Crow Lake WayRecent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Blowdowns
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I do this loop once or twice a year. It is kind of brutal. I started off going up the...
I do this loop once or twice a year. It is kind of brutal. I started off going up the Crow Creek trail. This trail is in excellent condition. The horse "hikers" must drag chain saws up there as the first 10 miles of my hike were truely a "walk in the woods". You go past the turn off to Crow Creek Lake (to your right) and head Crow Creek. Maybe 3 miles up you cross a creek and enter into a different world. One without horse packers and chain saws. There is a large blow-down and the trail disappears. I poked around by the creek but the trail is way up on the hill - to your right. At this point the trail is not in very good shape but it is easy enough to follow - mostly uphill.
You follow the trail up to Big Crow basin where the horse shelter is. This year I decided to follow the unnamed trail that heads off to the left (rather than going up to 2000). THere is a trail there (one of my previous reports was wrong). It is hard to follow as there are several deer/? trails that are about as well used as the hiking trail. Anyway I made it up to the place were 2000/Basin Lakes comes in and then followed the Basin Lakes trail. It was sunny with a good breeze - perfect weather for me. Java (who is black) was getting a little tired and hot in the sun. We followed 987 (Basin Lakes) trail down to where Union Creek trail cuts off to the left. I did not see a sign for Union Creek and I was wondering if I had missed it. I was getting close to the pass on the Basin Lake trail when I saw a trail to the left and a marker saying Basin Lakes (I think) up on the Basin Lakes trail. Union creek is not in really good shape at that point but it is easy to follow. As you go down Union Creek its condition steadily improves. From the trail head you simply follow the Snow Trail (999) that has blue markers. The highway is running right along side you. All in all a Perfect Day for a hike. Cool and breezy - only had to use Deet once. This is not an easy hike. It took me a little over 8 hours and that is without stopping. John
Norse Peak, Pacific Crest Trail - short segment, Arch Rock, Greenwater and Echo Lakes, Crow Lake Way
— Oct 20, 2010
— Sawin' Ya
Overnight
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Trail 1191 is dusty and horsey, but otherwise in good shape the whole way. Most of the elevation gain...
Trail 1191 is dusty and horsey, but otherwise in good shape the whole way. Most of the elevation gain is done in shady forest, then views open up in the last 1000' or so. Looks like a great wildflower hike earlier in the season, judging from the profusion of faded plants lining the trail. It appears that the trail has changed some since the 2002 edition of Green Trails map #271.
Views from the junction of the short spur trail to Norse Peak eliminated my temptation to visit the true summit. Rainier is in your face, as well as the Olympic mountains in the distance, and the entire Eastern Cascades. There is also a huge, thick stand of larch visible, down below Big Crow Basin on trail 953. Very dense, very yellow, though some trees in the upper elevations still seemed a bit on the green side. PCT from trail 953 to trail 1187 was in great condition. The Arch Rock trail descending to Echo Lake was another story. At the beginning of the descent, there is a rutted-out trail, and another a few feet north that looks more recently used. I took the more northerly trail to the old airplane wreckage, where the trail promptly fizzles out. I walked about 50 ft south to get back on the rutted trail, which ended about 200 ft farther down into the meadow. From here, look south to the "old" trail; that's where you need to go. The trail is a bit rustic, so be prepared to look around a bit to pick the trail back up in two other meadows. I found a trace of a trail skirting the edge of a large evergreen tree, followed it uphill for a bit, then finally started going down, down, down. The upper half of this trail looks to be lightly used, then signs of FS intervention (flags, hacked-out rerouting) begin to show. Greenwater trail is in good shape from Echo Lake to trailhead. I was surprised by the number of "official toilet opportunities" available on this stretch. Two toilets at Echo Lake, and another at the Meadow Creek crossing, east of Greenwater Lakes. Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bugs
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With our heart set on packing into Dewey Lake for the night we headed out to Chinook Pass. A...
With our heart set on packing into Dewey Lake for the night we headed out to Chinook Pass. A relatively late start, as the grey marine layer in Seattle made sleeping in quite easy. Arrived to the pass around noon, both parking lots adjacent to the PCT were buzzing with cars, motorbikes, and their owners. As expected lots of snow was still present at the pass. Not prepare for the snow crossing on the eastern flank of Naches Peak, we hope to enter from the loop trail at Tipsoo Lake. But with a dog in tow our alternate entry was vetoed as this trail is in the National Park. So we pressed on due east and left the snowball fights and cool air at the pass.
Dropping down the 410 east bound we parked at the well kept trailhead for Crow Creek Lake Trail # 953. Our plan B was Sheepherder Lake. A group at the trailhead warn us that Crow Creek and Marsh Lake were particuliarly buggy. At the valley floor there is a great view point of Fifes Peaks, this out cropping of rocks is quite dramatic. This ridge line is visible through the trees for most of the accent. Immediately this trail enters into switchbacks taking you from 3400 ft up to 5600. The trail is well maintained thanks to the Backcountry Horseman of Central Washington, no blow downs and no washouts. The ridge at the top presents some nice peak a boo views of Rainier to the west and some lovely glances south to the American Ridge. In the peak of the afternoon this trail hot. Additionally, with heavy equestrian use this trail is dusty. Our decent into the basin was a welcome change. Cool air and lush meadows greeted us as we approached the junction to Sheepherder Lake. Unfortunately as did the bugs. We swatted away what we could and applied our stinky defenses for added protection. Two day use horseman were at the lake and left just a short 15 mins after our arrival. Nice to have the lake to ourselves. Made camp and dinner. Avoiding the bugs we spent most of the evening hanging out in the tent with the fly off. Watched fish jump, play some cards, and invented buggy lyrics to familiar tunes to sing away our woes. Morning came quickly and we hiked on out. Had lunch up on the ridge while gazing at the valley floor and Rainier. Nice to soak up some sun taken. Once off the trail we stopped at the Pleasant Valley Camp Grounds for a dip in the American River. The crisp water felt great and we were quickly freed of the dust we were covered in. All and all a decent hike, but one I’ll keep in mind for earlier in the season. An additional heads up, a group at the trailhead warn us that Crow Creek Lake and Marsh Lake were particularly buggy. Day hike
Issues:
Mud/Rockslide | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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Tried to repeat my July 25th loop. A few things went wrong. First it was raining when I left the...
Tried to repeat my July 25th loop. A few things went wrong. First it was raining when I left the trail head. I convinced myself that this would make the initial elevation gain easier than if it were hot (true). Unfortunately it rained on me for 10 of the 12 hours that I was out. The other 2 hours were no better - I was in a blizzard above 6000 feet.
So - the good news is that other than the horsemen that I met 23 miles into my odyssey, whose mule had fallen in the mud - was that there were no bugs and it was not hot. So, the Crow Lake trail is still brutal for a day hike, but it is now also pretty muddy. This trail ends on the Crow Creek trail, which is pretty flat with the noted exception of the end where it hits the PCT. By the time I reached the junction of the Crow Creek trail and the PCT, it was snowing pretty hard. I tried to continue to Basin Lake and then to Union Creek, but the snow covered the trail. I decided to retreat and 1) get to a lower elevation and 2)get back into the woods where the trail should still be visible. So - no bugs, a few flowers, a fair amount of mud, a few elk, very wet, very cold - the shorts I brought for the anticipated heat ended up as ear muffs on my head (literally), under my ball cap. My extra socks became gloves. Not one of my better hikes but I will remember it. - The black lab/husky (Java) thought it was great. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Washouts | Bugs
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This is kind of a brutal hike. The trail starts at the Crow Lake Trailhead. To find the trailhead, locate...
This is kind of a brutal hike. The trail starts at the Crow Lake Trailhead. To find the trailhead, locate the outdoor potties and imagine that you are stepping out of one of the toilets. Walk straight ahead and you will find the trailhead. The trail is in good shape and there are plenty of switchbacks going up to the turnoff to Crow Creek Lake. I started at 6:30 so it was still pretty cool. Starting at the turnoff to Crow Creek Lake, the trip transformed into one of the worst hikes I have had. I have hiked this before so I know there are a lot of water crossing and the trail is steep, but this time the mosquitoes were overwhelming. Even with DEET they were in my mouth, eyes and ears. Java (my 4 legged companion) was covered by them. The good news is that the trail is easy to follow and it won't be crowded. There are 3 places where you cross a field and the trail is not very clear. My advise is to walk straight across. Pretend that there is an arrow that extends in the same direction as the trail that you entered on and you will find the trail on the other side (helps to look for tell tale signs like cut logs as there are not too many of them in the mountains). The trail out of Little Crow Basin is hard to follow. There is a 3 walled shelter for horses at the basin and a sign that tells you where Trail 2000 comes in.Continue straight at the sign (don't go right) and you will be on a trail that will take you toward Basin Lake. As you go up the hill the trail cuts off to the left and a game trail goes straight. If you are like me you will follow the game trail for a ways before you come to the conclusion that it does not look "right". Once you get over "the next ridge" you should see Basin Lake off to your left. Unfortunatley there are a lot of unmarked trails at this point and you might find yourself by the lake even though you want to stay above it. It is a nice clean lake. We met 3 people there, one guy packed in with horses and the other 2 hiked from Crystal. I took the Basin Trail (987) to Union Creek. When you hike into the lake from north you can see where the Basin Trail goes over yet another ridge south of the lake.
From the lake, both the Basin trail and 2000 can be located by heading due west. The Basin Lake trail is pretty steep but for me the clouds had moved in, the mosquitoes were gone and the hike turned out to be pretty nice. Union Creek is a couple of miles down on the left. Union Creek is pretty steep where it hits the Basin Lake trail but after that it morphs into a really nice hike. Once you get the the Union Creek trailhead there is a trail (snowshoeing) that runs on the north side of 410. There is a nice wodden bridge that leads from Union Creek trail to this one. Follow that for about 3 miles and you will be back where you started. LOTS of flowers and butterflies - and those mosquitoes. |
View from First Peak on Crow Lake Trail. Photo by John.
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