Wife and I did a 4 day backpack trip in the Chinook Pass area Sept 21-24. Started out at Chinook Pass at 11am and headed down the PCT to Dewey Lake where we stopped for lunch and a rest break. Trail is in good shape. Most of the camping sites around Dewey are closed for restoration on both sides of the lake.

Headed on down the PCT south to Anderson Lake where we planned to camp, but found out it was in the Mount Rainier National Park boundary, so no camping at the lake. There is a camp just about 40 yards up the PCT and off to the left about 150 feet from the trail marked with a Camp sign. We stayed the night at the "Basin Overlook Camp" and enjoyed sitting around Anderson lake until the sun went down. Loads of blueberries and huckleberries.

Next morning (late) we headed on down the PCT to the American Ridge trail junction and took it to American lake. A great lake and lots of good camp spots. We got in so early to America Lake (only 50 minutes from Anderson), that we set up camp and then headed off with day packs down to Cougar Lakes. The trail to Cougar Lakes heads off of the American Ridge trail about a mile east of American Lake. From there it doesn't follow either the Green Trails map or my Delorme map on the GPS. It has been rerouted to go up higher on the ridgeline and then drop down several step and rocky switchbacks just above little Cougar Lake. Nearly all the sites at Little Cougar and between Cougar and Little Cougar Lake are closed for restoration. There was only one meadow place that we found that we would have camped in, but there is a horse camp just behind it and that wouldn't be were we'd want to be. The trail to Cougar was rough and very hard to determine as multiple paths go different ways as horse groups have simply chosen where they want to travel and make their own path. The lakes were beautiful, but the trail and the camping were less than appealing. We hoofed it back to American lake by 4 PM and went for a swim to cool off and wash the dust off us.

The next day we headed N on the PCT hoping to camp on the far side of Dewey lake (opposite the PCT), but after wandering the complete far side there were no places that were open to camp in except one at the top of the lake were toilet paper, feces, and urine smell permeated the entire place (interesting that site wasn't closed for restoration). So we decided to try Little Dewey Lake and found several great spots for camping on the N side of the lake.

Hiked out on Thursday from Dewey back to Chinook Pass in 1 1/2 hours. All in all a great 4 days of beautiful weather, beautiful lakes, and pleanty of fresh air. Only one other party at American lake and one other party at Little Dewey. We had Anderson Lake all to ourselves (along with a herd of Elk that were bugling the entire night long.)

All told we ended up hiking 19 miles over the 4 days.

Blueberries were all over the place we picked several cups for our oatmeal and packed 2 cups out with us. Fall colors were great and the trail was not too dusty. Very few bugs to speak of anywhere (Dewey had the most mosquitoes, but not bad at all). Saw bear evidence on trail, but no bears.

The Naches Loop had beautiful views and great visibility, but a lot of people (for mid-week). Much of the upper part of the trail is exposed to direct sun so wear sunscreen! We did the loop (half one day and half the next) and make sure to do it clockwise for some breathtaking views of Rainier.
The descent into the lakes fairly easy (and shaded!) and look out for blueberries along the trail.
We walked around the lake clockwise looking for a campsite--there were some up in the woods near the other end, but the best ones were back near the beginning of the loop (i.e. take a right when you first get there if camping is your intention)
The only bad part was the bugs. Mosquitoes, biting flies, bees, hornets...all of which got worse when we cooked.

Tried this a week ago and the Mesatchee Creek trail was buried in snow by the Ridgeline.
Good Hike, Trails are in good shape but there was still a LOT of snow by American Lake, especially to the west. We lost the trail for about 1/2 of a mile, but one of us (that would be me) found it. American Lake is beautiful this time of year. We saw a couple of backpackers on the PCT.
Not TOO many bugs. The weather was nice and my 2 legged hiking partner did not bitch too much.

Tried to do the loop up Mesatchee Creek, over to Swamp Lake and back down the Dewey Lake trail.
Failed - the last half mile of the Mesatchee trail is hidden under a blanket of snow. I hiked up to about a quarter of a mile from the ridgeline trail and decided that it was best left to another day.
This was my first hike with my new dog, Java. He's a lab/husky mix and he kicked my butt. The trail is in good condition. I hit snow about 2.5 miles or so up the trail but it was still easy to tell where the trail was. The waterfall is nice and the air is crisp at this time of the year. I saw one other couple and their dog on my way back down.
I decided to poke up Dewey Lake trail after the aborted attempt to do the loop. The Dewey lake trail is in good shape. I saw another couple and their dog and then we met 2 guys who had camped out by the second American River crossing. I decided to call it quits there but I suspect that you can make it up to the lake without encountering any snow. I did not see any logs to use at the second crossing but I think there are some downstream from the trail. If not - the water is cold but not too deep.