A nice 25 mile loop, this time counterclockwise instead of the last trip report. Along Pete Lake Trail for 1.25 miles, up Tired Creek Trail to Pollalie Ridge Trail (Checked out the ridge lookout), across to Waptus Pass and up Waptus Burn, south on the PCT to Lemah Meadows, and Pete Lake Trail back to the trailhead. Road in is pretty much all you can ask for, some small potholes but pretty doable for almost all cars. Trailhead was 1/3 full at 8:30 on a Monday, toilet was pretty much as expected. Got to resupply / trail angel again for friends on Section J!
Tired Creek Trail: Starts brushy at the bottom, are sections where trail is hard to see (easy to find though). Once past the old forest road, becomes more open and kicks up hard. Lots of the elevation is done here, this is the way to do it to get it over with at the beginning. Some bugs down at the bottom, generally died off until I took breaks and stopped for a snack at the top, when they would reappear and gradually increase. Close to the top, start to get glimpses of Rainier across the valley, and see more of the surrounding ridgelines.
Pollalie Ridge Trail: Hopped up to the first ridge lookout, as Tired Creek drops you off quite close to it. Great look at the ridgelines to the northwest and southwest, and over to where the PCT is. Continued west towards the Waptus Burn Trail, and had the enjoyable experience of going down in elevation, just to go straight back up. This is the area with the most blowdowns, though all were quite easy for me to step over. This brings you onto the Waptus Pass Trail, which takes you to Waptus Pass.
Waptus Burn Trail: The aforementioned up, which takes you right back to where you were and brings you to the PCT from Waptus Pass. This was at least more gentle than Tired Creek, and didn't have too much brush or blowdowns. There were some marshy sections where it took me a second to locate the trail (it continues directly across). For all the trails here, routefinding was quite easy and the signage was great, but I am a believer in having GPS like Gaia as well.
PCT from Waptus Burn Trail to Lemah Meadows: Had lunch right next to the Waptus Burn Trail and headed south, following the rolling ridge. The scenery here is top-notch, I find myself taking way too many pictures every time. Stopped off at a lake with no name that most maps say is the top of the Cooper River, pumped water and then went for an incredibly refreshing swim. Ran into about four steps on snow, only time I saw it all day. Saw three other people during this section, only people I saw. After the ridge and the gorgeous views as seen below, many switchbacks take you down to Lemah Meadows. Small brushy sections near the bottom of this, but not a problem in shorts.
Pete Lake Trail: Changed from hiking boots to trail runners for the Pete Lake Trail and did not regret it. This is by far the easiest trail of the day, pretty wide and very flat in comparison. The tread and the grade make it a great pack trail, so watch your step for presents from various horses. Was getting late in the day so I hit this section strong and did 6 miles in 95 minutes. Even at the speed, still had mosquitoes biting me for the last three miles or so, I'm guessing my picaridin had mostly worn off by then.
Garmin logged 25 miles and 5300 feet of elevation gain. Total moving time 8 hours, elasped time 10:30.
Comments
slo go on Tired Creek, Waptus Burn, Waptus Pass, Pete Lake, Polallie Ridge, Lemah Meadow
If that is a day hike, what do your overnighters/multi-day hikes look like? Nice report and pics.
Posted by:
slo go on Jul 08, 2025 08:15 AM
Peter Lie on Tired Creek, Waptus Burn, Waptus Pass, Pete Lake, Polallie Ridge, Lemah Meadow
Haha! These days like 5-10 miles, usually carrying a saw and an axe...
Posted by:
Peter Lie on Jul 08, 2025 10:32 AM