French Creek, Paddy-Go-Easy Pass, Icicle Creek & Deception Pass — Friday, Aug. 12, 2022

On Friday night, we headed out with a plan to go to Thunder Lakes from Deception Pass trailhead. I did a quick calculation of the mileage, and it seemed a little bit low. So I was toying with the idea of taking Cathedral pass over to the PCT, across to Deception Pass, and then to Thunder Lakes to make sure we got enough miles in. However, when we got to the trailhead there had to be at least 50 cars parked there...and that is no exaggeration... maybe this wasn't the best idea... Turning around, we found a campsite along the road and spent the night. 

In the morning, we woke early, and while packing up at least 4 more vehicles drove in, heading to the trailhead (there was nowhere else they could have been going). Once we were packed and ready to go, Scott asked, "So what do you want to do? Continue with the plan or do something different? We could go up Paddy Go Easy Pass." As another car drove by, I said, "Paddy Go Easy it is." We went to the trailhead, which was about 1/4 mile from where we camped. As we parked, another 5 cars drove by headed to our Plan A trailhead, reconfirming that we made the right choice. Although two trails start there, for the first 5 miles of each, it would have been a sea of humanity, a conga line of hikers, too much dumb... you get the idea. Not our kind of hike.

We have done gone over Paddy Go Easy Pass before, and it ascends nearly 3000 feet in 2.5 miles so there is nothing easy about it. It switches back through a forest and then across several open meadows and back into a forest and then across red rocks to the pass, revealing increasingly impressive views. For the first mile, all of the downed trees had been cutout, and then they weren’t, so we started climbing over, around, and under our first set of downed trees for this adventure. As is typical for us, we didn't really have a plan for where we were headed once we descended to the Meadow Creek/French Creek trail junction. There are a lot of options in this area... a lot of loops we could do... a lot of great sites we could see. As we were going up to the pass, we debated about what we should do. Scott really loves Snowall Cradle, which is the big mountain that fills the view when you get to the pass. So we decided to go over the Cradle and then either up to Lakes Mary and Margaret or to Lake Ingles. However, as I was thinking about the different routes we could take, it occurred to me that we could go to Lake Josephine as well. Then, it occurred to me that we could actually get to Thunder Lakes from Lake Josephine. Doing the math, I estimated it was probably 27 miles from Lake Josephine back to the truck if we did the big loop that would get us to Thunder Lakes. Depending on how far it was to Lake Josephine, this seemed possible.

 After going over the pass (the climb was a lot easier than I remembered but doing it in the cool hours of the morning on fresh legs was likely why I felt that way 😉), enjoying the views, and switchbacking down to French Creek through meadows of wildflowers into a forest, where the trail was occasionally overgrown (this trail is not well used--there was only one other vehicle at the trailhead), to the remains of the old mining cabin at the junction, we pulled out the Gaia app to figure out how many miles the loop to Deception Pass Trailhead via Lake Josephine was. Gaia said 41.1 miles to our truck, which includes 1 mile road walk from the trailhead that was plan A to the trailhead that became plan B.

Pay attention to this because Scott has already changed this story... when I saw 41.1 miles, I said, "We need another day." Scott said, "It's only 41 miles from here. It's 10:30. We can do that." Of course, I had gotten it into my head that the loop would be interesting, so I didn't disagree. "OK. Let’s do it." Who am to argue when he wanted to do something I already wanted to do. We took a quick break, and then headed down French Creek Trail toward Icicle Creek trail, where we would head to Lake Josephine. This part of the trail is rarely used, with many beautiful sections of wonderfully old trees and many sections that are overgrown and difficult to navigate. Because this area is particularly difficult to get to (made even more so by washed out bridge on the “easier” route), it isn't regularly maintained, so we also had to navigate over, around, and under dozens of fallen trees, which slowed us down a bit. We took a bet that we wouldn't see anyone until Lake Josephine (about 20 miles from the junction)--that's how little used this trail is and how important that washed out bridge is. However, as we crossed the stream that comes from Klonaqua Lakes, we encountered backcountry horse people removing a fallen tree. They said that they hadn't been able to do maintenance for 2 years, so they had a lot of catching up to do... I told them that we had to navigate between 20 and 30 downed trees. On the plus side, we shouldn't have to climb over any more downed trees on the way to Icicle Creek trail. We thanked them for their work and continued another mile for breakfast, having come about 11 miles. 

After our break, we continued to Icicle Creek trail. With the exception of not having to navigate downed trees and the excitement of Scott breaking one of his trekking poles again (see the Square Lake story from 2020; it’s unclear exactly how it happened this time as we weren’t even crossing a sketchy bit of trail; he just kicked it at the wrong angle and it broke (apparently, carbon fiber is only strong in one direction)), nothing exciting happened. The trail is pretty consistent with many areas of beautiful forest and many areas of overgrown weeds and salmonberry bushes that you have to push your way through and try to avoid hidden trip hazards. About a mile before the junction, we encountered a family headed to Klonaqua Lakes, who had forded French Creek (where the washed-out bridge is). They mentioned that the other bridge that we needed to cross was also damaged and that upper Icicle Creek trail was overgrown, with many brushy sections, including one through stinging nettles. We continued on anyway. That was not going to stop us!

At Icicle Creek trail, we took a quick jaunt to look at the bridge that had been washed out. There's clearly no way across that bridge right now (see the pictures). However, at this time of the year, it is relatively easy to ford French Creek if somebody wanted to go further on Icicle Creek trail. Although we saw evidence of horses, it was very clear that the trail had not been maintained from this point as we continued navigating multiple downed trees. Most of them were easy to cross, and much of this section of trail is in wonderful shape. The forest is just gorgeous and eventually you walk into huge old growth trees. Eventually, we made it to the damaged bridge that was still passable (although I am very sure that the Forest Service would disagree). A tree fell on it, forming a V shape that we walked across (see pictures). The tree that fell on it wasn’t very big so clearly the bridge supports were rotted, and this damage was only a matter of time. 

From there, we continued up Icicle Creek trail through avalanche shoots that were brushy and overgrown as promised with multiple hidden trip hazards. I only tripped once, which is actually amazing given how often that I fall. We navigated more downed trees and those horrible stinging nettles (at this point, I told Scott we were committed to this loop no matter how long it really was) to a spot that we love for a break (this was mile 21ish for the day).

Continuing up, we crossed one more brushy overgrown avalanche chute and then entered a forest where the trail was overgrown with Devil’s club, reconfirming my commitment that we would not be turning around. Eventually, we switchbacked up to the junction with Chain Lakes trail, a trail that is popular enough that we knew the trail would improve and only get better from that point. Whew! Until that part of the trail is maintained, I cannot recommend that section.

Crossing a very old avalanche chute and Icicle Creek, we continued up through the forest, crossing a few streams and downed trees, to a meadow just below Lake Josephine. Knowing that there would likely be a lot campers at the lake, we decided to call it a day and set up camp, having gone 26 miles and 5400 feet of ascent.

In the morning, we headed up to Lake Josephine, getting an early start because I had a good idea that it would be a long day... Pausing at the lake, we took in the view, noted the small herd of campers, and continued up to the PCT, crossing talus slopes, meadows, and one very large tree that was a bit more challenging to navigate because the trial traverses a steep slope from the lake to the PCT. Are you noticing how often I say “up”? If not, Scott sure did… trekking poles help A LOT when you are ascending. Going without poles or using only one (which he eventually decided was a better idea), really shows you how much work poles do for you as you hike.

At the PCT, we headed south, going against traffic as thru hikers head north. As expected, this is where we started encountering more people. Apex was very good about meeting other hikers. She sat next to me as we let people pass (when they were going up because hikers going up have the right of way--it is surprising how many hikers don't know this, or as Scott says, “don't care”… I personally think that after 2000+ miles, this trail etiquette that you really should know). The PCT crosses a meadow filled with wildflowers as it switchbacks up to a high point and then descends quickly on the other side on a steep slope. We encountered a few more thru hikers, and I honestly have to say that I have never seen so many people who looked like they were going to die in such a short stretch of trail… and they hadn’t even made it to the difficult part. From there, the trail drops down through a forest to a pond and then heads back up to Hope and Mig Lakes before switchbacking through forest and meadows, eventually climbing above Trap Lake to Trap Pass, where the trail becomes a steep climb across talus slopes (Scott was wishing he had both poles). During this stretch, I stopped making Apex sit for each hiker we passed and let her say 'hi' as her heart desired. She continued to be a good girl by asking for permission before lavishly kissing them. What is permission? Any sort of greeting directed at her. 

At Trap Pass, we took a break and then headed across the sketchy route that would take us to Thunder Lakes. This is not a trail by any stretch of the imagination. It basically climbs steeply over rocks and up the mountain, at times requiring that you grab branches of the nearby tree to pull yourself up, across boulder fields, over snow fields, across meadows full of flowers until you climb over the last ridge to breathtaking views of Mt. Daniel and Hinman. Even before that, though, the views are well worth the price of admission. Eye candy abounds as you ascend over 6000 feet with uninterrupted views to Glacier Peak and Mt. Baker... and a view of the smoke from a new forest fire that we assumed was in the Entiats (although there is very little left to burn in that area) but later learned was near Lake Wenatchee. We dropped down to Thunder Lakes, admiring the glacial carved landscape and had breakfast. 

After our break, we headed back to Trap Pass to finish our loop. From the pass, we descended several hundred feet, switchbacking through forest until the trail levels off a bit to cross a series of boulder fields. After crossing them, we took a bet on how many people we would see before the Pieper Pass—this is the PCT after all… We had only seen 5 people for that 2 mile stretch, which honestly didn't seem like a lot given that this is the PCT in August, and it wasn’t yet 5pm. I will cut to the chase and say we saw a total of 9 more people from that point... justifying our decision go with plan B (but freakishly weird how few hikers there were).

The PCT continues through forest, passing above Surprise and Glacier Lakes to the base of Pieper Pass, where we paused to take a break until the mosquitos became intolerable. We headed up Pieper Pass, switchbacking up a large boulder field across a meadow and taking 9 switchbacks to Pieper Pass (not that we were counting or anything) to more views of Mt. Daniel and Hinman (the last significant climb for the day--it is all downhill from there for all intents and purposes). The trail does more switchbacking down to Deception Lakes, where mosquitos congregate for the waiting flesh of any hiker who dares to stop to admire the view or decides to spend the night… we basically ran past the lakes. FWIW… mosquito nets are worth their weight in gold (except the weigh nothing so that’s underselling their value). The trail continues up a bit from the lake before crossing a talus slope with our first views of Cathedral Rock as it descends through a forest, over a few streams, past some dumb a** hikers who were having a campfire despite the burn ban (I mentioned the “dumb” earlier) to the junction with Deception Pass trail. From there, the trail gradually descends through a beautiful forest for the first mile before descending with more alacrity for the next 2 miles where it levels out near the shore of Hyas Lake. By this time, it was dark enough for headlamps, but this section of the trail isn’t that great, so no big loss that we finished the last 2 miles in the dark before hitting the trailhead and walking down the road to our truck. Before we got to the trailhead, we took a bet on how many cars would be parked there (remember this was Plan A trailhead that was aborted b/c there were way too many people). Scott thought there would be 20. I said “under.” There were at least 50 vehicles still at the trailhead with at least 5 more parked almost to the place where we camped Friday night. Plan B was definitely the way to go… All told on Sunday we went 29 miles with 5400 feet of ascent. Surprisingly, this has not been not our longest day… but that’s a story for a different day.

Miles: 55 (I think Gaia may have underestimated the mileage a bit… we have learned that maps and GPS are commonly 10% under the actual mileage… now, you may say that’s a problem with the GPS that we’re using, but we redo hikes quite often and have used different methods to track our miles and we are very consistent… if you are estimating mileage, add 10%, you’ll be closer to reality).

Ascent: 10,820 feet