2025 PCT Section J

August 22, 2025

2025 PCT Section J

My friend Suzan turned 70 this summer and decided to do a 70-mile backpacking trip to celebrate. The original plan was to hike the section from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass, but coming out at Mineral Creek instead, since we hiked the 14 miles north of Snoqualmie several years ago. Rain altered the reality a bit in the end, but we had a great hike.

Actual route:

Day 1: Stevens Pass to Hope Lake
Day 2: Hope Lake to Deception Lakes
Day 3: Deception Lakes to Deep Lake
Day 4: Deep Lake to Escondido
Day 5: Escondido to Pete Lake
Day 6: Pete Lake out, then up the forest service road to Mineral Creek trailhead

This included 53 miles on the PCT between Stevens Pass and the junction with the Lemah Meadow trail. We hiked 67 miles overall, with 16,203' total ascent and 17,912' total descent. Our lowest point was 2388' (at the Mineral Creek trailhead), and our highest point was 5936' (at or around Pieper Pass).

Note that, with the exception of the first day, all stats come from my Garmin watch.

Sheri, Suzan (aka the birthday girl) and Juliana starting the hike

Day 1: Stevens Pass to Hope Lake

8.4 miles

2270' up, 1930' down

After a nearly 8-hour drive, we finally set foot on the PCT at Stevens Pass at 2pm on Monday. Under hot, sunny skies, we hiked through the ski area and past several lakes to camp at Hope Lake. We had Hope Lake all to ourselves and indulged in a swim before a blissfully bug-free dinner and sleep.

Joined the PCT at Stevens Pass ski area

This section of the PCT boasts a LOT of rocks

Lake Susan

Lake Josephine

1st night camp at Hope Lake was quiet and peaceful

Day 2: Hope Lake to Deception Lakes

10.6 miles

3786' up, 3111' down

Hope Lake

Another hot, brilliantly sunny day. Hiked past beautiful Tarp Lake and over Tarp Pass. Then we ate lunch and soaked our feet in a frigid, but refreshing creek in the woods near Glacier Lake before beginning the hike up to Pieper Pass.

Heading up to Tarp Lake

Looking down at Tarp Lake

Beginning the climb to Pieper Pass

Along the way, we caught great views of Glacier Lake and Surprise Lake down below, with Glacier Peak in the distance.

Glacier Peak in the distance

Glacier Lake, with Surprise Lake and Glacier Peak in the distance

Once over the pass, we hiked down another 2.5 miles or so through the woods to Deception Lakes. Along the way we caught glimpses of Mount Daniel and Marmot Lake. We camped on the bridge of land between the two Deception Lakes and right next to a creek. This was our most populous campsite of the trip, but the white noise from the creek made for a great night sleep.

First of two Deception Lakes

Camp at Deception Lakes

Day 3: Deception Lakes to Deep Lake

13 miles

3331' up, 3986' down

We got a relatively easy start to the day, with four miles of gently rolling trail through the forest to Deception Pass. We saw a marmot and ate salmon berries, huckleberries and wild blueberries that grew plentifully along the trail. In fact, we had berries every day on our hike.

Marmot

Past Deception Pass and midway through the day's hike, we had a couple of fun creek crossings as we hiked above the valley headed toward Cathedral Pass. Down below, we could see the lovely Hyas Lake and the surrounding valley.

After a steep climb, we reached Cathedral Pass, with incredible views of Cathedral Rock and the surrounding features.

Cathedral Rock

Sheri and Suzan in front of Cathedral Rock

After the pass, we hiked about 3.5 miles down to Deep Lake as the smoke rolled in from nearby forest fires. Fortunately, the smoke began to clear out once we set up camp, and by morning it was mostly gone.

Deep Lake from above

Deep Lake

Camp at Deep Lake

Dinner with a view

Yoga, anyone?

Day 4: Deep Lake to Escondido

12.9 miles

3421' up, 2588' down

Another relatively easy start to the day for the 7 miles to the beautiful Waptus River. From the river, we began a 2200' climb over the 5 miles to the ridge. We passed through quite a bit of brush and again ate a lot of huckleberries and wild blueberries. We also caught periodic views of Waptus Lake, a mountain that may be Lemah Mountain, and a flyby from a couple of military jets. We found a nice, albeit dry, campsite at Escondido with no one around.

Waptus River

Sheri, the berry picker

Perhaps Mount Lemah?

Waptus Lake

Not peak wildflower season, but there were some lovelies

Day 5: Escondido to Pete Lake

10.4 miles

up 1783', down 4042'

Rain started about 12:40am and would not let up for 28 hours. We left camp in a mist, which turned into a drizzle, which turned into a light, steady rain.

Camp at Escondido

Juliana and Suzan ready for a rainy hike

We stopped at a tarn 1.5 miles out to get water, then continued along the ridge another mile or so before we started our descent. We heard a rushing waterfall somewhere behind the clouds, but we only caught a brief glimpse once we reached the valley. However, the forest and wildflowers along the way were lovely.

Water stop at a tarn on Escondido Ridge

Waterfall through the rain

8.5 miles from camp, we left the PCT and took the Lemah Meadow trail to Pete Lake. We found a pretty good campsite with river access, set up our tents in the rain and assessed the situation. With wet gear and a gnarly river crossing awaiting us if we kept to our original plan of pushing on to Spectacle Lake the next day, we made the decision to hike out in the morning. As we discovered the next day, the rain had raised the water level to make for a nearly hip-high river crossing, and with crowds of people coming into the wilderness for the weekend, we were happy to be leaving Spectacle for another hike.

Pete Lake

Camp at Pete Lake

The latest in rainy camp fashion

Day 6: Pete Lake to Mineral Creek via Cooper Lake

11.6 miles

up 1612', down 2255'

After a surprisingly decent sleep, we awoke to a break in the rain. I took a bathe in the river, and then we broke camp during a brief period of sunshine before heading out. We hiked 4.8 miles to the Pete Lake trailhead, passing crowds of people hiking in. Then we walked 1.8 miles around Cooper Lake and another 5 miles along a forest service road to the car we had previously stashed at the Mineral Creek trailhead. Along the way, we met up with a thru-hiker who left Mexico on the PCT on March 1 and needed a ride to Stevens Pass.