A fun time checking off another PCT section! This section had some great views, but expect to do a lot of mileage in the trees. We did it in six days- but five days would be doable, especially once the snow clears.
White Pass to Chinook Pass: miles 1-8 had horrible mosquitoes. Easily the worst I’ve seen in Washington state— it was like a biblical plague. Highly recommend a head net and bug spray. Beyond that, expect unstable snow patches and constant blowdowns. We only used our microspikes for the last mile as we neared Chinook pass. However, given how unstable and soft the snow was, I’m not sure they helped much.
Chinook Pass to Tacoma Pass: the distance between water sources starts to stretch out. The largest distance we saw was 11 miles between sources. There is a lot of mileage in former burn zones, so expect limited shade at times. Blowdowns were limited on this section- a trail maintenance crew put in some work recently!
Tacoma Pass to Snoqualmie Pass- bugs start to pick up again, but nothing like White Pass. Distances between water sources shrink, and blowdowns are nonexistent.
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