The road an trail are in good condition. The wildflowers in the meadow are in full bloom and absolutely beautiful. The other thing that is in full bloom are the black flies in the heat of the day. This hike has somehow stayed off of my radar for years, but it is now one that I would put in my top 10. Great either as a day hike or a mellow overnight Backpack.

Despite an ominous weather report, we headed off for an overnight to Spider Meadows. The trail into the meadows is in great shape with only a few places that would benefit from drainage work. There are a lot of small creek crossings along the way.

There are tons of wildflowers blooming – bluebells, queen’s cup, lupine, columbine, tiger lily, avalanche lily, and a gazillion others - but it is still early. There are many more blooms to come!

We arrived in Spider to see the destruction left by a massive avalanche. While the snow was gone, the giant matchsticks that were once trees were scattered across the first part of the meadow. At least a couple of campsites were almost certainly scoured away. It was hard to grasp the force that must have torn through to do that much damage.

The trail is clear all the way to the far end of Spider Meadows. Once you get close to Phelps Creek, you will find a couple of snow crossings - including one over the creek. We found the snow to be solid - but caution is still advised. It won't be long before the snow bridge is too weak for crossing.

We were pelted with hail and rain before reaching our chosen camp area, so we set up in one of the horse camps at the far end of the meadows to hunker down as Mother Nature put on several thunder and lighting storms.

The next morning we awoke to the rapturous songs of our feathered friends and the peeps and whistles of pikas and marmots. Once we got ourselves together, we headed up toward Spider Gap. The trail toward the Gap is much improved over previous years and the flowers become even more abundant along steep slopes. While the trail is improved, don't think it is easy. Compared to the lower trails, this one is more of a scramble. There are many loose rocks and it is steep. Seriously fun - but steep.

Once we reached the snowfield below Spider Glacier, we were awed by the views back toward the floor of Spider Meadows and amazed by the waterfalls cascading off of the surrounding cliff walls. The place was empty of people and beautiful. 500' higher it was also full of fog. Since neither of us felt the need to trudge up the snow into a thick white cloud so we could see nothing but white, we turned around.

By the time we made it back to our camp, the sun came out to fill the lower areas with warmth and dazzling light. We were finally able to see the tops of Mt. Maude and Seven Fingered Jack while Dumbbell Mountain and much of Red Mountain played an on-going game of peek-a-boo through the clouds.

The hike out was mellow and became increasingly hotter as we got closer to the parking lot. Growling stomachs made the drive out feel longer than the ride in but eventually we made it back to the highway for delicious (and oh, so healthy) cheeseburgers and onion rings!

A great trip and one of the most amazing places in Washington!

We wanted to make the best of the Labor Day weekend, so we set off at 5:30am from north Seattle. Got to Trinity around 8am after the most disgusting breakfast ever at the Sultan McDonalds. The 30 minutes spent eating a real breakfast would have been worth it both in the taste & energy we would have got.

It was sunny & fairly windy at Trinity but we soon got our packs on & headed up the trail. Buck Creek trail is easy & flat for the first 6 miles or so. The PCT detour has been good to this trail--almost too good in some parts; it looked like it had been clearcut. About 5mi in we felt raindrops on us. Odd--it was sunny out! As we proceeded we saw a bank of fog/low cloud hugging the ridge top--the wind was blowing the drops our way. It gradually got colder and when we hit the real precipitation it was snow pellets; nice because we didn't get wet! The trail gets steeper--and more scenic once it starts climbing away from the river--about 6mi in.

We made Buck Creek Pass about 3:30 (yes we were taking our time--that McD's breakfast). Glacier Peak was shrouded in mist--just peeking through in parts. No one there but lots of nice campsites in the beautiful meadows. We decided to press on to a lower elevation so we didn't freeze that night.

A steep & quick hour down found us at Small Creek where we decided to spend the night. Chilly & misty but we were warm with out red beans & rice--and some whisky.

The next morning dawned misty & chilly. We left (still in our long johns) at 10:15. The long johns came off after about 15 minutes up the hillside. Not too steep, but enough to warm us up. 11:15 found us at Middle Ridge, pretty in the mist, but no views. Then a walk down & through the forest to the "real" PCT at 12:30.

The trail up to Suiattle Pass was fairly easy in improving conditions through lovely huckleberry meadows. Took the hikers trail (not for the faint of heart) to Cloudy Pass. We sheltered from a heavy snowstorm about 300' below the pass & then went on to the blue sky we could see at the other side of the pass (4pm).

The meadows on the SE side of Cloudy Pass are beautiful, if past their prime. A pity the ridges were all shrouded in fog. Lower Lyman lake was windy & cloudy so we made for the Upper Lyman Basin: what an incredible place.

We pulled in to an awesome campsite completely sheltered from the wind somewhere around 5.30. The weather may not have been the best this weekend (though it was completely fine for us), but it sure made less hardy souls (and bugs) stay away. It was wonderful to have the whole Upper Lyman Basin just to ourselves.

Frost on the tent in the morning. We stayed in camp (watching a bear bound across the meadows) till about 11:15 so the snow would have a chance to soften on our paths up & down Spider Gap.

The trail up the gap isn't hard to find if you keep a lookout for the cairns. The snowfield was definitely the way to go. Made the top around 12:30 and glissaded (ice axe not needed) down the Spider "glacier" to Larch Knob. Boy the trail from there down to Spider Meadow is steep!

A leisurely lunch at the big boulder by Phelps Creek at 1:30. We left the lower meadow at 3pm & got back to the trailhead at 4.30. What a shock! Where were the hoards of people leaving Spider Meadow who were supposed to pick up a hitchhiker & take me back to the car? We started down the road & after about 15 minutes were picked up by a lovely lady driving a red jeep. If you read this, thanks & I hope your trip to the Enchantments was wonderful!

All in all a great hike, probably improved by the iffy weather keeping the crowds away.

One final note: the way to do this loop is clockwise; the steeps are all downhill that way, Spider Glacier is a glacier no longer, and that 8mi out Buck Creek trail would be boring & long at the end. Okay, if you don't have a modicum of experience of snowfields maybe do it counter-clockwise, but don't be put off by the warnings that the glacier is dangerous. It isn't--at least not in late summer.