Cathedral Pass Loop, Four Point Lake — Wednesday, Jul. 6, 2022

We hiked the loop clockwise starting at Thirtymile TH during a period of unusually high water.

The first day we hiked up the Chewuch River Trail, fording Horseshoe Creek just before the junction with the Tungsten Trail. The ford was just below knee-deep but running fast. At the junction we turned left to head west along the Chewuch River Trail. The trail was completely logged out to the junction, but after that point the Chewuch Trail has numerous blowdowns.

There’s a very good campsite about one-quarter mile before the ford of Tungsten Creek and another good campsite just beyond the ford. Tungsten Creek was also just below knee deep and running fast. Both fords were do-able, but not frivolous endeavors.  We camped just beyond the ford with pretty bad mosquitoes.

The second day we continued hiking up the Chewuch River Trail, encountering more and more blowdowns, plus significant sections of swampy trail. At the junction with the Four Point Creek Trail, we turned west toward our destination for the night, Four Point Lake. We crossed the Chewuch River on logs. It’s not clear whether we would have been able to ford the river at this point, owing to high water. From this point on, the trail becomes a nightmare of blowdowns, getting worse the farther you go –- there are many hundreds of downed trees, often in snarls that completely obscure the trail. Four Point Lake is quite lovely, however, and we camped there that night in rough weather. The bugs weren’t bad at all.

The third day, we opted to travel cross-country over a low pass due north of Four Point Lake and then dropped down the forested slopes heading north by northwest and eventually forded Remmel Creek to meet back up with the Chewuch River Trail roughly 5.5 miles beyond the junction with the Four Point Creek Trail. The ford was thigh deep, but in calm water at the spot we located. Continuing along the Chewuch Trail we encountered heaps more blowdowns, including some rather nasty areas before the junction to Remmel Lake. Eventually the trail climbs high enough to get out of heavy timber and the blowdowns become less frequent and more manageable. There was ample water all along the way. The hiking from there on to Cathedral Lake is straightforward and very scenic. We did, however, cross significant patches of snow, especially on north-facing slopes. Trekking poles were helpful.

The lake itself was maybe 50% covered by ice and the basin was perhaps 40% snow covered, but likely melting out fast. Oddly, we did not find any clear campsites near the lake, though the next day we found numerous campsites higher up along the way toward Cathedral Pass with plenty of water all throughout the basin. Fishing at the lake was excellent. It got cold enough that night to re-freeze a good portion of the lake. The bugs were minimal.

The fourth day, we hiked up to Cathedral Pass (stunning) and then onward toward Apex Pass, encountering many mountain lion(?) tracks and scat, as well as a PNTA trails crew cutting out blowdown along the Boundary Trail. Apex Pass was lovely too and the scramble to the summit is an easy walkup. The trail is in great shape to the Tungsten mine, which is worth exploring. There are a handful of good campsites along the trail heading back down, including at Cinch Creek, which is maybe four miles from the mine. We continued back down to the junction with the Chewuch River Trail, enjoying the freshly cut out trail (thank god for trail crews!) where we camped that night at the confluence of Horseshoe Creek and the Chewuch River. Bugs were pretty bad there.

The fifth and final day, we hiked 8.5 miles back to Thirtymile Trailhead, encountering just one (presumably very new) tree across the trail.

Note that there are some errors in WTA’s trail description, especially around the Cathedral Lake area, so be sure to get a Greentrails maps and/or consult a more accurate account. Among them: “Apex Pass, at 7800 feet, the highest point of this hike.” (Apex Pass is actually at 7,300 feet and it is the second highest point of the hike; Cathedral Pass, at 7,600 feet is highest point.) Also, Tungsten is about two miles, not one mile, from Apex Pass.