New PCT, old PCT loop

I was pleased to be able to make a beautiful 60 mile loop that stayed entirely on the PCT or trails that used to be part of the PCT. My route started at Snoqualmie Pass, went north on the PCT to the Waptus River, up the Cascade Crest Trail to Dutch Miller Gap, down the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Valley to Goldmeyer Hot Springs, up the Red Pass Trail (abandoned but still in good shape), down Commonwealth Basin, and back to the Snoqualmie Pass PCT trail head.

  • Date:
    2012/10/05 to 2012/10/07
    Car-to-car:
    3 days
    Round-trip distance:
    59 miles
    Elevation gain:
    11,800 feet
    Trip type:
    backpack
    USGS quads:
    Kachess Lake, Mount Daniel, Snoqualmie Pass, Big Snow Mountain, Chikamin Peak
    In:
    Middle Fork Snoqualmie Drainage, Alpine Lakes Wilderness

    • Day 1

  • I started at the Snoqualmie Pass PCT trail head.
    I started at the Snoqualmie Pass PCT trail head.
  • Butterwort! I found this carnivorous plant on the PCT above Alaska Lake. A butterwort in the lower left is digesting some insects that are visible on its leaves. A friend who is writing a plant guide to the PCT (http://storythewalk.wordpress.com/) told me this is the only butterwort on the whole 2,600 miles of the PCT.
    Butterwort! I found this carnivorous plant on the PCT above Alaska Lake. A butterwort in the lower left is digesting some insects that are visible on its leaves. A friend who is writing a plant guide to the PCT (http://storythewalk.wordpress.com/) told me this is the only butterwort on the whole 2,600 miles of the PCT.
  • Burnt Boot Peak and me.
    Burnt Boot Peak and me.
  • Huckleberry Mountain and Mount Thomson.
    Huckleberry Mountain and Mount Thomson.
  • Hibox Peak over huckleberry bushes.
    Hibox Peak over huckleberry bushes.
  • Looking up the valley on the south side of Chimney Rock from the PCT.
    Looking up the valley on the south side of Chimney Rock from the PCT.
  • Sunset behind Lemah Peak from my camp site on Escondido Ridge.
    Sunset behind Lemah Peak from my camp site on Escondido Ridge.

    • Day 2

  • Sunrise on Chimney Rock from my camp site on Escondido Ridge.
    Sunrise on Chimney Rock from my camp site on Escondido Ridge.
  • Summer is over.
    Summer is over.
  • Bears Breast Mountain over the PCT.
    Bears Breast Mountain over the PCT.
  • Summit Chief Mountain from Williams Lake.
    Summit Chief Mountain from Williams Lake.
  • A slippery slab on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River.
    A slippery slab on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River.
  • The Dutch Miller Gap Trail.
    The Dutch Miller Gap Trail.
  • A waterfall on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. The Middle Fork valley must have a lot of solid granite below it, the river bed in the upper valley has a lot of carved granite.
    A waterfall on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. The Middle Fork valley must have a lot of solid granite below it, the river bed in the upper valley has a lot of carved granite.
  • Big Leaf Maple on the Middle Fork Trail.
    Big Leaf Maple on the Middle Fork Trail.
  • A Pacific Giant Salamander that was hanging out on the Middle Fork Trail after dark. I wish I had put something in to get the scale of this guy other than that Western Hemlock cone, it was around ten inches long.
    A Pacific Giant Salamander that was hanging out on the Middle Fork Trail after dark. I wish I had put something in to get the scale of this guy other than that Western Hemlock cone, it was around ten inches long.
  • My camp site on the second night was the Middle Fork Trail.
    My camp site on the second night was the Middle Fork Trail.

    • Day 3

  • Forest on the lower part of the Red Pass Trail.
    Forest on the lower part of the Red Pass Trail.
  • Mushroom growing on the Red Pass Trail.
    Mushroom growing on the Red Pass Trail.
  • A PCT sign on the Red Pass trail. I noticed two of these signs on the Red Pass Trail and one on the Dutch Miller Gap Trail. These signs have to date back to the 1970's or earlier since the PCT was moved to the other side of the Snoqualmie Range in 1978.
    A PCT sign on the Red Pass trail. I noticed two of these signs on the Red Pass Trail and one on the Dutch Miller Gap Trail. These signs have to date back to the 1970's or earlier since the PCT was moved to the other side of the Snoqualmie Range in 1978.
  • Mount Thomson
    Mount Thomson
  • The final switchbacks of the Red Pass Trail leading up to Red Pass and into Commonwealth Basin.
    The final switchbacks of the Red Pass Trail leading up to Red Pass and into Commonwealth Basin.
    • Copyright © 2024 Gabriel Deal.