We did this hike over 1.5 days, arriving at the Tunnel Creek TH at 2pm with about 8 cars parked along the side of the road. The forest road is a bit rough, I recommend high clearance though any car could do it if they go slow enough. Note that there is more parking past the TH sign, and space to turn around at the end of that road - I recommend driving all the way to the end and turning around before deciding where to park. Took our time hiking to Trap Lake and camped the night there. Tunnel Creek trail is pretty steep but in decent shape, and the PCT is, as always, delightfully well-maintained and well-graded. Trap Lake is a gorgeous spot to camp, with sweeping views east toward the Chiwaukum Mountains (best viewed from the backcountry toilet!) and tall jagged peaks to the west of the lake. We were the only folks camping at Trap Lake on this Tuesday night, and the trail to get there was pretty quiet with folks heading out from day hikes as we came up Tunnel Creek trail, and mostly PCT hikers from there to Trap Lake.
In the morning we did a day hike to Thunder Mountain Lakes. This trail is not for the casual hiker! It can be very steep at times, and requires some rock scrambling and route finding - it took us 1.5 hours to go from Trap Pass to the first Thunder Lake. But if you're careful to look for cairns and follow the path of least resistance, it's not too hard to stay on the trail; the views open up within a quarter mile and stay amazing the entire way there and back. This is indeed a special place, with alpine lakes surrounded by jagged peaks, and nearly 360 degree sweeping views. But I do worry about the impact so many visitors are having on the fragile environment. It's unclear to me where people camp and bury their poop - it's mostly granite up there. I urge folks to always follow an already well-trodden path and step on rock rather than dirt/plants as often as possible. Consider camping at Trap Lake and visiting Thunder Lakes during the day rather than overnight.
We hiked back to our campsite, took a lovely swim, then packed up and made the trek back to the Tunnel Creek TH, arriving at our car around 6pm. It felt like a lot of hiking and amazing scenery packed into 1.5 days; we were pretty exhausted and relieved to be away from the bugs by the end of it. Bugs were pretty horrible everywhere on this trip - whenever we stopped along the trail, especially near water, they started to swarm us. The only reprieve from them was when we were moving or in our tent. DEET seemed to help.
Wildflowers are no longer blooming and berries are just beginning to ripen. There was one patch of snow to cross along the Thunder Mountain Lakes trail.
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