First I want to say is that the snow conditions and water levels are changing rapidly in the high country so please take that into consideration. I went out on a 3 day loop trip with my two daughters, 18 and 20. We chose this route because of the trip report saying it was at least possible to make it into Klonaqua Lakes. As of last week there was still a lot of snow in the higher elevations making it a bit challenging to find a suitable route. The plan was to get to Klonaqua Lakes the first night on Paddy-Go-Easy pass and the French Creek trail, Snowall trail to Cradle Lake the second night, and then out via the Meadow Creek trail. Never having been in this area we weren’t sure whether the trail to Cradle Lake would be passible or not due to snow. If not the plan was to backtrack and go out the way we came in.
Driving to the trailhead required about 12 miles or so on some pretty rough road. Not a big issue but the going is slow. Thankfully, crossing Scatter Creek wasn’t an issue in either direction. The hike up to Paddy-Go-Easy pass is a long steady climb but there are some nice views as you get to the upper third. No significant snow before the pass. Once at the pass the route is completely snow covered as far as the eye can see but navigable using map and gps. It’s not too long before the trail, at least in spurts is visible and relatively easy to follow. Once you start to steep descent on the other side of the pass you will have to cross three steep snow-covered chutes. Hard to say what these look like now but caution is required. On the return portion of the trip one of them, which had a run-off stream underneath it, was too thin to support any weight where we had crossed on the way out. We moved down the chute 30 feet and were able to get across and back to the trail but it was a bit dicey. Once past the snow the trail is fine down to the French Creek/Meadow Creek junction. There are 4 or 5 crossing of French Creek on the way to the Klonaqua Lakes so count on wet feet. The trail is brushy but easy enough to follow. The climb to Klonaqua is steep but thankfully not too long. We camped at the end of the trail on the lower lake. It is worth it.
The next day we set out for Cradle Lake on the Snowall trail. This included one last easy crossing of French Creek and a more exciting crossing of Snowall Creek. Snowall Creek isn’t very big at that point but it was running quite a bit faster and the area below where we crossed was steep enough that regaining your footing would have been a challenge. So we took our time and had no issues. The Snowall trail is also very brushy but manageable. No significant blow downs to overcome. About two thirds of the way up to Cradle Lake we crossed a meadow where the trail disappeared but using some common sense (and the gps) we rediscovered it as it re-entered the woods towards the upper left corner of the meadow. There was a rock cairn at that spot that I noticed once we stumbled across it that may be visible from farther away if you know to look for it. After this you start the long climb towards the upper part of the valley and soon get treated with beautiful views of The Cradle. We hit no snow on the way up. You cross over a saddle at 6400’ before you drop down into a bowl at the foot of Highchair Mountain where Cradle Lake resides. There were a couple of snow patches on the 200’ descent down to the lake but not significant and the lake area is mostly snow free. As you descend you come across stunning views (we had sunny, cloudless weather which helped) out over the lake of the ridge that contains Eightmile Mountain and Cashmere Mountain. Absolutely gorgeous. We spent a wonderful night camped at the lake enjoying the views, soaking our feet in the freezing water, and trying not to donate too much blood to the local mosquito population. The population at the moment is pretty large.
The only issue we were concerned about on our final day was on our map, the Green Trails 176S Alpine Lakes West, the last portion of the Meadow Lakes trail is marked as hard to follow. Given the condition of the trails we had already been on we were concerned that there would be not trail at all. Earlier we had made the decision to try it anyway so there wasn’t anything to do but give it a shot. After the descent from Cradle Lake when we reached the camp near the Meadow Creek trail junction we met a group of folks who were out with their horses. They told us that Meadow Creek had been logged out and worked on within the last two years and we shouldn’t have any problems. They were right. It was actually in the best shape of any of the trails we hiked. That coupled with nice views of the Granite Mountain ridge made for some very nice hiking all the way back to the junction with French Creek. From there it was a stiff climb back to Paddy-Go-Easy pass (including the sketchy snow crossing I mentioned earlier). One last break to soak in the scenery at the top of the pass and then back to the car and home.
All in all I give this a definite thumbs up as a three day loop. The hiking is manageable, the views are great, and it doesn’t look to be used as heavily as some other places in the Cascades. Well worth the effort.
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