Mileage: 20 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest:1600/5679ft (you start at 4056, go to 5000, down to 3800 and up to 5679)
Map: Green Trails Stevens Pass No 176
My favorite places to stop post hike with friends are: Grilla Bites, Route 2 Taproom and Grazing Place, Good Brewing Company, River House Cafe, Espresso Chalet, Gustav’s, Yodelin’s Broth Company, South, Dan’s Food Market, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike Details:
If you are looking for a long day hike or a weekend overnight jaunt, this is a great one right at the top of Stevens Pass. Travel south on the Pacific Crest Trail to a junction with the Icicle Creek Trail. Drop down to tranquil Josephine Lake and then continue on to the junction with Chain Lakes. So far your route is fairly tame but here you will head straight up a path to the lovely Chain Lakes. Call this your turn around point or campsite depending on how much time you have to explore or gain more elevation on the trail to a saddle high above with views down at Doelle Lakes!
My Hikes:
8/2-3/2020
This was a repeat of a day hike I did 5 years ago but this time we did it for our annual girlfriend backpacking trip. It was 2 nights for everyone but me who accidentally signed up for a work Zoom meeting on Tuesday so I was going to be cutting it one day shorter. Two days out with friends in the outdoors is still better than none!
We parked in lot E at Stevens Pass and started out about quarter to 10am. The lot closest to the resort was closed for SAR and we heard them calling someone’s name up on Cowboy Mountain as we climbed up the ski hill and over the ski lift ridge. This section always takes longer than I remember!
As we descended to Lake Susan Ann, we passed hikers coming and going, most saying they were doing the Snoqualmie to Stevens run. The snow is gone here and the trail is mostly dry and powdery. There was one tree laying into the trail on the way in (but it had been rolled off the trail on my way out the next day).
It was 4 hours later we met the junction with Icicle Creek and turned left. I had forgotten what a drop it was down to Josephine and a large family that had passed us earlier was down playing on the shore when we arrived at 5.7 miles and just after 1pm. There was only one other camper and we took a campsite further around on a rock outcropping. There are actually quite a few spots for tents here up in the trees.
We spent the afternoon soaking in the water and relaxing in our tents (and hammock). The breezes across the lake were blustery which thankfully kept the bugs at bay. We cooked dinner away from camp at the day use area and evening entertainment was hanging the bear bags (an annual tradition). The pit toilet was in good shape but the lid does not stay up. Pro tip: a piece of bark gently wedged between the posts next to the hinge will help it stay up.
The next morning we left at 8:30am for Chain Lakes with overcast skies keeping things coolish. Down some switchbacks and then a gentle stroll on Icicle Creek for 2.5 miles. There were multiple easy stream crossings and in the slide areas, mud and head high brush, along with a few downed trees.
In less than 1.5 hours we reached the junction with the Chain Lakes Trail, stopping to fortify with water and snacks before the hellish climb. It is not as bad as Spade Lake, more like Index Town Wall but longer. In my memory I didn’t remember any level areas but turns out there are a few sprinkled in there. For the 2.2 miles, the first half is pretty straight up the fall line but the second is a mix of up with more moderate pieces as it makes it way around the contour. You won’t need you hands, at least and it is not exposed.
The Chain Creek crossing at the first lake was low enough to just use the large boulders and we arrived to an empty middle lake at noon. Everyone was glad we only had day packs! The plan had been to do some swimming but the sun was obscured enough to make that less than ideal so we just ate lunch and took in the scenery.
After lunch, I crossed the stream between the middle and lower lakes and climbed up to the gap overlooking Doelle Lakes. The views were stunning all the way to the ridge but I had to watch my step in spots where the trail traverses loose scree and a few slides have taken out the trail. Echoes of marmots announced my trespassing throughout the cirque and I could see down at the upper Chain Lakes which are really more like tarns at this point.
The opposite side still had a few patches of snow but nothing major on the trail and I could see the upper Doelle Lake along with the skyline. Wow. But, I couldn’t stay long as I now needed to hike all the way back out to Stevens Pass where my ride would be waiting for me tonight. 🙂
The descent from Chain Lakes wasn’t as brutal on the knees as I thought it would be and the hardest part was the short climb back up to Josephine. I threw the rest of my gear into my pack, soaked my feet (again), had a quick dinner with my friends and continued climbing back out. I passed one family heading down to Josephine for the night, the only other hikers I would see the whole day.
I made it back out to Stevens Pass in less than 3 hours for a total of 17.1 miles for the day and the bugs were biting all the way to the end.
6/21/2016
I had time this morning to scout my newly adopted section of the PCT from the trailhead at Stevens Pass to the junction with Icicle Creek about 5 miles in. It’s not particularly wilderness but it leads to some pretty cool places. I was surprised at the amount of snow left, especially because I had been south of here last week and experienced less.
This section doesn’t go much over 5000ft and is pretty tame, I imagine further north/south where the trail is higher and there are passes, etc that things could be sketchier. Just be prepared! Because I got an early start, views were obscured until the sun broke out on my way back to the car. Made it feel like there was still a bit of winter left. Goes to show you that getting out on the Pacific Crest Trail means waiting until the end of June or early July.
8/2015
This was a long day hike I did for training and I am glad I didn’t do it as a backpacking trip. Not that I wouldn’t, but I was certainly not prepared (mentally) for it. This hike starts innocently enough but once you pass Josephine Lake on the Icicle Creek Trail, then turn off onto the actual Chain Lakes trail (#1569), it is straight up hill. Think Robin and Tuck straight up hill. Lots of loose rock and dirt. Grueling short switchbacks. But I am getting ahead of myself.
I started at Stevens Pass and headed north to the junction for Josephine, about 4.5 miles in. Easy. Then you head south around the lake for 3.1 miles through nice tame forest. Easy peasy, if not a bit overgrown. Then, you head up and up and up and up about 2.5 miles to the Chain Lake basin area. There is no water on until you get to the lakes. I passed a few backpackers coming down who did not look happy AT ALL. It could have been the size of their packs but who knows.
Once I got to Chain Lakes, the views were endless and I didn’t see any people except for one tent down by the largest lake. I guess they were up at Doelle for the day. I explored a bit and because it was a nice hot day and I had earned it, I jumped in and had a swim. Delightful!
Next time I hope to get an earlier start and make it to up to Doelle.
Directions: Drive Highway 2 east from Seattle or west from Leavenworth to Stevens Pass. The trailhead is accessed from the parking lot just east of the ski area, on the south side of Highway 2.
For more hikes off HWY 2, click HERE.
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