The route begins from Hart’s Pass trailhead, heading north on the PCT. The first few miles are very cruisy with little elevation gain and amazing views. Roughly 4.5 miles in you’ll hit Buffalo Pass, followed by Windy Pass a mile later. Next it’s Foggy Pass and then Jim Pass, now 7-ish miles from the trailhead.
From here it’s another 6.5 miles to Holman pass. Run along Devil’s Backbone before gradually descending into the trees, until you reach a junction for the Holman Creek Trail. Turn right to follow Holman Creek for 1.7 miles before joining the West Fork Pasayten River Trail. The West Fork trail wanders another 9 miles through a forested river valley that hardly sees any traffic. Both of these trails are in rough shape - brushy, 100s of downed trees, water crossings, and other route finding shenanigans.
Eventually you’ll start climbing out of the valley on a slope below Haystack Mountain and the Slate Peak fire lookout will be visible in the distance. Snow hangs onto these north facing slopes late into the season just to make the last traverse extra fun. At Slate Pass, the trail intersects the highest road in WA state and a short 0.25 mile detour to the right takes you up to the Slate Peak lookout at 7,446 feet. Descend from the lookout down the road until the PCT trailhead, where you’ll hop back on the PCT heading south and retracing your steps for the final 1.5 miles brings you back to Harts Pass to finish the loop.
