Trail is clear to Big Greider Lake. Steep first two and half miles then levels out at first lake. Was raining lightly so trail was very wet and slick, but generally in good shape. Beautiful views of surrounding peaks and waterfalls in big greider lake basin. Could not get to viewpoint because trail was closed just above big greider lake. Great hike!

Decided to head out for a hike on a cloudy and drizzly day. There was not a single hiker the entire outing. The trail is in decent shape - just a few minor sections of mud. The lower part of the trail is a bit brushy in places, but nothing to cause any trouble. The lakes are 100% melted out and there are now only a few snow patches on the far side of the upper lake, but not near the trail. The greenery was beautiful in the light mist.

Score. Two days of swimming on a perfect summer weekend. How lucky can a dog get? Yesterday, it was Hope, Mig and Swimming Deer lakes with the driver and KT (and 4-legged Clover). Today, it's best buddy B who joined me, Clover and the driver for a little adventure up to Greider Lakes. There was much discussion about where to go today - since B's ankle wasn't the greatest. Nothing too steep. Greider Lakes sounded good - none of us had been there. It's quite a ways up the Sultan Basin Road off of Hwy 2. The road turns into a gravel road as you reach Spada Lake - but continues on another 10 or so miles (dead-ending up by the Boulder Lake trailhead). We left Seattle about 7:40 a.m. - wanting to avoid the I-90 craziness with the SeaFair activities. We were on the trail by about 9:30 a.m.

It was a lovely morning. There were a 1/2 dozen cars in the lot and we figured they probably were campers up at the lakes. The trail was still wet with morning dew - gaiters might have been nice. We passed two lovely little ponds and started up the trail which would include multiple switchbacks through lovely 2nd growth. It was fairly steep in some places, often we found steps - and in a couple of cases, actual stairs. The old trail book talks about having to scramble along exposed cliff areas right before you reach the lake - that's no longer the case. The trail is easy - gaining about 1200' up to the lake. Just before you reach Lower Greider, you go through a nice, level forested area. B and Sadie couldn't wait to jump into the lake - it already was quite warm. Clover wasn't as convinced.

After a refreshing swim, we headed towards the outlet stream and the trail that takes you to Upper Greider (another 200' or so of gain in about 1/2 mile) The views at the end of Lower Greider looking towards the cirque where Upper Greider sits, were quite lovely. Even better was the evidence of soon-to-be ripe huckleberries - they were still a little tart today. This stretch is mainly along unforested trail that's a bit overgrown. In a short time, we were at Upper Greider - a lovely lake (actually, didn't seem that much bigger than Lower Greider) We wandered the trail to a couple of camp sites and thought about doing another swim - but opted to try and find the trail that would lead to the viewpoint. We passed on couple on their way in and they weren't sure where it was, so we headed back down the trail a little ways to see if we had missed it on our way in. Sure enough, B spotted it just about at the point where you can first see Upper Greider - it's not that obvious, but if you're looking for it, you'll find it - it spurs off to the right from the main trail. The trail is fairly obvious for about 1/4 mile, going through fairly open forest, but before long, you are right in the middle of salmon berry bushes, elderberry and who knows what else? It was thick. Obviously doesn't get much use, but you can see (sorta') that there is a trail. We started up. In another 1/4 mile, you come to some boulders - now it's tricky - we saw a crude arrow on top of a rock - unfortunately, it was pointing towards the direction we had just come! There were limited views from this point. We poked and climbed - first one way, then another. Clover and Sadie thought this was great sport. Finally, we saw what we thought was the trail up through some boulders and underbrush. Up we went - we got to one point, however, where what looked to be the ""right"" way was up some rock slabs that had water running down them - they looked just a little to slick. So, we opted to go right of the slab and up some more brush-covered boulders. We got to within about 150' of the 3600' viewpoint and decided to bag it. The brush was just too much to fight - I'm not positive we were on the right track - but we were getting close to what appeared to be the viewpoint. In any case, we agreed to head back down - besides, by now the black flies and other assorted buzzing/flying things were driving B nuts and we wanted to get out of there. Once back on the main trail, we opted to go back to Lower Greider for another swim and escape from the bugs. Ok by Sadie! So back we headed. This time, we all got in - the water was quite refreshing and a welcome relief from the bugs. Clover still wasn't convinced enough to swim. We dried off quickly and high-tailed it down the trail. We had seen several groups of overnighters leaving when we were on our way in - so there were very few people at the lakes when we were there - however, we passed at least 6 groups coming up the hill as we headed down. On the way out, we passed by the ponds again and had the pleasure of seeing a gorgeous blue heron taking flight. We also saw what had to be the biggest skunk cabbage (or the remains of it) that I had ever seen! Once back to the car, we made a quick change of clothes and jumped into the car and shut all the doors and windows to get away from the bugs. The driver got a bug bite yesterday of some kind that had her whole lower leg from the knee down swollen! They are vicious. It took us about 4 hours, including our swims and detours car-to-car. A lovely day regardless of the attack bugs! Sadie and Clover are resting comfortably from their big weekend.

With other people's plans once again intruding on both ends of my day, I abandoned tentative plans to get down to Rainier, and decided to take a look at Greider Lakes instead.

There are 10 miles of gravel road to traverse to get to the trailhead, but it's all fairly even with little in the way of potholes - no trouble for any car short of a Ferrari, and perfect for the Scooby. I paused at the Olney Pass registration site, and as soon as I stopped the car it was surrounded by a fair number of wasps. They surrounded me too when I got out, so it wasn't just the Subaru electric blue attracting their attention. They weren't acting obviously aggressive, but they were buzzing close, and stuck with me when I moved around - I figured there was a nest about, and I didn't fancy finding out where, so I got back in the car instead of lingering to register. Sorry. One wasp followed me inside, but left through the window happily enough when I opened it.

I got to the trailhead at 12.30, with two cars there before me. A fly bit me at the trailhead within minutes as I swapped shoes for hiking boots, so I applied an industrial coating of bug repellent and had no further hassles. I met the two parties leaving as I hiked up and had the lakes to myself. I must have timed it right - another group was on their way up as I left.

The nearly two mile climb up to the ridge is rocky and rooty, with some fairly steep steps in places - one of those trails that's not a whole lot faster on the trip down than the trek up, and that feels tougher than its stats of 1350 feet gain. This section of the trail is heavily wooded, with some woodland flowers still lingering along the way, and glimpses of the beautiful blue Spada Lake through the trees for most of the climb. There are several places where streams cross the path or close by it, and evidence that parts of the trail get muddy at any sign of rain.

Once up on the ridge, the trail conditions improve markedly, much smoother (as well as level!), and Little Greider appears suddenly right by the path as you round a corner after another few hundred yards. The path follows its wooded shores round over the outlet creek and climbs up less than a hundred feet more to reach Big Greider. It's nice to have two such contrasting lakes on such a short hike - just over 2.5 miles if you don't detour. Little Greider is tree-ringed and entirely calm, reflecting green and with many water lilies, some still flowering. Big Grieder sits in a rocky bowl, with trees only at the tip nearest Little Greider, much more exposed and blue.

The trail to Big Greider gets quite overgrown with ferns, and would make for damp hiking if there were any moisture in the air. This section of hike is mostly treeless and exposed, with an entirely different selection of flowers, including distinctive Columbia lilies. Where there are trees, there were the usual clouds of flies here and there over the trail - nothing too horrible, but definite breathe-through-your-nose territory. All the campsites at both lakes had a lot of flies around them, but once I got out onto the logjam at Big Greider away from the trees, I left the six-legged wildlife behind for a peaceful lunch in the sun, with just enough breeze now and then to keep the heat pleasant.

There'll be a few more pics up at http://eelpi.livejournal.com/ but alas, not many. My camera declared its batteries dead after just one shot of Big Greider (I know, I should have taken the spares!), and I'd been saving Little Greider for the softer light on the way back. But this is a nice, quick hike, and I suspect I'll be back in the Autumn as the higher trails start acquiring snow.