Man, I'll bet the two or three rigs that drove from Lake Wenatchee down the Smithbrook Road looking for a shortcut back to SR2 were really angry to find the two large trees across the road above the avalanche debris! My hiking bud and I watched one turn around and head back to Plain.... The road is still blocked below the classic Union Peak avalanche chute about 1/3 mile below the trailhead. Expect 12 good-sized trees across the PCT before getting to Janus, plus a number of tops and smaller woody debris to dance around. The trail to the PCT is snow-covered for 1/4 mile parallel to the meadow leading to the PCT at Union Gap, and there are patches in the woods from there. Janus is open, and has been for about a week, but there is considerable snow in its vicinity. There are a couple of campsites clear.

Snow across a portion of the trail heading to the PCT but managed to follow ribbon markers. Clear down to Janus except last 100 yards. Muddy, good boots recommended. Some mosquitoes but not bad. My two daughters, 12 and 8, managed ok.

The Glacier Peak Area - As soon as we entered the trees (1/8 mile or so), we had more than enough snow to amuse us. As soon as we crossed the wilderness boundary (1/4 mile in'), snow was 2 feet deep. It became extremely difficult to follow the trail at this point, so we decided to simply climb up the nearby rocks to find a lunch spot. This trail needs about another month of snowmelt time before it's hikable without snowshoes or at least waterproof boots. A couple of trees broken by the snow that had fallen on the trail, but nothing major enough to slow us down.

Glacier Peak Area - Spent the night in our van at Smithbrook Trailhead. About 8 AM headed up trail again continuing north on the PCT where we had left off the night before. Trail descends for about an hour and is often rough with rocks, mud, and water. Took 1.75 hours to reach Lake Janus, which was very pretty. After crossing the small outlet creek on sparce rocks, we continued north through some thick mud. Trail improves about half a mile north of the lake. In another hour we reached the top of the ridge, where the trail moved briefly onto the eastern side with lovely views of Glacier Peak. Trail trades side of the divide several times with views of some pretty lakes in the valleys below. When on the western side of ridge there are frequent views of Mt Daniel and Mt Rainier. About 12:45 we reached a bend in the trail that showed a panorama of peaks to the north including Glacier and Mt Baker. Foreground was filled with beautiful ridges. Could see across to Pear Lake. We ate our lunch on a vast meadow near Grizzly Peak. I continued on another half mile while Don climbed the peak. I was hoping to get to Top Lake junction, where I had left off last year, but time required us to start back before we quite made our goal. Weather was stupendous, but fall colors have not yet begun.