We did this as a 3-day, 2-night back from the Jack Trout Trailhead. This was a beautiful trip, but I’d recommend against doing this as a loop it for most people, because of the stretch between Bootjack and the Snowall-Cradle Lake trail.

Day 1: Jack Trout TH to Bootjack Mountain, Blackjack Ridge, Highchair Mountain, Cradle Lake

From the Jack Trout Trailhead, we followed the Blackpine to its junction with the Black Jack Ridge trailhead. This was mostly level and would have passed quickly, except there were also delicious huckleberries, which slowed us.

Consistent with the trail description, the Black Jack Ridge trail climbs relentlessly from its start. It had good tread and was clear of blowdowns, though, so overall, the climb went quickly despite the elevation gain. Once we broke into the burned area, we slowed to enjoy flowers. There were also many birds here, including various hummingbirds and mountain bluebirds. 

Views on Bootjack were excellent, and this would be a nice dayhike destination (especially with a stop on the Jack Pine trail for huckleberries).

Conflicting maps for Blackjack Ridge Trail to Snowall Cradle Lake Trail

A few notes about the route from here. We knew that maps were not consistent about the Blackjack Ridge Trail, which runs (approximately) from Bootjack Mountain to the Snowall-Cradle Lake Trail. Previous trip reports had also warned us about this, and the Green Trails map labels it “hard to follow.” Main differences: 

Departure point from Blackjack Ridge

• USGS quads and Garmin show the trail dropping off Blackjack ridge *after* the summit of Bootjack (into Ben Basin)
• Green Trails and Caltopo show the trail dropping off from the junction *before* the summit of Bootjack (into Dunn Basin)

Crossing the ridge between Ben & Pablo Basins

• USGS, Garmin, and Green Trails have it crossing the ridge around 6250’
• Caltopo has it crossing around around 6400’

Crossing Pablo Creek

• All agree that the trail makes one crossing of Pablo Creek around 5750-5850’
• USGS and Green Trails have it leaving the creek while Caltopo shows it following the south side of the creek (about 300’ away) and then making two further crossings below around 5500’ and 5300’

Junction with the Snowall-Cradle Lake Trail

• USGS and Garmin show the trail reaching the Snowall-Cradle Lake Trail around 5800’
• Caltopo and Green Trails show the trail reaching the Snowall-Cradle Lake Trail around 5400’ (about 1/2 mile from where USGS and Garmin show). Based on past trip reports, we knew this to be accurate.

Given the uncertainty, and a goal of summiting Highchair, our plan was to traverse the ridge to Highchair and then find the trail somewhere along the Ben-Pablo ridge and follow it to the junction.  

Our route

From Bootjack, we followed the ridge to Highchair. The terrain was a little annoying in that it was hard to see where we might cliff out until we got there, and then would have to back up a little and descent. We generally found smoother travel just to the south of the ridge crest. At one point, I think we descended a little too much after clearing an obstacle and were picking our way through deadfall, ascending closer to the ridge brought us back to a mostly clear path to travel.

Around the low point in the ridge, we left to enter a larch basin (consistent with kidz won't hike's 2023 trip report; thank you), passing by a small tarn. We generally followed a larch ramp back up the ridge, regaining it around 6500’ for the last 500’ to the summit. We found generally good footing and easy travel here. 

The summit of Highchair again offered delightful views, with Adams, Rainier, Glacier, and Baker all visible. I particularly enjoyed the unique perspective of Stuart.

We also could clearly see a swath of trail cutting across the Ben-Pablo ridge, right around where Caltopo had it. So far, so good!

We retraced our steps to about 6800’ and then traversed across to the trail. On reaching the trail, we had tread that extended east along the ridge. We followed that for a little before it faded out. We then turned around and found faint tread heading southwest into Pablo Basin.

For most of the descent, we would find a little bit of tread, have to leave it to get around some deadfall, and then be unable to find it, instead picking what looked like the safest, most navigable way down… and then we’d find a few more feet of tread. The bugs were also pretty bad in this stretch.

Around 6000’ feet and 1/10th of a mile north of Pablo Creek, we found either intermittent old trail or animal trail (or both). Tracks indicated use by many kinds of animals. We followed this across Pablo Creek, where it again faded. At this point, we were close to where USGS, Green Trails, Caltopo, and Garmin routes intersected at Pablo Creek, but we every hint of trail faded out in brush. With dwindling daylight, I started considering whether we should find somewhere flat and camp for the night (with good water access) versus continuing to look for the route. 

Then, happily, we found a flag, which led to another flag. After a couple more times of losing and regaining the route, crossing Pablo Creek twice more (consistent with Caltopo), we eventually found a intermittently good tread that gradually improved and eventually became reliably good as we entered the forest. I am not sure if there were flags heading the other direction from where we found the route, but I did not see one.

We reached junction with the Snowall-Cradle Lake Trail at 5400’, consistent with Green Trails and Caltopo.

A smooth trail brought us the rest of the way to the lake. Along the way, we passed an abandoned trail leading off around 5800’ (exactly where USGS and Garmin have it, but it’s not clear how far one could follow it.)

At the lake, we set up camp in the remaining light. Bugs (flies and mosquitos) were aggressive at the lake. Lupine, paintbrush, and Dodecatheon jeffreyi were all in bloom. We enjoyed lovely alpenglow on Stuart and Eightmile.

12.2 miles, 5828’, with about 8 hrs moving (~2 hrs spent on summits or at views.)

Day 2: Exploring around Cradle Lake

I woke up for sunrise, then went back to sleep. Birds were very active in the morning, and marmots and pikas screamed their warnings from the rocks around the lake. Around 10:30, we left for a day hike. We went counter clockwise around the lake up the Snowall-Cradle Lake Trail.

At the saddle, we departed the trail on a boot path that led west along the ridge to a saddle below point 6795. From the saddle, the boot path descended back toward Snowall Creek before it faded out. We instead sidehilled our way up to just below point 6795, where we enjoyed good views. The last stretch to the top looked scramble-able but on loose grit with enough exposure that we thought better of it. 

We returned to the lake and climbed Pt 6909, heading up from the west side of the lake. For the most part, we followed the east/southeast side of the ridge crest, brushy and with a few big steps and places we were pulling ourselves up with hands and arms. Reaching the summit required pushing through a last barrier of trees and brush. The summit had excellent views of the lake and surrounding area. 

We found a “better” descent on the wide side of the point, descending on the north side of a small saddle, regaining the saddle, and then descending to the lake on a stretch between trees and a boulder field. Steep, loose, and slow going to avoid a dangerous fall, but route finding was at least easy.

4.4 miles, 1496’, about 3.5 hrs moving and 90 minutes spent at views. 

Back at camp, we enjoyed the lake. Wind helped keep the bugs down until late afternoon. There were many salamanders in the lake.

Day 3: Cradle Lake to Jack Trout

We got an early start to beat the heat. The trail down was all logged out (thank you!) which made for fast going, at least until we reached another patch of huckleberries we had slow to enjoy. 

The Snowall Cradle Lake Trail reached the Meadow Creek Trail near a meadow with beautiful flowers and views of Harding and Tucquala Peaks. We did not see a sign at this junction and it could be easy to miss; if you are going the other direction, if you have a large flower-filled meadow off to your right, you have probably gone too far.

We crossed Meadow Creek on two small logs and forded Jack Creek (~knee deep). At Jack Creek, there’s a nice rocky spot on the west side for changing in and out of boots; on the east side, there’s a campsite with good sitting logs once past the mud.

The rest of the hike was also very smooth — completely logged out and easy to move pretty quickly. Great huckleberries in the last 1.5 miles or so. 

Mapping:

• Completely consistent with CalTopo and Green Trails
• Inconsistent with USGS quads and Garmin: 
• The Snowall Cradle Lake Trail reached the Meadow Creek Trail about half a mile west-southwest from where the USGS quads have it.
• Rather than the one creek crossing (Jack Creek) shown on the USGS map, there are two: Meadow Creek and Jack Creek. 
• In places (especially around the junction to Jack Ridge), the Jack Creek trail is below what USGS says. 

9.4 miles, 381’, 4 hours (+~30 minutes stopped at the meadow)

Overall trail conditions: 

• Jackpine: Great shape
• Blackjack ridge: Great shape to Bootjack Mountain, the stretch we tried to use after Highchair was only good once back in the forest near the Snowall Cradle Lake junction (assuming we found it). It is possible that someone starting from the junction before Bootjack, or from the Snowall Cradle Lake Junction, would have an easier time finding the route, but I am not sure.
• Snowall Cradle Lake: Great shape, completely logged out
• Meadow Creek: Great shape, recently logged out, some muddy spots  but fine
• Jack Creek: Great shape, recently logged out, a little brushy at human-leg height in places, some muddy spots but fine

This trip was originally a 4-day 3-night loop planned, but turned into an overnight with how badly day 1 and start of day 2 beat me up. For reference purposes Day 1 from Jack Trout TH to junction of Meadow Creek/French Creek was about 14.86 miles with almost 6k gain. Day 2 was Meadow Creek/French Creek Junction to Paddy-go-Easy TH which was 6.83 miles and about 1,100ft gain. 

TL;DR:
Blackjack Ridge Trail: fine to summit, after that: NOPE! 
Snowall Crade Trail: (btw blackjack & meadow creek) defined trail but lots of blowdowns 
Meadow Creek Trail: (btw snowall & french creek) defined but overgrown and massive blowdown smattering near french creek
French Creek Trail: (btw meadow creek & paddy go easy pass) overgrown, lots of blowdowns near the base, fine once you get higher above tree line and more exposed
Paddy-go-Easy Trail: Paddy-go-up-over-under-around-between blowdown after blowdown. complete loss of trail in the middle. NOPE!

Road Conditions: Icicle Rd to Jack Trout Trail is mostly paved, and then gravel all the way. No potholes or any issues. Very well kept. Pit toilet available at the TH. Cle Elum Valley Road has a big washout at Scatter Creek TH - high clearance vehicles seemed to be able to cross and pass with no problem, but was decently wide and deep, not flowing too fast tho.

Trail Conditions: 
Blackjack Ridge Trail: DOES NOT EXIST after the summit. Even getting to the summit the last bit is not well defined, but easier to navigate to. The trail on the map shows the junction to Snowall Cradle at roughly 5850ft - the actual junction is about 500ft lower at 5380ft. My guess is the entire trail sits 500ft lower, which makes sense as I ended up in some very dangerous situations on cliff faces and steep terrain trying to navigate according to the map. Trail is in great condition up to the summit, but prepare for 2 miles that are over 1k gain each! Worth the effort as the views are incredible at the summit, just turn around and go back though.

Snowall Cradle Trail: from the Blackjack Ridge Junction to Meadow Creek, the trail is in decent shape with a smattering of blowdowns. A few hairy sections that lose trail, and enough to tire you out (especially after miles of wayfinding and no trail).

Meadow Creek Trail: from snowall cradle junction to french creek junction, the trail was well defined, which was a much needed morale boost at the time, but is still very overgrown and a nightmare patch of blowdowns just before french creek junction. Lots of muddy sections here as well. I believe this trail only exists and is visible right now because some horses went thru (thankfully). 

French Creek Trail: from meadow creek junction to Paddy-go-Easy Pass, lots of overgrowth and bushwhacking, really back jungle gym blowdowns to start and a handful as you make your way up. The trail seems really delicate in some sections like one step away from being lost to a landslide so tread carefully. Decently easy to follow, did lose the trail in a meadow nearer to the pass - follow the dried up creek rock beds to the right.

Paddy-go-Easy Pass Trail: from the pass down to the TH, fine at the pass then absolute obliteration of blowdowns. It wasn't too bad to start, just very annoying and slow going, but the middle is just complete loss of trail and more route navigating. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this trail until it gets cleaned up and reestablished. (previous trip report mentioned the same, trust me, they are bad, if you're looking for a sign, this is it).

Animals/Bugs: no animal sightings, but saw tons of bear scat along meadow creek trail. Also, tons of horse poop. Bugs weren't too bad. I did notice the mosquitos were the worst near paddy-go-easy pass, so I imagine if you're camping at sprite lake, they may be pretty unpleasant there. Otherwise they were around but not swarming or unbearable.

Water sources: this route was pretty dry, so definitely fill up when you can. Blackjack ridge had a small trickle about a mile up, and then not til I went down the mountain a ways was there a creek off trail. For being named Meadow Creek, there wasn't a ton of water until closer to French Creek junction. Both sides of Paddy-go-Easy were pretty dry with only a couple of small streams higher up from what I recall. 

Other: there was nice camping spots at the meadow creek/french creek junction near a creek that has a nice little pool area to dip in. Also, highly recommend blackjack mountain, as a day hike or overnight summit and back down, but beyond that - do yourself a favor, and just don't.

Happy Trails (are found on other trails better maintained than these)

:-)

Fantastic hike today taking the Blackjack Ridge trail up first to Bootjack Mountain, and then a fun ridge traverse over to Highchair Mountain.

Trail up to Bootjack is in great shape. There a few blowdowns, but they are easy to get over. Since I started at 8am, the encroaching vegetation was still wet from the recent thunderstorms, so gaiters were helpful.

Once you get up into the burn zone at around 5900ft, the views really opened up, and were non stop the rest of the way. Not much in the way of clouds today, so the views were awesome. After enjoying the great views on Bootjack Mountain, I headed on over to Highchair Mountain.

The ridge walk over to Highchair was fun. Nothing technical about the scrambling, but picking the right line was a must, as not to run into any drop offs or any unnecessary ups and downs. I found it easier to stay below the crest of the ridge on the south side. The ridge does drop down around 400 ft, so be aware of that. At the low part of the ridge at around 6200ft, I decided instead of taking the spine of the ridge with all the boulders, I would stay low and go up thru the larch trees. This worked out very well, plus I was able to walk next to a beautiful pond/tarn, with a small meadow area with quite a few wildflowers. Lots of larch trees. I assume in the fall this spot is quite nice!!

From this spot, I continued up through the forest and steep rocks and dirt up to the spine of the ridge just below the summit. Summit of Highchair has some outstanding 360 degree views. Lots of mountains could be seen on this super nice day!! 

Great day! The trip over to Highchair from Bootjack was awesome with the non stop views. I only saw 2 groups of hikers all day. An early morning hiker, who I met up near Bootjack summit, as they were descending as I was going up, and a couple who was coming up, as I was descending down in the forest.

Finished at 3:30pm   11.7 miles with 5646 ft gain

Still one of the best undiscovered gems of the Central Cascades. I hope it remains that way, but since you are here reading this report, here it is.

The road to the trailhead...whoa! Dare I say it is in pristine condition? It's pretty spectacular for a forest service road. A couple rough places, but smooth sailing for the most part. The climb is still as steep as always. Starts out nice and quaint before launching uphill for 3+ miles. There is a junction where you need to take a sharp right if you are continuing to Bootjack. It can be hard to see, if you're not looking for it. If you miss it, you'll start to head downhill.

Then the trail becomes a bit less obvious. For the most part I was able to still see it, but there were two times when I had to check my offline map. Definitely download one! Since it is so lightly traveled, the trail is not well-defined along the ridge.

Some wildflowers out! Summit of Bootjack requires minor scrambling, nothing too immense by any means. Heard a baby cougar crying at the top, but never saw it or mama. 360 views are phenomenal! Met a few folks as I was coming down, but not many. Love this trail, the forest, the meadow with the ghost trees, and the views from the summit. One of my favs for life.

Bugs are just starting to become an annoyance. Nothing too terrible yet.

Perfect summer day. The trail does not mess around - gains 3000+ in less than three miles, but well maintained with a few minor trees down across trail. No bugs except for a few mildly annoying flies at the summit of Bootjack. Few flowers but a lot of diversity - paintbrush, yarrow, queen annes lace, aster, twin flower, and more. The payoff is the 360 view from the top at Bootjack (a short scramble with no exposure). It was an exceptionally clear day despite fires on Wenatchee Ridge. So many peaks - Rainier, Daniel, Granite, Pilchuck, Monte Cristo peaks, Sloan, Pugh, Glacier, Snowgrass, Big Lou, Cashmere, Canon, Enchantments, Stuart, Ingalls to name a few. Bottom line - a bit of drive to get there, a strenuous but relatively short hike to the top, and great views. And solitude - no one else on the trail today.  Park at the area on the right as arrive, then cross the road and take Jack Pine trail (go left at junction and not right to horse camp( then a few hundred yards and right to Blackjack trail.