Our three day backpacking trip started on the west side of the Cascades to join the PCT at Dishpan Gap, then head north before turning around for a return trip. We started at the junction of Forest Road 65 & 63. FR 63 has been washed out for years, so it's approximately a 4.3 mile walk to get to the trailhead. At the trailhead we took the North Fork Skykomish Trail (1051) to Dishpan Gap, which is an additional 8.5 miles. Elevation gain from FR63 to Dishpan Gap is about 4000', but it's a nice uphill walk spread out over 13 miles, getting a bit more steeper as you approach Dishpan Gap. The trail takes you through wooded forests and across burbling creeks. Around mile 5 of the trail there is a fast moving river crossing that did not look fun to wade through, but slightly downstream was a giant log to walk across.
Along this route we encountered several large & lush fields of huckleberry bushes. We encounter a bear who quickly shooed her cub up a tree, and headed away from us why we scurried the opposite way along the trail.
As we got closer to Dishpan Gap, above 4500-5000' feet, we did encounter intermittent snow. It's not very deep and but is very soft. At Dishpan Gap we enjoyed both the gorgeous 360 views while sipping coffee. Heading north on the PCT we encounter the only hiker we saw on the trail that day. A PCT SOBO hiker, who reported that while he did encounter snow enroute from Canada, it was all passable and soft. We headed another three miles to camp at Indian Pass. While a nice campsite, over the next few weeks as the area dries do not count on finding water here.
The following day we left camp and headed north along the PCT to a tad bit beyond White Pass. OMGophers the views were amazing! It was a sunny day and the views were endless. The trail travels through alpine meadows that are days away from bursting with wildflowers. We also saw another bear! We stopped frequently to gaze in the distance and snap photos. We took a long break at White Pass breathing in the scenery. We only saw 2 hikers the entire morning. The north facing slopes still have intermittent snow over the trail, it was soft and passable. Although, I'm a bit of a slip-n-fall weenie so there was one crossing where I found myself gripping my poles a bit tighter and focusing on my foot placement--but the reality was any long slip was not sliding me downhill very far, and it was climbable up.
Returning to Indian Pass we broke camp and headed uphill a quick 3 miles to Dishpan Gap to camp a few hundred yards down the North Fork Skykomish trail for our last night. Along the way we contemplated Meander Meadow and the upcoming wildflower show that will be on display here shortly. It was tempting to just setup camp and wait for it! A sunny and warm evening followed where we enjoying a gorgeous campsite view and appreciated the low bug count that allowed us to not retreat to our tents. That afternoon we only encountered 6 other hikers. If you have every hiked the PCT late summer you know it's a freeway, so the trail seemed very quiet early in the season.
We started our last morning down the North Fork Skykomish trail we had come up on. Soon after passing the Pass Creek junction (mile 3 from trailhead) we encounter a WTA youth camp doing trail maintenance! They all seemed like great kids doing a fantastic job of revitalizing the trail. After thanking them for their hard work we continued to the trailhead, then down the road to our car. Of note, when we arrived on Friday there were only 2 other cars, but Sunday morning there were 30. Most were hiking to Blanca Lake.
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