Years ago, when I was new to the Seattle area, I remember happily staring at a map (Green Trails 207, one of the first Green Trails I ever purchased!) and realizing that the trails at Snoqualmie Pass could be connected to trails along the Middle Fork Snoqualmie. You could reach Goldmeyer from Snoqualmie Pass!! It blew my mind, and I decided that one day I would go check it out.
Last Friday, I finally got around to connecting the dots by doing a counterclockwise loop as follows: start at the Snow Lake trailhead and run the road to the PCT trailhead. Then head up the PCT/Commonwealth Basin trails to Red Pass. From Red Pass, descend down to the Middle Fork on an unmaintained (but obvious) trail, cruise west on the Middle Fork for a couple miles, and then head back up to Snow Lake via the Rock Creek trail. Just under 20 miles and just over 6000 ft of elev gain.
Of course, by now I know that it’s not uncommon to run/hike between Snoqualmie Pass and the Middle Fork. You can find even better descriptions of the route here and here.
As you can tell, it was foggy and raining when I went, with no real views to be had. That said, it was still a fun loop and a great way to avoid crowds (except for around Snow Lake) without driving a long distance.
Evergreen Endurance Coaching 