Sheep Lake and Sourdough Gap

Geezerpal Larry and I needed a change of scenery so off we go southbound to Chinook Pass - 1hr 50 min from Renton. WTA instructions to the trailhead are dead on. No water enroute so bring yer own needs. The first mile heading east parallel to Hwy 410 on a steep slope gains no altitude but would be real interesting if you had some rambunctious kids. Keep'em reeled in cuz there's a few spots to go splat over the ledge onto the highway.
As soon as you turn into the forest, all road noise ceases and you are surrounded by fields of spruce, wildflowers and NO bugs. In lieu of the proper Latin names, I'll define the flora as purple, white, yaller and red daisy like stuff. The trail is very moderate in grade but a bit dusty. I had to keep some space to my partner, lest we look like Schroeder walking behind Pigpen as his sockless Dr Scholl's footwear kicked up some large, wind supported clouds of the fine stuff for me to inhale.
In another mile you reach the basin holding Sheep Lake and a fine view of Sourdough Gap. Must be a good swimming lake as there were lots of footprint on the lake bottom. Admiring our intended assault up to the ridge, Geezerpal questioned my ability to move my aging volume up that baby in a timely manner. To my surprise, it was a very easy 600 feet with great alpine views. I did momentarily suffer "sympathetic vertigo" as Geezerpal steeped out onto the 45 degree slope with his 2.5X reading glasses on, in an attempt to find the macro setting on his camera for a flower shot.
In short order we made the gap, tucked out of the wind and admired the views northeast along the PCT. Too early for lunch so we traversed across some talus to another "gap" to our north. This provided a path down a bit to a fine lunch spot overlooking Upper Crystal Lake and a fine view of Emmons Glacier on Rainier.
The way back was just as rewarding as the big alpine views could be admired endlessly. An outstanding hike for any/all capabilities.