[Shadow]

A little late posting this but just got back into town after a week of vacation that included a 200 mile commute to work this morning. This trip started out at the Cathedral Pass trailhead Sunday 8/3 and made my way up to Peggy's Pond to spend the night and get an early start at Mt Daniel. The hike up was uneventful other than the mosquitos along this portion of the trail were really, really bad and stopping for more than a couple seconds wasn't an option. It was just as bad at Peggy's Pond but after setting up camp and walking up the boulder field about a 1/4 mile to get a better look at Daniel, the bugs were nearly non-existant! Setting up there may have been a little more exposed but to get away from the swarms would have been worth it.

Peggy's Pond

The next morning I was up at 6:30 and started making my way through the boulder field towards the SE ridge where I could see a track in the snow headed towards the saddle next to the east summit.

looking up to the east summit

It was steep in places but the snow was still firm early in the day and there were good steps kicked in. On the way up I took a break and peaked over the ridge and down to Square Lk below.

Square Lk

Once through the gap next to the east summit you get some great views down to Venus and Spade Lakes, Rainier and Adams. From here there was only one really steep patch of snow to cross making my way towards the middle and west summits but once again there were good steps kicked in.

Venus Lk, Spade Lk

It didn't take long to make it to the west summit where I spent a good hour or so having something to eat, take a break, and take in the great views.

Baker and Glacier Peak from middle summit

Lynch Glacier

Bears Breast

Peggy's Pond and Cathedral Rock

About noon I started to slowly make my way back towards the east summit to start descending since I knew the snow could be getting pretty soft by now. The snow wasn't as soft as I thought it would be and once back onto the SE ridge above Square Lake, I waited until almost 4 p.m. before making the final walk/slide back down to Peggy's Pond and the swarms that awaited me. Never saw another person the whole day up there. After probably one of the best nights' sleep I've ever had in the woods, I was underway back towards Deception Pass, Tuck and Robin by 9 a.m. The bugs didn't seem nearly as bad that morning as they had been and it was definitely a welcome change from the previous days. At the Cathedral Pass junction there is a temporary sign that warns of the washouts ahead that are impassable to stock. They are easy enough to cross by foot and the one you have to wade through wasn't even knee deep; no problem. Didn't seem to make very good time on this stretch of trail but was taking frequent breaks since it was pretty hot even early in the day and the bugs weren't around. I eventually made it to the Tuck/Robin cutoff around 1 p.m. and took yet another break knowing the steep, nasty trail that lay ahead and wasn't looking forward to doing this in the heat of the day. But one step at a time I slowly made my way up to Tuck thinking I might not get much of a break if the bugs were biting. Once again I was surprised to find they weren't all that bad so took about an hour break contemplating the climb up to Robin. My legs were tired and it was pretty warm out but pushed on up the final stretch slowly. After leaving Tuck, the bugs seemed to get worse and worse the higher up I got and was hoping this wasn't a precursor to what waited at the lakes. Once the lakes came into view there were plenty of goats to be seen and quickly made my way towards an open spot on a hill just south of the outlet of the lakes. There was a good breeze here and it seemed to keep the bugs away for the most part, thank heaven! It didn't take more than a few minutes for the goats to make there way to my campsite and see what was going on. For the rest of the night they kept wandering in and out of camp and got some pretty good pictures.

caution, goats at play

visitor at camp

dashing through the snow

moonlight stroll

early morning visitors

naptime

The next morning I made a counter clockwise loop around the larger lake starting up the ridge between the two. Didn't see nearly as many goats as I thought I would but still got some more good pics.

up early

Robin Lakes

Robin Lakes and Mt Daniel

Glacier Peak

I really would have liked to stay more than one night at Robin, but with a pretty good view to the south I could watch the clouds moving in and getting thicker and thicker by the hour. Just after 2 p.m I packed up and reluctantly left, but once down to Hyas Lake I could see the raindrops hitting the water and was glad I made the choice to leave when I did. All in all it totaled up to about 35 miles and 8000 ft elevation gain. After the backpacking portion of the vacation I made my way towards Chelan for a couple "do-nothing" days and caught a couple gorgeous sunsets I thought I would share. Keep in mind these are not enhanced in any way; just point and shoot shots! Pretty awesome colors I thought.

sunset at Daroga State Park on the Columbia R.

Wapato Lake at sunset

[Backpacker Joe]

Wow, now thats a trip. Both sides of the valley. Nice work.

[David¹]

It's great to see such unique compositions from such a justifiably popular place

[Sir Hikes-A-Lot]

thanks for the trip report. My brother in law and I are heading up there on Thursday, but we are going to do the loop the other direction. It's nice to get some more info before we hit the trail. Nice pic of daniels from peggy.

[Schmidt Alti-Dude]

Very nice trip report. So why do you refer to Circle Lake as Square Lake?

[DIYSteve]

Great pics Gotta love both sides of the valley

[wildernessed]

Mt. Daniel

[Slide Alder Slayer]

Way To Go, nice pictures!

[Wazzu_camper]

Beautiful!!! I'm a little surprised to see all those lakes fully thawed. I was up at Robin Lakes last year in early July and they were still very frozen. Anyway, great pics and thanks for sharing.

[Shadow]

[adamcwatts]

Nice pictures, would you say crampons and an Ice axe would be needed or at least preferred on Mt. Daniel at this time?

[iHeartTheChallenge]

Did you stay on the Southeast Ridge the entire time? What were the conditions like on the Hyas Creek Glacier (what's left of it)? My wife and I are planning on doing this climb in about 2 - 3 weeks, so I'd just like to see what your thoughts were on the conditions of both lines of ascent. We'd like to do the Hyas Creek rather than Southeast Ridge, but when we went to Peggys Pond last weekend to do some reconnaissance, we weren't able to get a good enough view of the basin. Great TR, btw. Thanks! Cheers, -->Justin

[Dayhike Mike]

[touron]

Great goat shots!

[Shadow]

Hyas Cr basin

Here's a better shot looking back up the basin. I stuck to the SE ridge and would most definitely recommend crampons and an axe. Even though the footing wasn't bad one slip could spell disaster. One note though; the boot path I was following went very close to some of the rocks where it was melting from underneath so be cautious when following where others have gone before! It's not necessarily the safest way.