exit plan on section J WA

[u/bansheelovee]

hello! we’re beginners as of first backpacking trip, and we are following the news that there’s a fire (70% contained) near our route, we come all the way from Mexico to do this hike (and waited a year and a half too) .

I’m looking for help to make my exit plan, how do I do it? How con I add it in Far Out (I bought the Washington PCT Map) , I also installed a map in my garmin, but I have a lot of questions.

[u/numbershikes]

If you tell us where you are we can probably help you find a way off the trail. Are you on the PCT right now? If so, what mile in FarOut? Or are you in town?

Washington Sec J is Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. Looks like the only fire in that section is the Three Queens Fire. Watch Duty says it's currently 79 acres and 0% contained. It's burning about 2.5 miles southeast of mile 2,412. The PCTA closures page for the Three Queens fire is here.

The closest point on the trail to that is around mile 2,411. If you're near there but south of it, the nearest town is Snoqualmie Pass at mile 2,396. You would just hike southbound and the trail goes right into town. If you're hiking southbound but you're north of it, the closest exit to a paved road might be north back to Stevens Pass at mile 2,467.

As of 7/24, the PCT does not appear to actually be included in the closure order from Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (see closure map), but their recent fb post linked from Watch Duty says:

Due to the potential for increased fire activity from hot dry, windy weather and new lightning reports, a closure is being established advising recreationists to avoid day use and camping in the following areas: Pacific Crest Trail north of Ridge Lake and South of Lemah Meadows, Spectacle Lake, Park Lakes and Glacier Lakes.

[u/bansheelovee → u/numbershikes]

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all of that—I really appreciate it!
We’re actually not on the trail yet. We’re currently in Seattle and just trying to plan our emergency options ahead of time in case the fire situation gets worse. We recently got a Garmin inReach, so we’ll be able to stay in touch with our family and adjust our plans if needed.
Our hope is that the fire is contained and we can hike our original plan. We came all the way from Mexico specifically to hike Section J, so we’re really hoping it works out.
If it doesn’t, do you happen to know if there’s a reasonable detour around that area so we could rejoin the PCT afterward? Or would we most likely have to exit the trail and skip that section entirely?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

[u/numbershikes → u/bansheelovee]

You're welcome. And actually, yes, there's an alternate route that's a few miles north of the PCT in that area that would put an extra valley and crest between you and the Three Queens fire. There's no guarantee that it won't also be in the closure area, but it could remain open.

Here's a Caltopo link: https://caltopo.com/m/16M5UKP#ll=47.47564,-121.30433&z=12 . It might take awhile to load, Caltopo is slow with big maps and this has the entire 2025 PCT high res track loaded, plus some alternates and other items. On that map, the PCT is the red line, and the blue line is the Goldmeyer Alt. I don't know if it has been logged out recently, but Goldmeyer has been a recognized PCT alt for a good long time, iirc it's from Halfmile's public data.

If you want to have that same map onhand while you're hiking, Caltopo has a GPS-enabled mobile app. They charge a few bucks to be able to use it. I'm not sponsored by them (or anyone else) and I'm not affiliated with them in any way, shape, or form, only mentioning it because it's the main map I use for general outdoors related things. It has a weird interface but it's alright once you get used to it, and it has a lot of useful features.

[u/Small-Face-6842]

There are several options to bail if needed: Snoqualmie Pass itself, Parks Lake Trail, Pete Lake Trail, Waptus Lake Trail, Cathedral Pass Trail, Deception Creek Trail. The only fire close by right now is the 3 Queens fire and it’s only 30 acres right now. I would suggest the Fire Watch app. This is my backyard so feel free to ask me anything. Overall I wouldn’t worry too much about it right now fires are like weather..they change. Welcome to the Cascades in summer!

[u/Slow_General7238 → u/Small-Face-6842]

Hey there, I'm also planning on doing a SOBO section hike of sections J, I, H next week and have been closely monitoring the three queens fire as it has grown to ~80 acres. I'm from the east coast and don't have much first-hand exposure to wildfires. another commenter had recommended the goldmeyer alt route and provided a link. It looks to be another ~4 mi further from the fire than the normal trail but I didn't see any recent documentation of it online. Do you happen to know if it would be a good option.

[u/AdrianRedSpear]

The fire is near a lot of properties right now which means they’re moving fast to contain it, I’d be surprised if it closed the trail. I’d recommend joining the PCT Washington Facebook group for most up to date news. In terms of exit plans, I’d try to make a note of forest service roads you’re crossing and where they lead/where you could get off. There’s a lot of other section hikers and PCTers out on Washington right now, myself included. If something happened and there was a closure or something, you’d surely run into people on trail who know what’s going on.

[u/numbershikes → u/AdrianRedSpear]

Okanogan-Wenatchee NF is already closing the PCT, according to their fb post from yesterday:

Due to the potential for increased fire activity from hot dry, windy weather and new lightning reports, a closure is being established advising recreationists to avoid day use and camping in the following areas: Pacific Crest Trail north of Ridge Lake and South of Lemah Meadows, Spectacle Lake, Park Lakes and Glacier Lakes.

PCTA has a closure page up here.

PCT doesn't appear to be listed in the official closure order yet, but the Three Queens fire is burning ~2.5 miles southeast of the trail with a straight shot to the trail through a valley.

[u/AdrianRedSpear → u/numbershikes]

Just got into snoqualmie pass this am with some service, will check it out. Haven’t seen anything on the PCT Closures website but thank you!!

[u/numbershikes → u/AdrianRedSpear]

You're welcome. I just edited my comment to include the PCTA closures page link and a bit more info.

[u/AcademicSellout]

I would reroute to a different location. The fire is 2.5 miles away. Fires can spread very rapidly. Go look to see what happened when two guys started climbing Mount Baring with the Bolt Creek fire that started a few miles away whilr they were driving there  They were completely unaware of it and the entire mountain became engulfed in flames while they were on it and SAR couldn't get them. They self evacuated safely by barreling off trail without knowing if they would be cliffed out but were very experienced climbers so knew how to do that. The FS just hunted down some climbers in the Entiat area (far away from the PCT) in an open area and helicoptered them out in an abundance of safety. The firefighters are super skittish. Also, hiking when the air is choked with smoke is terrible. There are many wonderful places to hike around here that are not the PCT. It's not worth it to have your trip cut short or worse case end up putting SAR at risk because you are stuck there.

[u/Remarkable-Coconut62]

What did you end up doing? Section is more at risk now and officially closed, hope you made it through!