Starting at the Little Wenatchee trailhead and hiking up to meander meadows is rough. The bushes are waist to shoulder deep for the majority of the hike up to Meander Meadows. 

Once up on the ridge, there are patches of snow but a couple camp sites to be found. The PCT is about 40% snow at this point still. Pretty obvious where the trail goes at most times.

Lots of water from snowmelt along the PCT, less water on Cady Ridge, pump when you have the opportunity. 

Decided to hit the river trail since the views over the weekend were in rain clouds. Started off nice with a few sprinklers which got a little heavy with each passing hour. What did take us by surprise was all the NEW water crossings and scrambling off trail to find a crossing point. There were times as we continued, the trail itself was a small river. We must have had at least 6 water crossings/jumping before we reached the turn for Dishpan Saddle. We took the left for Dishpan Saddle and only got in a half mile before the snow started (nice surprise) but we never made it to the waterfall as another large water crossing a couple of miles in with no where to cross. Besides, we didn't need the snow covering our trail. All and all, a nice and very quiet hike, my gear kept me dry while my hiking partner wasn't so lucky!

This hike basically hiked the ridges around the drainage of the North Fork of the Skykomish. We started the hike by climbing up to West Cady Ridge. In the afternoon this was a warm climb by mostly in the shade. We camped about 7 miles from the trail head on the ridge which was beautiful, but as expected very dry, There were a few small ponds with a bit of water, but we carried up enough water for the night and these had enough suspended silt I'd only pump from them as a last resort. There were some biting flies and mosquitoes, as there were throughout the trip, but not too bad. The next morning we hiked on toward Lake Sally Ann and then Dishpan Gap: more beautiful trail. There's a stream as you get toward the east end of West Cady Ridge which is the first running water since the very early in the trip yesterday. From Dishpan Gap we climbed the high route over into the Blue Lake basin, and upon arriving got a much needed swim to cool down. As expected, there were a lot of groups overnighting at the lake, but everyone was similarly exhausted from hiking so everyone called it an early night. (One note for the ranger district: there is almost no signage at the lake and people were camping right at the edge of the lake on the grasses. My understanding is that you should only camp well back from the lake, as most groups did. Such a heavily used lake would benefit from a few don't-camp-here markers.) The last day we hiked down to the lower Little Blue Lakes. It looks like no one stayed there over night.... It would have made a nice option for some more solitude but these lakes had soft bottoms so they would not have been as nice for a swim. The hike out past June Mountain, Long John Mountain and Bald Eagle Mountain was another long day, but was a beautiful hike. The Quartz Creek section at the end was nicely shaded in the woods most of the time but there were some very overgrown sections. On the upside, these sections were often overgrown with ripe salmon berries! :-) We used Green Trails maps 143 and 144 for the hike.

We did a leisurely backpacking loop with a side trip to White/Red Pass, starting up Cady Creek #1501 and returning via Meander Meadows #1525. Although the Little Wenatchee Road was paved most of the way, the final 2 miles were horrendous for our 2-wheel-drive van, whose wheels struggled to ride atop ridges and straddle long ditches. I guess the fires in the region have diverted resources from road maintenance; next time I'll consider entering via Pass Creek, as did most non-through-hikers we encountered. The drive to the TH from Seattle, including a non-hurried stop for lunch at the rock & roll cafe at Coles Corner, took us 4 hrs. From the trailhead the first 3.5 miles up Cady Creek were quite overgrown, a bit muddy despite the weeks of dry, hot weather, and not particularly charming. We camped at 3.5 miles near the creek, where there were several flat, clean campsites barely off the trail. The trail improved beyond the campsite and in approx 1.75 mi we reach the PCT and breathed a sigh of relief for the well groomed highway that it is. Our second night we spent at Lake Sally Ann, a lovely tarn where in the past I had seen several bears, including a golden colored one, in the surrounding cliffs. I was disappointed to see none at all. The morning fog, rising from valleys below and then dissipating at the level of our camp, was a nice scene at breakfast. Continuing along the PCT was pleasant with surprises as mountains and ranges came into view and Glacier Peak finally emerged from the clouds. We remained on the PCT the next night to basecamp above Meander Meadow, with the intention of day hiking to White and Red Passes. An evening stroll up Kodak Peak brought great, clear views of the entire region. (At the sign that reads "Glacier Peak Wilderness" along the PCT, the trail that turns right goes up Poet's Ridge, while the left boot trail is an easy stroll up Kodak Peak that ends in a flat top with panoramic views). But that night the winds began, racing up the many valleys that led to our camp in the trees, howling gusts that pounced on our rainfly throughout the night. The next day we waited some hours after breakfast for a break in the winds, which never really came, so we proceeded with less optimism that we'd reach Red Pass and return before the gales started with night force. I have never been able to figure out exactly where Indian Pass is, but certainly we passed it and then the junction with White River Trail, Kid Pond, and Reflection Pond with views of Monte Cristo Mtns and Sloan Peak, where I had previously camped. As we rounded meadows with views of White Mountain framed by patches of fall-colored huckleberry bushes, I knew why this hike has been on my repeat list for 22 years. And it only got better, especially when we reached the green meadowy shelf near the intersection with N. Fork Sauk trail. As we approached Red Pass, the wind had become gales and, tired of fighting it all day and knowing that soon we'd be returning in the dark, we reluctantly turned back toward our camp. The wind became even fiercer the second night and the relentless sound of wind ripping up all those valleys made for a fretfall night. Even the bear that I had been tracking on the meadow across from us and then just below the trail, seemed to be hiding from the wind. The following morning, when winds somewhat subsided, we completed our loop via Meander Meadows. We descended down the first trail that intersected the PCT, although I could see that there was another trail on the opposite ridge that also descended to the meadow. (I thought that the trail descending to the other side of the meadow was the only trail that existed 22 yrs ago, but I could be wrong.) The views down were wonderful, with fading wildflowers and shrubs framing views of meandering water and lush soft green meadow. After passing through Meander Meadow proper, the trail became quite gutted from horses' hooves (we passed two horse parties) and I did not enjoy hiking the last few miles through avalanche swaths covered in very tall, overgrown large-leaf berry bushes and other foliage. It took 4 hrs to return from the PCT junction at Poets Ridge to the TH. Then back to the rock-n-roll cafe for more chile. All in all, this loop with side trips has remained one of my favorites for decades and each time it seems a little different, sometimes more bears, sometimes more wildflowers, sometimes snow, but always memorable.

From the trail head at Sloan Creek we traveled to Mackinaw Shelter and spent one night. Light bugs, well traveled trail and many people departing as well as entering the wilderness...too many people in fact. The next morning we traveled to the junction of the PCT and on up to White pass where we spent another night in the crowded campground...a line to the toilet. Beautiful views and a 1.5 mile trek down the Foam Creek trail and up off-trail to the ridge of White Mountain for spectacular views of Glacier Peak. Many NOBO PCT hikers moving up to Canada...great stories from "Georgia man" and advice. Next morning hit the PCT and headed down to Kodak Peak and Dishpan Gap...water in very few spots. Wonderful view of 2 F-18's flying low and up and over near Bryant Peak. From Dishpan we turned West on trail 650 over Wards Pass and on up to trail 652.1 - better known now as "Steep and Dangerous". Be careful here as the trail is thin, rocky and steep. We were awarded a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains as well as Big Blue Lake from 6200' overlook. Down into Big Blue Lake is again steep and slippery. We spent 2 days in Big Blue Lake climbing Johnson Mountain and relaxing around the beautiful lake. Again, more people than we would have liked. The near 12 miles out the final day awarded us with fresh Blueberries, spectacular views, fog and a very log covered route on trail 652 back down to 649. Beware the steepness of trail 652 as it is not for the faint of heart.