PCT Washington: White Pass to Stevens Pass (Sections I and J)

The nights, from NOAA. Stampede Pass sits right on the PCT at 3,959 feet, and NOAA's 1991-2020 normals give it these averages:

Most camps on this route are higher, 4,500 to 6,400 feet. Using the standard lapse rate of about 3.5 degrees F per 1,000 feet, a camp at 6,000 feet runs roughly 7 degrees colder than the station: lows near 44 in August, 40 in September and 31 in October. Real nights swing further. PCT Washington logged 35 to 38 degree mornings in July 2026 and 34 degrees on August 29.

What that means for your sleep system: for late July and August, a 30 degree F quilt is enough only for warm sleepers; a 20 degree F bag gives more margin, and it's the one to pack from September on. Pair it with a pad around R 4 in September and October. I compared options in best ultralight sleeping bags and best backpacking quilts; the NeoAir XLite NXT is rated R 4.5 by Therm-a-Rest.

And one sum I like: October's 9.00 inches of rain is seven times July's 1.29. That's the whole case for going in late summer, in two numbers.

How the miles count: northbound from the White Pass trailhead. I built the running count from PCT Washington's mile-by-mile pages plus WTA's segment lengths (Naches Pass to Snoqualmie). PCTA mile markers (mm) appear where PCT Washington prints them; they come from a different measurement, so they run up to about 4 miles off my count. Use them to match FarOut.

Direction: go northbound, for three reasons. Section J melts out last, so starting in the south gives its snow and fords a week or more of extra time. You walk toward Rainier on the first leg, which is why WTA recommends south to north there. And you finish at Stevens Pass, the one trailhead here with a bus. Southbound saves about 1,016 feet of gain on Section J (PCT Washington), under 5 percent, and makes sense if you're taking the bus in.

Itineraries (northbound, camps named):

The 8-day plan is thru-hiker pace: Awol's group did Section I in 5 days at about 20 miles a day in August 2026, and FunnestKnownTime's pair did Section J in about 3.5. In 2026 the Spectacle Lake nights fall inside the closure. Day hikes on the route: Sheep Lake (3.6 mi round trip, 400 ft), Sourdough Gap (6.0 mi, 1,100 ft), Kendall Katwalk (12.0 mi, 2,600 ft), Mirror Lake via the PCT (7.0 mi, 1,180 ft) and Spectacle Lake from the Pete Lake trailhead (22.0 mi, 1,500 ft, inside the 2026 closure), all WTA figures.

Snoqualmie Pass boxes, settled. The open question from my last check was whether anyone at Snoqualmie Pass holds hiker boxes. Two places do. The Summit Inn's own site says it holds a PCT supply box for a fee listed at $15 (Summit Inn, checked October 17, 2026), with the first box free if you book a room. PCT Washington (updated July 1, 2026) adds that the Summit Chevron, which is also the post office, holds boxes for a fee listed at $10 (PCT Washington, July 2026). Write Snoqualmie Pass, WA 98068 on the label. Snoqualmie, WA is a different town 26 miles away.

Box rules for the other ends: White Pass boxes go to the Kracker Barrel's rural post office (48851 US Hwy 12, Naches, WA 98937). Stevens Pass takes UPS or FedEx only, not USPS, with free pickup at the Seasons Pass Office. Halfway Anywhere's 2025 survey found 32 percent of thru-hikers recommend a box at Snoqualmie Pass and 28 percent at White Pass, and calls Washington the hardest state to resupply from local stores.

Water, in one line: abundant except Chinook Pass to Naches Pass, the 8.8 miles north of Government Meadows, and the 7.6-mile ridge north of Ridge Lake. Treat everything, and wash hands with soap at every pit toilet and cabin.

What it costs, the fixed part, for one person:

That's 58 dollars before food, the trip to the trailhead and a night in a room. Food is the big line; price it from your own list for 8 to 16 days.

Gear, tied to what this trail does to you:

• A satellite messenger, because signal is gone for most of Section I and fire news travels by text. The pick card below covers the one I reviewed.
• A sleep system for 35 degree nights (see the month table above).
• A certified bear sack or canister, because both national forests require one or a proper hang, and PCT Washington's author says a 10 by 4 hang is close to impossible in Washington's trees. Compare them in best bear canisters.
• A filter and a backup. The Sawyer Squeeze is the common pick; carry tablets or a stove plan too, for boil advisories.
• A sun hoodie for the burn zones north of Chinook Pass, where FunnestKnownTime's hikers fought September heat. See best sun hoodies.
• A stove, since Alpine Lakes bans fires above 5,000 feet; see best lightweight stoves.
• Fresh shoes. Rocky tread blew out a podcast host's trail runners around Chinook Pass in 2025.

Food for these conditions:

• How many days: 5 to 8 out of White Pass and 3.5 to 6 out of Snoqualmie. WTA says Section J alone takes six or seven days of food at a normal pace, and FunnestKnownTime's pair found 3 days tight at 20-plus miles a day.
• Calories: Halfway Anywhere's 2025 survey respondents aim for 100 or more calories per ounce. Section J's 214 feet of climbing a mile burns more than the numbers on a flat day suggest.
• Cold and wet: a hot dinner matters in September. PCT Washington's author cooks at about 3 PM near water, then walks on, which also saves carrying cooking water to a dry camp.
• Storage: everything with a smell goes in the certified sack or can, including trash, sunscreen and toothpaste.
• Food nearby: the Summit Pancake House at the Summit Inn, Lee's Grocery's pizzeria and Laconia Market at Snoqualmie Pass; the Kracker Barrel at White Pass; Skykomish's cafe and Leavenworth past Stevens Pass.

Books and maps:

• National Geographic PCT Topographic Map Guides, Washington South (Cascade Locks to Snoqualmie Pass, so all of Section I) and Washington North (Snoqualmie Pass to Canada, so Section J). The two split exactly at this route's midpoint.
• Green Trails: No. 303 White Pass and No. 271 Bumping Lake for the south end (WTA's list), No. 207 Snoqualmie Pass for about Stampede Pass to Lemah Creek, and No. 176 Stevens Pass for the Escondido Tarns to the pass.
• Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon and Washington (Schaffer and Selters, Wilderness Press), the guidebook WTA recommends for Section J, and Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Washington (Tami Asars, Mountaineers Books).
• FarOut for live water comments, and PCT Washington (pctwashington.com) for the mile-by-mile notes, fords and the 2026 season review I leaned on here.

I watched three trail videos and listened to two podcasts with Gemini's help, and read PCT Washington's 2026 season review. Here's what they report, by date:

• August 10 to 14, 2026, Section I (Awol's Adventures): 98 miles in 5 days at about 20 a day. A dry camp on night one, a deliberate camp outside the Rainier boundary, a bear near the park, smoke near Snoqualmie Pass, and a fire closure north of the pass that ended the trip there.
• August 15, 2026 (KUOW's Seattle Now): fires had closed two big segments of the Washington PCT, and some hikers turned back at Stevens Pass in the smoke.
• 2025, Section I (the Yeti Walks Into Basecamp podcast, September 29, 2025): crowded camps at Sheep Lake and Mirror Lake, 27-mile days, no cell signal most of the way, and a norovirus outbreak at Snoqualmie Pass that closed a hostel for cleaning.
• September, year not stated, Section I (FunnestKnownTime): 99 miles in 4 days, mosquitoes right out of White Pass, unexpected heat, and a 10 to 11 mile water carry to avoid lakes under a health advisory.
• Late season, year not stated, Section J (FunnestKnownTime): about 3.5 days, 5,500 to 6,400 feet of climbing a day, slow scree and talus, and no mosquitoes.
• 2026 season (PCT Washington, October 16): low snow at Stevens Pass, a rockslide north of Josephine Lake, the Three Queens, King and Goat fires on Section J, and many nights below 35 degrees.

Mistakes people make here:

1. Mailing to "Snoqualmie, WA". It's a different town 26 miles away.
2. Sending USPS to Stevens Pass. The resort takes UPS or FedEx only.
3. Planning a night in Mount Rainier National Park. There are no PCT camps there.
4. Reading Section J's miles as easy miles. At about 214 feet of climbing a mile it isn't, and food runs short.
5. Trusting a Facebook post over the closure order, in either direction.
6. Relying on hand sanitizer in a norovirus year. The CDC authors say it doesn't work on norovirus.
7. Assuming Washington means water everywhere. Three dry stretches say otherwise.

Next step: open the Okanogan-Wenatchee alert page for your dates, then the Summit Inn's box page if you're mailing food.