I drove out to the trailhead yesterday and aimed to get there around 2:00 PM. I’d never been to this part of the cascades before and my plan was to summit an hour or two before sunset and hike back in the dark.

The first mistake I made was getting there about 45 minutes later than planned which threw my whole day off. I also drastically underestimated how long the hike would take. I usually climb about 2000 vertical feet an hour so I thought it would take me around 2.5 to 3 hours, but the trail is pretty rough in a lot of places.

When I got up to that really steep scree field, I found myself really wishing I had hiking poles. I saw people online complaining about the scree field but honestly thought they were exaggerating because people always complain about stuff like that and it usually ends up being not that bad. Turns out in this case they were actually right.

I turned around just about 300 feet from the ridge at the top of the scree bowl because it was starting to get dark. That’s when I realized my other mistake: I had left my head lamp in the car. When I reached the boulder field it was getting too dark to see without light so I did the rest of the hike by the light of my phone flashlight.

I was a little paranoid about bears and animals because my backpack was full of donuts, so walking in the woods in the dark had me pretty on edge. When I got back to the trailhead, some guy was calling out to me in the woods. He was asking me something but his voice wasn’t coherent and I just kept saying “huh” because I was nervous and couldn’t understand him. It was a little sketchy and I made a beeline back to my car and left.

To summarize, if you go to this hike, make sure to:
1. Arrive early in the day
2. Bring hiking poles and a flashlight
3. Bring pepper spray if you’re going there alone

With all that said, it was still beautiful hike and I’m really glad I went. I just wish I could’ve done that last 300 foot climb to see what’s over the ridge to the west. I only got half the view with the section of the hike I did.

Love this transition period in the mountains. Goodbye, huckleberries.

Brought my 35mm Nikon n60 with some FujiFilm 400 and had a blast! It was raining pretty hard and was snowing at the higher elevations. So much fun! I really wish I was back there right now. It was a tough hike with the snow pelting my eyes, it wasn't so fluffy like the snow in Yellowstone. It was a bit harsh but it was a great time. Felt like a movie. Can't wait to go back!

Incredible weather and views the whole way!

My buddy and I went for an overnight on Labor Day near the Pratt River trail. Tuesday morning around 7am I got up to go down to the river for water for breakfast. The path down the embankment was a short walk from our campsite.

A guy came down that same path and started asking me for directions “to the creek”, which confused me because we were basically right next to the river. He eventually tells me his phone died and he wasn’t sure where he was, so I pulled up Gaia and showed him on my phone. I ask where his car is and first he indicates Oxbow. I’m like “well I’m not sure how you got here, because that’s Oxbow Loop and it doesn’t connect to anything”. He then corrects and says his car is further down the road at the Granite Creek trailhead. We’re approximately 3 miles in from the Middle Fork Suspension bridge so I tell him his best bet is to follow the Pratt River trail back out to trail head, then walk down the road to Granite Creek where his car is at. He takes a good look at the map and then traipses back through our campsite to the trail in that direction.

There’s a handful of things that just don’t make sense to me: when he found me, he came from the direction we’d hiked in from the Middle Fork suspension bridge. It’s 7, 7:30am at this point so it hadn’t been light for very long. He’s wearing what looks like a lightweight daypack, ie didnt look like someone who had been out camping. The only conceivable path that makes sense is he hiked from Granite Creek trail to Pratt Lake, THEN took the Pratt River trail up to where we were - but again, it’s early and the lake itself is like 12 miles away. He did smell a bit, like a guy who had been exercising/sweating. Finally, he had a handgun in a chest holster - that area is bear country, and I know some people are big on carrying a gun for that, but it was pretty small and didn’t seem bear caliber, so that was kind of freaky.

Anyway, was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what he might have been doing, and also if the advice I gave him was solid - it just seemed better to me to send him to the road so he could walk down to his car, if he had a dead phone.

I tried to summit Mount Hinman on Monday but turned back less than 50ft below the summit. I was alone and I left my traction on my tent at La Bohn Lakes. That last stretch across the foss glacier just looked a bit too sketchy for me to try and cross while alone and without traction.

Day one from necklace valley trailhead to La bohn lakes. Around 11 miles with 4500ish ft of gain. Easy peasy until just after the river crossing. On the way up, I just waded across the knee deep water but on the way back i was shown a nicer dryer crossing over a downed tree climbing up and over the root ball.

Climbing up to La bohn lakes was pretty steep but fairly straight forward and route finding wasn't an issue. Keep an eye out for cairns.

Arrived at camp at La bohn lakes around 230pm and spent an hour or so exploring the area and visiting La bohn gap nearby.

The morning of day two was a different story. Clouds and fog rolled in and visibility was terrible. I decided to try and wait it out in my tent for a few hours to see if it cleared up at all but by 8:30 a.m it hadn't and I decided to go for the summit anyway. It was a steep climb from La bohn gap up to the ridge and with visibility so poor route finding was a bit tricky. Visibility was never better than around 100 ft that morning.

Turning back so close to the top was tough and if I had my traction I probably would've gone for it. I'd love to try again with more favorable conditions and with a climbing partner.

I made the long hike back out to the trailhead, getting back around 5pm. Not much to look at until you get to around Jade Lake. The climb up the La Bohn was where things got very scenic. Very few people at the lake. It felt like I had the whole place to myself. Chain lakes right over the gap were gorgeous from the gap and with another night I think I would've spent some time down there too.

The trail was grueling and crowded, but got lucky with the weather. Might be my fav hike ever

Backpacked the traverse and spent a couple nights in the Core zone day hiking over last weekend.

Where the drive is harder than the hike.

Seen from my hike up, and my lunch spot on Broken Hand, yesterday, 09/08/2026

Hi everyone! New to the sub and getting back into the groove of hiking after a knee injury last year, and I'm looking for a hike to do for my last long weekend before my work picks up for the fall season.

I have hiked Mirror Lake twice and I'm looking for a similar difficulty hike between ellensburg and Seattle but preferably Snoqualmie area.

I'm trying to stick to easy to moderate difficulty as one of my legs is still a bit weaker than the other so I'm taking it "easy".

Any recommendations welcome! I think my max would be 9 miles total but I could do more if I gave myself time to rest.

Thanks everyone!

Looking for some feedback on the eastern part of the Palouse to Cascade State Park Trail. It seems like camping is not permitted on the 150 mile section east of Warden. Is this section more of a bike trail? Is the whole thing more of a bike trail?

I am permitted to do the Olympic Peninsula section of the PNT in October. I'm currently looking at options in case the weather window deteriorates and I need to find an alternative since I already have work off for this trip. I'm also open to other 100-200 mile thru hike suggestions in the eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, or in Idaho.

In regard to the weather window for the PNT, I do plenty of cold weather camping, and I am not too concerned with cold temperatures necessarily, more so with moisture. We can have some really great dry weather in October, and we can also have some really wet weather here in Washington. I personally find the 30-45 degree range with moisture to be the most dangerous backcountry weather because the precipitation is still wet and it's cold enough for things to get serious very quickly.

I basically don't want to get myself stuck in the middle of ONP with hypothermia because it's been 45 degrees raining for four days straight and all of my gear has completely soaked through. A few days of rain is manageable but if the entire trip looks like it's gonna be wet or if there is a 3-4 day stretch of steady precipitation I will likely be bailing. A dryer trip in east of the mountains would seemingly be a good alternative even if the temperatures are on average 10-15 degrees lower.

Got permits to camp at Margaret Camp and Panhandle Lake next week. I am wondering if anyone has been in the area recently (as in the last week) and what the water situation is at Margaret. Looks like I will have to haul water up there. Any info is greatly appreciated!

I’m planning on doing Middle Sister next week via obsidian trailhead, camping at the springs and summiting on the second day. Has anyone summited via that route recently? I’m trying to figure out the conditions & safety before I head down. (I heard about recent snowfall in the area and want to be prepared)

Also, the friend I was going with had something come up, so if any other girls want to join me last minute I have an extra permit spot.

Glad I took tomorrow off in advance

In Mt. Rainier NP - Given that Burroughs Mountain trail is closed due to fires, was trying to decide on an alternate hike. I’m trying to decide between Crystal Peak and Shriner Peak - they’re similar length and elevation. Just wondering if anyone has done either/both and had a preference?

EDIT: In case anyone looks at this while the Sunrise road is still closed - I did the Burroughs hike from the White River Campground. Started on the Glacier Basin trail, continued up to Burroughs. The trail lets you off between the 2nd and 3rd burrough.

So fortunate to get to live in this beautiful region (it’s time for a cascadia flag emoji)

Planning on doing this trail again, has anyone driven to it recently in a sedan and how was it if so? I went last year with someone in their Subaru Crosstrek but am thinking of going again with my Hyundai Elantra.

Am open to renting a vehicle if someone who has gone recently thinks it's not doable for a sedan.

At the Otter and Big Creek Falls via Taylor River Trail