Set out for Packwood Lake on Thurs 04/05 AM for first overnight of the season. Trailhead parking lot accessible. Left at 0800 taking the ORV trail #74 to save time. Patches of snow in places on trail until becoming continuous approximately .5 MI from lake. Snow depths on trail were 12-18,” snow was hard enough in AM to walk on, so we kept the snowshoes packed. Arrived at Packwood Lake at 0930. North and east side of lake snow free. Set up camp and then began a day hike south along the lake and then up Upper Lake Creek to see the big trees. Encountered numerous trees across the trail from last fall’s storm, some requiring leaving the trail for a fair distance to clear. Encountered first patches of snow on trail just south of the lake, walked approximately 3.5 MI up the creek using snowshoes for the last 2 MI., as there was enough continuous snow now soft and deep enough to post hole. Returned to camp at 1800, no others at lake and NO mosquitoes at any time. After sunset, an amazing show with sky clear and the stars reflecting off the lake.

On Friday 04/06 left camp for another day hike up Trail 78. Trees across trail especially at lower portion of trail. Surprised at absence of snow on trail, did not encounter till approximately 3200’ feet. Stayed patchy until continuous approximately .5 MI from Mosquito Lake. Trail route recognizable only by following blaze on trees. Snow depth at the lake was 24+,” lake starting to thaw at one side. Planning on going to Lost Lake but instead decided to hike Three Peaks Trail #69 along the ridge above Packwood Lake to take in the views. Followed the ridge top northwest for approximately 1.5 MI. Amazing views of Johnson Peak, Coal Creek Ridge and Mt. Rainier. Afternoon temps were in the 60’s,not a cloud in the sky, didn’t think it could be better than yesterday, but it was. Returned to camp to pack up and leave in late afternoon. Could not have asked for a better hike or conditions, what an amazing blessing!

The FS road to the trailhead is snow free although some remains of blowdown litter the road. You need a NW pass to park at the trailhead. We started out for a short walk in the woods, somewhere along the way we decided to go for the whole loop. The first 2/3 of the way in was in great shape, a few step-over blowdowns, dry and flat. At about just over an hour in we ran into patches of snow and then progressing to solid packed snow. No need for snow shoes, it was hard enough to walk on the top without much postholing. The lake is high and clear of ice. AT the rangers station there is a sign stating that the lower trail is closed. We were running out of time and decided to give it a try instead of climbing back up and over the snow fields. One large wash-out has closed the trail, a new trail is already cut around and was safe to pass. OK for hikers, not for horses or ORV's. All in all a great day, any day hiking is better than any day working. Round trip 9 miles, 4 hours.

We had to start our hike about a mile from the trailhead due to about 6"" heavy snow covering most of last stretch of road.

The trail, under tree cover, was bare for about the 1st 1/2 mile. We were able to hike in about 1/2 way to the lake, or somewhere between 2 - 2.5 miles on the trail. After the first 1/2 mile, the snow seemed more than 5 times deeper than I have seen it in early February in past years. We crossed a few streams that were flowing full & freely. Snow was so sloped and so deep on the trail that I had to do kick-steps with my snowshoes for safety. Walking perpendicular to the slope was causing some discomfort to my knees, especially the downhill one! We climbed over at least 3 downed trees. We finally decided to turn around when we encountered a blow down with lots of bushy branches crossing the trail on a steeply sloped snow-covered section. It just didn't seem safe to try to get around this obstacle. Heavy snow definitely changed the terrain here as I don't normally consider this a difficult trail.

The weather was cooler than expected. I wore shorts and a long sleeve shirt and was still very comfortable. There were no bugs on the trail! We may have been just lucky. The trail was easy, mostly dry and clear. The old growth was cool among the newer growth trees. The lake was beautiful. Nice place to stop for lunch. Round trip 9 miles. Vault toilet at lake not well maintained but toilet at trailhead was very nice. I'll do this one again!