I took my 7 year old daughter on our 3rd annual backpacking trip into the Wenatchee wilderness near Mount Rainier. We started off in 70 degrees with partly cloudy skies into fields of blooming colorful wildflowers and huge scenery of mountain peaks, forests, and lakes. Since we were coming in from Chinook pass we didn't see Mount Rainier until the next morning when we hiked around Dewey Lake. From there we sat on a white sandy beach with crystal-clear mega-views of Mount Rainier. But that's not what impressed my daughter. For her, it was all about the animal tracks and her field guide, which she used to identify some wolf and elk tracks and skats. We proceeded to follow them when they ended at the water's edge. The mosquitoes were pretty bad near our tent site. Since the weather was so warm we decided to go for a swim! Well, I did anyway, as she waded around near me. The trip was full of excitement and while we were sad some of our friends couldn't join us, we decided this would be the place to bring them next year. We ended up leaving late in the day, and didn't get to a place with cellular service until around 7pm when I realized my wife was very worried about us!

Our group of six, my wife and I, my ten year old and his friend, and my 16 year old daughter and her boyfriend all hiked today. We started at the top of Chinook Pass and hiked up the ridge on the Dewey Lake/Naches Loop trail. It was a beautiful but slightly hazy day, but was warm with a nice breeze. There were a few bugs and we all got bit a few times, but then we put on some spray and that seemed to do the trick. There were a few snow patches on the shady side of the peak, but the trail was in great shape and dry. We went up the ridge and then dropped down to Dewey Lake. The views of the lake from up top are excellent, and it made me a bit nervous to hike down because it looks wayyyy down there. The book says 700 ft, but it looks like more. The way down was easy and the lake was wonderful. The kids all got their feet wet and my son even dove all the way in the lake. The water was not too cold this time of year. They loved getting the mud between their toes and playing in the water. The hike back up was a bit of a buster, but was quickly handled. My son''s friend, who was really enjoying the hike remarked at the top of this stretch, 'I don't like hiking anymore'. Quite funny, but he quickly rallied as we told him the uphill stuff was done. A short bit more around the loop towards Tipsoo Lake and the Mountain came into full view. THe first sighting is quite breathtaking. It was a bit crowded on this part of the trail, but well worth it. The view from this point is awesome, Mt Rainer on one side, peaks all around and down to Dewey Lake on the other. Tons of purple wildflowers blooming, with a touch of the red ones as well. From here, very easy down the hill to Tipsoo Lake. We left the kids at the lake and hiked up the 1/4 mile to the car. Very nice hike all around.

Four of us did an overnight hike to Dewey Lake to watch the Perseid meteor shower. The wildflowers are putting on a fantastic display right now. The only wildflower I know that we didn't see was shooting stars. We saw avalanche lilies, tiger lilies, elephant heads, and a lot more. The trail to Dewey Lake is completely snow free. We day hiked around the lake after setting up camp and found a few patches of snow on that trail, but they will probably be gone soon. The trailhead and the first 2/3 of the trail were both very crowded, but there really weren't that many people at the lake (the camp sites are spaced pretty far apart). This is a great trip in terms of effort and driving time vs. reward. We did get chewed on by some bugs, but managed to avoid them by hiding in our tents and putting on rain shells. Happy trails!

Took advantage of one of the first truly summer weekends to revisit a hike I haven't done in over 30 years. The trees are a lot bigger now than I remember! Even though it was nearly August and Chinook pass was clear, Tipsoo Lake is still mostly frozen over. We hiked up Hwy410 from the parking area to connect to the PCT. It was covered in snow nearly all the way to the junction with the Natchez Loop (where you get your wilderness permits), but was relatively easy to follow as there have been a lot of day hikers up here recently. The descent to Dewey had spots of snow on the trail and lots of soft, wet trail. Mosquitoes weren't too bad, and the fishing was great. On the hike out we opted to take the Natchez loop back to Tipsoo Lake. Less snow on that trail, but not by much!

drove up to chinook pass tuesday and decided to come back hike to dewey lake, since their wasnt much snow on the top of the pass (maybe 4-5 inches). started hiking at 8:40 the ground was a little icy but it was mostly powered snow. got down to the lake at 10:00 and had lunch. there's alot less snow on the eastside going down to the lake. the lake is not frozen over yet. it was a beautiful sunny day for a hike in the snow!!!!