Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section J - Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass — Saturday, Jul. 13, 2024

I just finished hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail — now what? With a few more days of PTO, I set my sights closer to home.

TLDR; very little snow still lingering, with sketchiest patches being between Kendall Katwalk and Park Lakes. Two water crossings are still a little swollen. Stay hydrated on hot climbs!

Day 1

Inspired by WTA's 2023 Hike the State presentation, I decided to take Amtrak from King Street Station in Seattle to Stevens Pass. It was about $49 one way, departing at 8:50 and arriving about 12:30.

Plenty of mountain bikers and weekend hikers between Stevens Pass and Hope Lake, roughly 10ish south. The climb up to Piper Pass offers spectacular views of Surprise Gap, Glacier Peak and Glacier Lake with minimal snow.

There weren't many hikers between Trap Lake and Deception Creek, but near the Marmot Lake/PCT/Hyas Lake junction things picked up again. I camped at a non descript pond near the junction on night one around 8:45. Mosquitos were present in areas of sitting water, but less on passes.

Distance: 22.08 miles
Elevation gain: 5,256 feet

Day 2

Described as "Cascading stream" on FarOut, PCT SOBO mile 211.4 there is a water crossing where you'll get wet. Around 6:30 a.m. it was almost to my hip (5'9). It will decrease in the oncoming weeks, but keep an eye out for it.

The descent into Deep Lake and down to the Waptus river is long and hot, with steamy meadow sections in need of brush work, plus long forested sections above Waptus Lake. I recommend breaking at the Waptus River bridge. There are campsites just north of the crossing, but I recommend under the bridge on the northward side as the most protected spot.

There's another tricky water crossing on Lemah Creek. There's a log you can balance on, but around 6:30 p.m. water was lapping at the log and it wasn't worth the injury risk. I walked through instead and water was a bit above my knee.

Trail from Lemah Creek to Park Lakes is less maintained than I remember. A handful of blowdowns, lots of brush, and plenty of steep incline. Snow persisted in sections through Park Lakes, usually in shallow depressions and flat spots. I camped at an stock camp high on the rim around 9:30 p.m. among some melting snow patches.

Keep in mind some of the climbs through the middle of Section J can be tough, sun exposed and hot. Most hikers — thru hikers and sectioners alike — were very zapped from the hot temps.

Distance: 36.08 miles
Elevation gain: 7,717 feet

Day 3

Night was chilly near Park Lakes, so don't forget your puffy. The miles between Park Lakes and Kendal Katwalk are stunningly beautiful; they're also slow and challenging. Steep ups and downs plus rough rocks make it difficult to catch your stride, so budget your time accordingly. There were a handful of snow patches here, some of which would have really dangerous consequences if you were to fall. Most of them you can hike around, but at least two seemed impassible without walking across the snow. I had no traction but got by fine in the morning, before the snow had time to soften.

Views in this section are spectacular, so expect to see a few other hikers once you get to the Katwalk. The hike down was a little rocky in some sections, but the views of the Commonwealth Basin and Snoqualmie Pass made it go by quickly. The bathroom and trailhead were in good shape when I arrived around 11:30 a.m.

Note: there was an unattended cooler of trail magic at the picnic table at the Snoqualmie Pass trailhead. Please don't do this for LNT reasons.

Distance: 14.22 miles
Elevation gain: 2,582 feet

Overall this is one of the objectively most scenic sections of the entire PCT, and I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting it. I was lucky to hitchhike out of Snoqualmie Pass to Issaquah (easy near I90; less than 10 minutes), where I then took a bus/walked back home. My Garmin suggests about 72.38 miles in a little less than 48 hours. Cheers. Happy hiking!