What a great destination! The trail is excellent and nicely graded. The views begin at about 3 miles when you reach the meadows.  The fall colors are at peak with red, yellow, and orange glowing all around. All angles of Cathedral Rock are worth exploring. We hiked a total of 11.5 miles.

First, we wandered around the little lakes along the trail before reaching the PCT junction. So beautiful!

Second, we headed to the junction of Peggy’s Pond trail and walked just a short distance out the trail to get a good view of Deep Lake.

Third, we explored the ridge heading SE at Cathedral Pass (left on the PCT). Several campsites along the ridge and good views of Cathedral Rock.  We enjoyed the beautiful views of Mt. Daniel and Cathedral Rock while eating lunch on the large flat boulders along this ridge.

Fourth, returning to the PCT junction, we continued north (right) for about a half mile.  These meadows are absolutely stunning; falls colors bursting all around. The PCT wanders through this meadow for quite a while before heading steeply down some switchbacks.  This area is definitely worth a stroll.

Fifth, we stopped at [new name?] Lake and soaked our tired feet in the cool, refreshing lake before continuing back down to the parking lot. This lovely lake is the perfect stop along the way going to or from the meadows below Cathedral Rock. 

For the number of cars in the 3 parking lots and lining the road for a half mile on this sunny-September-Saturday, there were surprisingly few people on this trail.  Guessing most were headed up the Deception Pass trail to the lakes beyond.

After hiking the PCT from Snoqualmie to Stevens Pass a couple weeks ago, I created a loop that incorporated a few of my favorite spots plus some others I didn’t get to see, to return to a week later with a friend. We took five days, spending two nights at Peggy’s Pond and two nights at Waptus Lake. It was glorious, especially this time of year with the berry bushes turning all shades of red, yellow and orange. In some areas the berries were gone, but in others they’re perfectly ripe and ready for snacking! Temperatures were mild during the day and got pretty cold at night - time to pack your fall gear! The loop was quite doable for my friend who hadn’t been backpacking in four years. Here’s the day-by-day break down: 

Day One: Started at Cathedral Pass trailhead,  hiked up to the PCT at Cathedral Rock then over to Peggy’s Pond. The trail to Peggy’s Pond is indeed a little bit treacherous, but if you’re prepared and take your time, it’s just fine. At one point there is a fork in the trail; the left is a longer and less strenuous route. That’s the one we took and it worked well. Since it was windy, we decided to pitch our tent in a more sheltered spot by a “puddle” near Peggy’s Pond, which turned out to have two “balconies” with great views of Deep Lake and its surrounding peaks.

Day Two: Day hiked to Circle Lake. This requires some use of a GPS to make sure you’re on the right trail, as there are many different paths winding up and around the surrounding hillsides. Also a little bit treacherous but so worth it, as Circle Lake is this incredible color of blue I’ve never seen in a lake before, and feels super secluded and otherworldly. We took a quick dip in the frigid waters and explored a bit of Spinola Creek as it exits Circle and heads down to Deep Lake. A marmot snacked on the bushes nearby us for quite some time. This is a very exposed hike, so sunscreen and wind protection is highly recommended.

Day Three: Hiked back to the PCT, down to Deep Lake, and then to Waptus Lake. A couple miles of this trail has a lot of fallen trees to manage, making travel a bit slower. We found the most perfect campsite near a beach on the east side of Waptus. This whole area is like car camping, with dozens of sites all crammed together. But there were only about three groups camped out in the whole area midweek, so it still felt private. We also discovered there is a toilet in this area - the sign is hard to see, but it’s on one of the trails heading into the camping zone, and there’s an arrow made out of rocks on the ground in the path. Being right near the lake is great for catching all the different moods of Waptus and Bear’s Breast mountain as the light changes throughout the day, however it was more windy there than sites inland.

Day Four: We woke up to magic - a rainbow over Waptus Lake as the clouds started to clear. My friend and I were in different moods today, so we split up. She wandered around Waptus and discovered a gorgeous campsite on a small peninsula on the northwest end of the lake. I hiked up to Spade Lake, which is yet another stunning, otherworldly spot. The hike is super intense, gaining 2300 feet in about three miles, so give yourself time to get up there. And also leave time to explore once you’re at the lake - it’s quite large, with waves of granite, trails winding between them, and views every which way. It was fun to be near the “head” of Bear’s Breast mountain after seeing it from down at Waptus. There were a number of camping spots, but the idea of carrying a heavy pack up there seems daunting.

Day Five: We started east on the Waptus River trail - the foot bridge is out and the Waptus River crossing does require removing shoes for the ford, though the water is quite calm. Then we took a left onto Trail Creek trail, which took us all the way back to Cathedral Pass trail and then down to the Cathedral Pass trailhead, where we started. Trail Creek trail had some fallen trees to hop over and walk around, but otherwise it’s in great shape, and entirely in the shade of the forest. There were some nice views of Waptus Lake and the peaks beyond it, and we didn’t see anyone the entire time we were on that trail.

A perfect loop for five days of exploring some of the most beautiful spots in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness!

Started at Cathedral Trail - unrelenting climb took longer than I expected.  At PCT junction turned Northbound and continued to Deception Pass, then exited via the Hyas Lake trail, making a loop with 3 overnights.  The Daniel Creek crossing was not too bad using the makeshift bridge. I was apprehensive about crossing, but with help (and some cheers), I made it across. (How hard would it be to put a BETTER bridge here??)  Climbing up on the North side embankment was another very difficult steep rocky spot.  Thanks to another hiker, I made it up that side as well, but I'm not sure I could have done it without help. There was lots of blow-down.  Mosquitoes were annoying, but not too bad. Huckleberries were ripe and wonderful.  Thanks to the kind and helpful people I met on the trail!

As far as road, I recommend taking a high-clearance vehicle if you can, although you are not completely out of luck if you don't have one. There is significant gravel road to travel but I would not describe it as hopelessly pothole-ridden; it is in relatively good shape (for a long gravel road). I saw some Priuses and other small vehicles at the trailhead, and I actually think I would have been fine to drive my own Ford Focus up in slowly. HOWEVER, the one thing that makes me feel like I would only recommend traveling with something high clearance is the stream crossing. There is a portion of the road where your car will need to go through an unavoidable area of water and I would have felt uncomfortable doing this in a car that is not high clearance. 

Parking is also something to be warned about! I arrived at 10am and had to park on the side of the road pretty far down from the trailhead. There are lots of different trailheads in this area -- many of them overnight trails. This is fine but the caution I give is that it is really tricky if you are heading up the road and someone is heading opposite to you when there are cars parked all along the side of the road. I had that happen and I had to reverse for about 0.5 miles so the other person could pass; there wasn't really space to pull to any side. I saw it happen to others too after I parked. In conclusion, if you see people parking along the side of the road, that probably means you should just park there instead of trying your luck at the trailhead lot and getting caught by other cars depending on how much car traffic you think will be happening at the time you arrive.

As far as the hike, it begins in the beautiful forest where you are totally covered. Gorgeous ascent and switchbacks in the forest. You eventually reach a well-marked junction (I believe that distinguishes the trail from Deep Lake), and after this, there are a few short but steep parts and the trail becomes more exposed. You then reach you first small lake. I stopped there for a snack and it was the perfect halfway point between you and the rest of your hike up. The thing I will note here is that if you walk out from the trail, facing the lake, there looks like trail going both left and right of you. Choose right! There is a small marker on a tree that reads "camp", and follow this marker to continue onto Cathedral Rock. 

The rest of the hike is beautiful, going through meadows (which will be exposed and hot if the sun is out) and passing by two small ponds. 

I think the "end" of the Cathedral Rock trail is a bit hard to understand for me. As you walk through the meadows, you will definitely see the rock and it is beautiful. Eventually you get to a junction with the PCT. You can veer right to continue onto the PCT or the marker indicates that the Cathedral Rock trail continues forward. However, I didn't really understand where the Cathedral Rock trail "ended" after that. I continued on because I was going to Peggy Pond, but the trailhead after the PCT junction seems to continue like a normal trail that either takes you to Peggy Pond or there is another offshoot that looks like switchbacks going down the other side of the rock (so I don't know what that trail leads to, but it's going down). My point is that if Cathedral Rock is your end point and you don't seek to go to Peggy's Pond or further, I would just stop at the PCT junction as there is otherwise not really a final spot to sit or look at the rock.

If you are going to Peggy's Pond, the there will be a marker on the floor that tells you to go straight (opposed to taking the downhill switchbacks you'll also see). The trail distinct to Peggy's Pond is definitely less traveled than Cathedral Rock and way more dicey. I was hiking alone and felt thankful there was another solo hiker right behind me because otherwise I would have felt a little worried. Do not attempt this trail if you are scared of heights, consider yourself clumsy, etc. There are parts when you are genuinely scaling rocks to continue. I saw a person with little dog running ahead of them and that would definitely make me nervous. You have to really discern what is "trail" during this part versus what is just the side of the mountain. It is beautiful to be on the other side of Cathedral Rock at this point, and you get an amazing look at the valley and Deep Lake from above. But the trail itself has you hugging the wall at some points or at least moving very intentionally!

From there, there are two routes to get to Peggy's Pond -- one that is around 0.3 miles I believe, and takes you along a contour line (so longer but less steep) and one that is 0.1 miles (more direct but steep). I took the 0.3 up and 0.1 down. The 0.3 is probably worth it, in my opinion, to avoid the steepness of the 0.1 which has a lot of loose dirt, making it hard to climb up. For this portion, by best advice is to definitely, definitely, definitely bring a map. I would have gotten mixed up at this point if I didn't have a map, both because the trail has a couple of downed trees and because there are multiple other trails, so you'll want to know where to turn off in order to reach Peggy's Pond. I recommend some kind of tool that lets you know where you are on the map beyond just paper.

Peggy's Pond itself is beautiful and there are a couple of great overnight spots. There are fish and frogs in the pond, which is big enough to swim. Cathedral Rock hangs over the pond.

Beautiful hike. I think it would make a great first day backpacking day for an overnight onto Mount Daniel, so I'd recommend doing that I think for an even better reward. 

Daniel has been on the list for awhile so it was good to get it checked off!

Road was fine. Bumpy and potholed but what gravel road isn’t? Trail is in good shape, lots of ripe huckleberries and blueberries for snacking. The junction with the trail to Peggy’s is obvious and signed, though the sign is laying on the ground….

As noted in other reports there is only one short sketchy section. Steep, loose and narrow with some exposure. Take your time and you’ll be fine!

The lake was great, no shortage of awesome campsites. Ate lunch, set up camp and relaxed. Fish were jumping, though my partner had no luck feeling any in.

Followed a meandering trail into the basin that holds Hyas Creek glacier. Super awesome and we’ll worth the effort for those that enjoy exploring beyond the usual destinations.

Early start the next day to climb Daniel. Followed the SE ridge, pretty simple but steep and relentless in spots. GPS was helpful in confirming the correct route but wasn’t really necessary. Views are incredible on the ridge, even with some clouds.

Ridge narrows as it climbs, class 3 in a few spots. Reached the E summit 20 minutes after the clouds rolled in….😭

Great trip with a great friend, looking forward to more!