Started my loop at the Clear Lost Lk. TH at the end of FS Rd. 46. The road is rutted and full of potholes, but there was still a horse trailer up there. The first 2.3 miles is flat into the intersection of 76 (coming in from HWY 12) and 61 Clear Fork. There is a caved in old cabin there. I headed up 76 climbing steadily for several miles until it opened into a beautiful valley before climbing up above the treeline. The wildflowers were a stunning foreground to the views of Rainier. There were a couple of snowfields at the top that I had to work my way around as they were too firm to kick steps into with running shoes. The trail climbs steeply at the top to emerge on top of the world, or at least on top of this ~6300' summit. There is metal debris from some previous structure there, as well as a fishing pole someone abandoned. Coyote Lake looked beautiful down below. I started down the other side which drops quickly to Lost Lake. This is a beautiful lake with some nice camping. A short while later I turned at the Coyote trail 79 and started climbing through the trees. Mt Rainier again reveals itself in peekaboo fashion, until the trail wraps around where the view is instead Packwood Lake and the Upper Lake Creek Basin. It did not disappoint! This trail gets real skinny in places as it hugs the ridge so don’t gawk at the waterfalls and lovely mountains while you are walking. Finally I popped out on top of the ridge (Chimney Rock?) and the trail follows it down, eventually ending at Packwood Saddle. The best was yet to come. The trail climbs again up through a meadow of lupine with views of Egg Butte until it meets the PCT at Elk Pass, another amazing place. From here I took the PCT North, past the Elk and Mountain Goats and snowfields in total awe of my surroundings. The PCT goes downhill through a valley filled with snow runoff and wildflowers until it goes back into the trees and turns more northward. I took a turn at the intersection of trail 61 Clear Fork, which someone has written on the sign “Not Maintained.” This was somewhat true, as there was plenty of blowdown to negotiate but I could easily follow the trail back to the Clear Fork/Clear Lost intersection and back to the car. This loop is 34.4 miles and took me 10 hours fast packing/trail running, with lots of picture stops. Would be a great 2-3 day trip camping at Lost Lake and/or Packwood Saddle.

We had two days and our 9 month old granddaughter, so we chose a not so difficult place for her first overnighter. The weather was hot (90's) & the map showed several creeks on the way in, so we werent too worried about water for the hike in. However, there was only 1 creek on the way in which to filter water, the others had dried up already. It was located about the halfway point. We were a little slower paced having an infant with us (our daughter the trooper with baby on front & her pack on her back!) & it took us about 2 hours each way.

The berries were starting to ripen! Another week or so and they will be everywhere!! The views of Johnson Peak from the lake were amazing! The lake itself, even more so after the hot hike in! We swam for hours & couldnt get our dog out of the water!! She even had to have a midnite swim!!

Given more time, we would have gladly scouted out other views from the lake. Overall, this is a great place, not a difficult hike at all. The trail is in great shape.

Only disapointment is the previous people that disrespected the land by leaving SO MUCH trash. We carried out more than triple what we ourselves brought in. Fortunately, there is trash service at the trailhead!

The trail is in great shape and the miles go by fast on the gentle grade.
The lake is beautiful!
We took the trail in and the old road back allowing us to enjoy both.
The bugs are out and hungry.

The trail to Packwood Lake is in excellent condition! We encountered some mud, which was to be expected because it's still early summer and was drizzling when we hiked in. However, the snow has completely melted and the trail would be great for families, day hikers, etc. It took us exactly 1hr 45min each direction with packs.

We had two days and decided to spend a night at the lake, which was absolutely gorgeous when the sun made it's appearance this morning.

Today, we made our way up trail #69 Mosquito Lake-Three Peaks. I saw the sign marked "Three Peaks 2.5" at Packwood Lake and figured that it would make a good early-morning hike. I was hoping that we'd encounter some impressive views of the surrounding mountains. Unfortunately, after a grueling hour of switchbacks, we hadn't encountered much of anything. Eventually, we did reach a lake (which I assume was Mosquito Lake)and a great deal of snow. After some confusion we were able to relocate the trail and continue on (determined to see those views!) despite the snow. We made it to a beautiful meadow from which you can see Johnson peak but were unable to continue much further due to the snow. This trail has not been maintained and we encountered numerous downed trees and shared our trail with nearly a dozen creeks. To say the least, it was an adventure.

The hike back from Packwood Lake was more crowded since it's the Fourth of July but still relatively quiet. Compared to our morning excursion, those 4.5 miles were a breeze, even with packs.

If you choose to do this hike, enjoy!