[Tisc W. Slabmuz]

Greetings all, I will be section-hiking PCT Section J (Snoqualmie-Stevens) this summer with a friend. Did about half of Section L as part of a loop a couple years ago (dropped in at Castle Pass via the Boundary Trail, then exited at Harts Pass). That was my first exposure to the PCT and I was very impressed, I've got the bug now. I want to see more of it! I think I have our itinerary mostly figured out, but I wanted to put a few questions to all of you and maybe reap the benefit of your experience. 1. Our windows for doing this hike are mid-August (roughly 8/13-21) or early September (roughly 9/3-11). I realize there isn't a huge difference there, but if we had our druthers, which do you think would be better? From my research, I gather that wildflowers might be a little better in mid-August, while the huckleberries might be a little better, and the mosquitoes a little less intense, in early September. But it sounds like that varies a lot year to year and is not always very predictable. 2. NOBO or SOBO? Most of the recommendations on this I've seen suggest doing this section SOBO. There's a little less elevation gain, and the views of the Kendall Katwalk and Rainier as you come into Snoqualmie Pass from the north are apparently especially nice. But I'm also wondering if it's better to go against or with the thru-hikers. No matter which of the above two time slots we do, I believer there will be a fair number of NOBO thru-hikers in the area at that time. I'm not very experienced hiking trails that get a lot of thru-hiker traffic like the PCT, so I'm not sure if going with them or against them would be less disruptive (both to us and them), or if there's any principles of trail etiquette that apply here. Thank you in advance for any help. Love, -T.

[Randito]

I did section J from Steven's to Snoqualmie a number of years ago. I packed food for 8 days, but did it in 5. Advantages of heading south: o Snoqualmie pass is 1000 feet lower than Stevens pass -- so there is slightly less elevation gain heading N to S. o There are multiple places to eat and drink beer at Snoqualmie while you are waiting for your ride to come pick you up. o The distance and elevation gain from the Snoqualmie trailhead to the first place you may camp is longer and more elevation gain than Stevens. o The camping areas immediately north of Snoqualmie Pass are hyper popular on weekends -- so if you are starting on a Friday or Saturday you might have a hard time finding a nice campsite. o The long climbing sections are on north facing hillsides -- so it won't be as hot while slogging away gaining elevation. Advantages of heading North o The sun will be at your back and not in your eyes. I brought a light umbrella on my trip and found it to very useful. On the days where it was raining (1 day of my 5) it helped substantually to keep me feeling dry. On sunny days and particularly while making the long traverse on the nearly treeless open, south facing hillside at the head of Gold Creek the shade provided by the umbrella made hiking considerably more comfortable. I hiked in early September, I got dropped of at Steven's pass late in the afternoon of my first day and hiked into the dark before camping on the first night. I finished the last day at sunset. For the most part, I broke camp and got moving as the light came up and started to look for a place to camp as sunset was approaching -- except of Spectacle Lake -- where I had several hours in the afternoon before sunset. My campsites were: Mig Lake, Hyas Creek Crossing, Just north of the Escondito Tarns "no camping" area (dry camp) and Spectacle Lake.

[RumiDude]

I have done Section J twice, once SoBo and once NoBo. I prefer SoBo, but in reality there isn't much of a difference. I did in in four days each time. Either direction, plan to camp at Spectacle Lake. If you go in August you will be less likely to compete with thrus for campsites. The only principles of trail etiquette that apply are the same as usual. There are several privies on that section so try to use them if at all possible. I like to get up and eat, break camp, and be on the trail by 6am, earlier if possible. The old 10 X 10 rule applies, 10 miles by 10am. It will be hot and sunny so make as many miles as you can in the cool of the day. I like to stop by 6 pm or a little after. Lots of sun exposure so I advise either sunscreen or full coverage clothes, including sun gloves. YMMV Rumi

[Navy salad]

I've done this a couple times, once northbound (starting Sept 11th) and once south (in mid-Aug). I slightly preferred north-bound. Re: time of year, the (probably obvious) differences are that August will have more hours of daylight, likely higher temperatures, lower chance of rain, more flies/mosquitoes, and fewer thru-hikers and blueberries. In my Sept hike, which I did in 6 days, I hardly saw a mosquito or biting-fly the whole time. I agree the total elevation gain difference north vs south isn't that big of a deal. The hike from Spectacle lake to Ridge lake (for southbounders) can be kind of a grind (3500 feet of gain +/-) for old geezers like me, but probably not a big deal for many. In my experience, the camps a day's hike south from Stevens Pass (e.g. Mig/Hope lakes, etc) can ALSO be hyper popular on weekends.

[I'm Pysht]

I much prefer northbound. I has a very different feel for me, like walking away from civilization rather than towards it.

[solohiker]

Funny for exactly that reason I like SB. I take the old commonwealth trail for the last couple miles going that way. NB you have no choice but to finish with a walk through the Stevens Pass ski area which seems anticlimactic - like walking “towards” civilization. SB you save the spectacular ridge between park lakes and ridge lake for last instead of knocking it out in early in your 2nd or late in your first day. That said, I have done both directions and that ridge does (imo) look prettier heading north than south. Maybe it’s a time of day thing. Bottom line- there are benefits either way. Don’t let the fact that 190 summit is 1000ft lower than HWY 2 fool you into thinking SB is all down hill. There are multiple long climbs in the SB direction. On OP’s concerns with thru hikers - they aren’t a consideration either direction. They tend to camp as near the trail as possible and move along quickly. Since, unlike them, you’re not trying to get to Canada before the snows come, it’s well worth your while to add small mileage to your trip and camp in some nice spots like Spectacle Lake and Peggy’s Pond to name two (there are more) which are farther off trail than most thru hikers care to go. There are also several peaks to climb if you have time to spend an extra night in a few locations to allow some day trips.

[Tisc W. Slabmuz]

Thank you all for the thoughtful comments! I really appreciate it.

[Kim Brown]

I'd go in September. Fewer bugs, maybe (there's never a guarantee). Still plenty of flowers (mountain asters hang in there; fireweed will be cool-looking, turning yellow and red) and the berries will still be there for you. After Labor Day, while there will be thru hikers camped, there will be a little less competition from locals on those campsites. Maybe stay away from the obvious camps on the trail and find flat spots with nearby creeks, or load up on water and find one not near a creek but off the trail a ways. In chatting with thru hikers, it seems many of them tend to hike the dotted line on their app with no consideration of anything outside of that line* and won't likely think of camping anywhere else. Unfortunate for them, but good for you. * "excuse me, am I still on the PCT? My app isn't working and all I have is this map"

[Waterman]

Only advice I will offer is to squeeze some time in for a variation of a short section of the PCT. If headed nb on pct just above PARK LAKES, there is a footpath going north over the ridge slight elevation gain. Drop down through meadows towards GLACIER LK. You will find yourself in a rather spectacular area. Added advantage is you can follow a route down alongside outlet stream to the backside of Spectacle lk.

[RumiDude]

[Bowregard]

The PCT gets a lot of weekend traffic out of Snoqualmie Pass that time of year. You might want to finish that stretch on a Monday rather than start with it on a Saturday. The other factor to consider is which way the logistics work out better for you. From a "best views" perspective you really can't go bad either way. Edit: I would much prefer September myself but that is just me. You should be fine either time unless the smoke monster pays an unwanted visit.

[Kim Brown]

[slugsworth]

Having both section hiked this section and thru hiked the full trail, it is hard to imagine a camp site more than a 1/4 mile off trail being of any interest to a thru hiker unless there was a safety issue or the possibility of several thousand calories I didn't use 'the app' for a few hundred miles, but the intel in it is undeniably helpful for a long hike. To answer the OP's original question, no huge difference, but I appreciate going Nobo so I don't hear traffic noise for the last 6 miles. I would prefer the earlier time widow to minimize the possibility of wet, but they are both good windows barring possible smoke.

[Joseph]

I would go in Sept - fewer (or no) bugs. Be prepared for mobs of people and dogs at Spectacle Lake (esp if on a weekend). Pretty dry from Spectacle Lake to Gravel Lake - stock up beforehand.