Beautiful hike along this part of the PCT. Read other trail reports. Lots of downed trees means 62 tress in 5 miles of trail to leap over, crawl under, or pick your way around. The Gravel road leading to the trailhead has some very rough spots, especially the last mile. Just keep going to the end of the road toward Government Horse camp. The trees made the hike interesting and the views were lovely. Only one other hiker the whole time, coming the other way. Great hike.

Yet another "started late, ran out of time" hike for me, which meant not going all the way to my intended destination. Plus reaching a particularly large blowdown that I didn't feel like picking my way around. Still had a nice eight miles. I started at the far end for FS70, hiked to the PCT and turned right. Stayed left at the next intersection and just kept going until that big tree. Quiet day, a little bit on the cool side. I heard a mosquito or two, but didn't get bitten.

READ OTHER TRIP REPORTS! As other reports indicated, this hike is longer and has more elevation change than the description states. The directions also weren't great. There is no "clear cut" at the trail head. That description must have been written 30+ years ago. Just stay on FS70 until the end. You'll see a turnaround and outhouse. There will also be a sign for "PCT". That's the "trail head". Once on the trail, it's pretty easy to know where you're going. Just stay on the PCT and you can't get lost. There were LOTS of downed trees on the trail, some of which were pretty difficult to get over. The trail itself is amazing. Beautiful meadows, deep forests, and views along the way. You will enjoy your 7 mile trek to Arch Rock. Speaking of the "summit" of Arch Rock, keep your expectations in check. It won't be obvious when you get there. This trail is part of the PCT, so it doesn't stop at the destination; it just keeps going and you have to know when to stop at Arch Rock, which really isn't a rock, or an arch. It's just the highest point you get to about 7 miles from the trailhead. If the trail starts to descend into thicker forest, you know you've gone too far and need to turn around. We stopped and had lunch around whatever you can call the "summit" on some rocks overlooking peaks and valleys in the distance. Great views. On the way back, there were some mosquitoes, but nothing bad and we were fine as long as we kept moving. We only saw one other hiker the entire time; a backpacker coming the other way on the PCT. All in all I think this is one of my favorite hikes. The solitude, beautiful trail, and views made up for the downed trees and difficult to locate destination.

Our original destination was Arch Rock, but we got a late start. Forest Road 70, though in pretty good condition, is slow going after the paved road ends just past the Greenwater Lakes turnoff. From the horse camp parking area (where we found surprisingly little trash and a nice, clean privy with plenty of TP), we took the 1/2 mile connector trail to the PCT and headed north to Government Meadows rather than south to Arch Rock. We spent at least an hour at the cabin chatting with friendly through-hikers before continuing another mile to where the trail meets up with FS 7080. LOTS of ripe berries to be had on this stretch of the trail. On the way back, we chatted with more through-hikers who were headed toward Government Meadows. Overall, we did more socializing than hiking today, but we did get a few HaT miles in (and had lots of fun listening to PCT stories).

I hiked the 12-mile round trip to Arch Rock, following the directions in the trail description. Actually, it came out to about 12.7 miles. As noted in the previous report, though, the elevation gain is wildly inaccurate -- I measured 1600 feet cumulative gain on my GPS. And the highest elevation, at Arch Rock, is about 5900 ft, not 5200 as stated in the guide. However, the grade is gentle throughout, so maybe it seems like it's only 500 feet? A note on the road to the trailhead: FR 70 is about 17 miles long, and the last 6 miles or so are unpaved. For the most part it's in fairly good shape, but it does deteriorate the last mile or two. However, I had no particularly difficulty in my Prius. Also, although the main road is obvious at most intersections, I found the last one confusing. The road forks, with the left branch marked for Naches Trail and the right for Government Meadows Horse Camp. The right one is the one you want, and the trailhead is right at the camp. There is a latrine at the trailhead. Like Oldwhiner, I was confused by Arch Rock itself. Having hiked just over 6 miles and passed the "Arch Spur" trail intersection -- which I assume is the one leading down to Echo Lake -- I figured I must be close to the summit. I continued on the PCT until it was clearly heading downhill again, then turned around and made my way back to the highest point on the trail. There is a large meadow just west of the trail, and using my GPS I navigated to what appeared to be the summit, at just over 5900 feet elevation. There was nothing resembling a rock or an arch, only a gently rounded summit consisting of spruce trees separated by small meadows. Nothing I would call a "prominent peak", as described in the guide. Was I in the wrong place? If not, does anyone know how Arch Rock got its improbable name?