Snowgrass - Cispus Basin - Nannie Ridge Loop, Old Snowy Mountain - Elk Pass & Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section H - Bridge of the Gods to White Pass — Friday, Sep. 15, 2023

TLDR: Hiked a 28 mile loop from Snowgrass TH in Goat Rocks Wilderness. Hit Old Snowy and Nannie Peak, saw a ton of hunters and a few thru hikers but no goats. Was back to the car in less than 23 hours.

OVERALL STATS

Days: 2 (kind of?)
Nights: 1
Distance: 27.91 miles
Elevation up: 6,493 ft.

Day 1

Distance: 4.09 miles
Elevation up: 1,129 ft
Moving time: 1:15:47

I left home around 2:45pm on Friday and began hiking from Snowgrass TH around 6:15pm. I hiked for a little over an hour before arriving at some solid campsites near the junction of the Snowgrass trail and the Bypass (to the PCT) trail. The first four miles of this hike are like many in western WA: covered in trees, with occasional water sources on a moderate incline. I made camp around 7:30pm.

Day 2

Distance: 23.826 miles
Elevation up: 5,364 ft
Moving time: 8:59:53

I was out of camp at 5:45am, and hiked in the dark for about 45 minutes before rising above treeline with the sun. Instead of heading along the bypass trail, I took the PCT directly to the peak of Old Snowy. There is one slick patch of snow along the way, but it was easy to navigate without traction.

Old Snowy itself was full of loose shale. Otherwise, it was a non technical ascent and I only used my hands once or twice. Three people near the summit; otherwise everyone else was still in camp by the time I descended around 7:30am. Views were superb during the morning golden hour of Rainier, Goat Lake, Adams and the Knife's Edge.

Outside of the tread climbing Old Snowy, the trail was beautifully maintained all through the Cispus Basin and Cispus Pass (hello, views), along Nannie Ridge (not great views) and down to Walupt lake. Fall colors were spectacular through this section. The side trail to Nannie Peak wasn't a great value IMO, but I enjoyed it all the same.

The steep descent down to Walupt Lake is uneventful, other than chatting with the folks on the challenging climb the other direction. Walupt Lake was busy with hikers and campers, paddlers and picnickers. I took a shoes-off break at the equestrian camp around 2:30 before saddling-up for the final push back to the car.

Trail 7A from Walupt Lake to Snowgrass TH isn't very well-maintained. If you're accustomed to plush trails, the last 6 miles of this hike might blast you. When you get to the creek, ignore the trail and look for cairns. I got my feet wet.

Made it back to the car around 4:50pm on Saturday with plenty of time to drive back to King County. Plenty of people outside this weekend — probably half the people I met were bow hunters, with the rest being weekend backpackers or thru hikers. Insects were out but I did not get stung.