Trail:

Well maintained, relatively gentle grade (you still need to gain 2,000 feet of elevation, though :) ). At this time of year, no issue whatsoever to cross Porcupine Creek or any overflows.

A few berries and plenty of annoying insects, thankfully only a few of them biting.

Incredible views once you reach the ascent to the pass, with a few sneak-peaks in between. Once you reach the pass and soaked in the 360-degree view, it is well worth proceeding on for an easy mile and a half in the direction of Snowy Lake- believe me, you will not regret it.

Water:

There is a small waterfall about 3.6 miles from the TH, you can't miss it because of the overflow. There is another one a few hundred yards further, but much smaller so not sure how reliable that is. After that, at least along the trail, only small run offs where you might be able to scoop some water if really needed. At this time of year, nothing up on the pass.

Camping:

Several small sites along the trail catering to through hikers. 2 established and generous sites where the map shows the start of Porcupine Creek. I assume there is water there, but you will need to leave the trail and look for it, everything appeared quite overgrown. A couple of nice sites about 1/2 mile before the pass, right along the trail. I stayed in one of them for one night- great views with lots of solitude (no water!). Up on the pass, there are several sites on your left-hand side right along the trail (coming up from the TH), but the better ones are up on the right-hand side, maybe another 70 feet of elevation gain. They come in a variety of sizes, and not all are really level. On Saturday night, there were a total of 5 parties up on the pass.

The ground is rocky, it's difficult to impossible to drive in a stake, so plan accordingly. My tent is not freestanding but with plenty of rocks for anchoring and a bunch of extra string, that was not a problem.

Parking:

I arrived on a Friday around noon. Rainy Pass TH was already overflowing. Cutthroat TH was full, but plenty of space along the rather heavily potholed road.

Definitely more cars there when I came back on Sunday around 9:30am, but still, plenty of space along the road.

As others have mentioned, the Cutthroat TH lot will be closed starting September 7th for paving.

A special thanks to the driver of the blue Toyota for allowing me a generous 20 inches between your car and my bumper. Since the car in front of me was even more generous with maybe 3 feet of space, I was eventually able to wiggle out of my spot without having to wait for either car owner to return. Honestly, just be a bit more mindful, especially when there is plenty of space. Even if it means walking an extra 20 yards.

Great hike as always.  Arrived early (7:15 a.m.) and got the last "official" parking spot.  Pot holes are still huge but that is about to change (keep reading).  There was still a lot of parking along the sides of the entrance road.

Lots of ripe berries...especially up in the bowl and higher.  

The parking lot is scheduled for closure starting 8 September for paving.  All vehicles have to be gone by the evening of the 7th.  Hopefully, the entire road into the parking will be paved or at least the deep potholes filled.  I was driving a Hyundai Tuscan with ALD and 19 inch tires.  I still did not like driving into the trail head and it was impossible to stay out of all of them.

Starting from Rainy Pass, the trail starts flat through a forest with a depressing number of drought-stressed trees, but it gets nicer further up the trail. Porcupine Creek and several streams cross the trail here, and I recommend loading up on water, because there is a dry stretch between roughly a mile before Cutthroat Pass to about four miles afterward. Switchbacks begin a couple of miles from the trailhead through a lovely array of wildflowers.

Cutthroat Pass has incredible views. After that, there is a fairly long, dry, exposed stretch (it’s a good thing you drank a lot of water and filled your water bottles in the lowlands), until the turnoff for Snowy Lakes. Keep your eyes open for the colorful little butterflies, beetles and bees that visit the tiny alpine wildflowers along the ridge.

The Snowy Lakes (like any lake) were fairly buggy, but it was nothing a few spritzes of Badger Anti-Bug spray and a Buff covering my face couldn’t neutralize. On a Friday night, the lakes were not too crowded, and there was an amazing quiet and peacefulness after dusk.

Hiking back south the next day, I stayed at what is identified as Camp 1 in my Washington PCT book, which is close to Porcupine Creek. I fell asleep to the sounds of water trickling and awoke to the songs of Varied thrushes.

Cautions:

Bear hunting season just started, so you might consider wearing hunter orange or other bright colors.

A couple of miles south of Snowy Lakes, there is a stretch of narrow, loose trail with a steep drop-off on one side. It's nothing that requires technical skill or equipment; just pay attention to the trail and not the big views when you hike this part.

Hiked up to spend the night in my hammock to get Milky Way Photos during the new moon.  I was not disappointed, as the clouds dissipated as the evening went on.  I had the whole pass to myself as there were no other overnighters.  What a peaceful, otherworldly night.  Mosquitoes were bad, but controllable with lots of DEET! 

I really like this hike as I think it is the friendliest hike in the area. Very gradual incline almost the whole way through beautiful forests with streams and small waterfalls. It doesn't feel like a 5 mile hike. All streams are easily crossed this time of year.

 The first third of the hike is a gradual incline through forest until you get to Porcupine Creek.  After crossing, you slowly assent through the forest with small waterfalls and minimal switchbacks until you reach the final climb to the pass. Many switchbacks soften the climb. Water is scarce this time of year, so I got a gallon of water at the last nice stream to carry the last mile or so.  There is a small spring near the top of the pass that is almost dried up, but was flowing better than last week, due to a recent rain. You should not rely in it in August or later. The views from the top of the pass are world class and you can spend hours exploring the area.

The nighttime skies were amazing. Being able to watch the Milky Way float by while alone in the wilderness was a magical experience. I even saw bats the size of ravens flying around, hopefully, devouring mosquitoes!

Throughout the day, I only saw a handful of hikers and only 11 all the way down the next morning.  This is a highly recommended day hike. 

This was a beautiful hike on a mostly sunny, cool day. Trail was in excellent shape. A few easy water crossing in the first half. It kept a fairly easy grade the whole way up to the pass. The top part of the hike is exposed, so sun screen and a hat is advised. And keep an eye out for wildflowers. 
There was plenty of parking on this Saturday morning. But keep an eye out for potholes as you drive in.