall Not Be Called By Its Current Name" is super gorgeous and I will keep that as a pleasant little summer backpack with the kids, who are not the most enthusiastic hikers, yet.  From here, we pressed onward and started to see patches of snow around 4900ft.  Views were fantastic once you pop out at the meadows.  Granite, Tucquala, Dragontail, Mt Stuart, Ingalls, Fortune, Iron and more all peek out here.  From here, it was very muddy, where it wasn't snowy.  I would guess that there was probably a blanket of 2-3" for the most part.  This was my first time seeing Cathedral Rock so close and it really is a remarkable geologic feature.  Mt Daniel was absolutely gorgeous with a fresh blanket of snow, as well.  We fell about 3/4 mile short of the pass, due to snow and the need to get back to the Westside for pizza!  Such a gorgeous day and a fun hike, aside from daydreaming about a zipline back to the car during the green tunnel drone and ever-increasing hunger for a real meal.

Stats:
8.55 miles
2192 ft
3h20m

It's shoulder season and conditions are changing quickly. We had a sunny hike. No snow at the TH, with 3-4" once we hit the PCT. There were a few cars in the lot but we only saw 2 people at the lake.

We enjoyed a fantastic hike to Cathedral Rock on a lovely fall day. The mushrooms were out in force, and the fall foliage was delightful. The trail gets better and better as you go on. The lakes were simply gorgeous and Cathedral Rock is a wow! Go the extra 0.1 West from the PCT junction for amazing views. If you take the PCT East, you will come very quickly to another splendid view of Cathedral Rock as well. The road, on the other hand, was quite rough with lots of potholes and there were a few area of high water due to rain. I recommend a high clearance vehicle, particularly if it has rained the night before.