Overnight backpack from Chinook Pass down to Anderson Lake on the Pacific Crest Trail. Entered on the Naches Peak Loop trail before descending to Dewey Lakes on the PCT and then on to Anderson Lake which is located just inside the Rainier Nat'l Park boundary. NP won't issue a permit for Anderson (we tried) as they say you must camp 1/2 mile off the PCT which passes on and off into National Park land. Makes a bit of a hassle, but there is a camp just 1000 yards past Anderson Lake off the PCT called the Basin Overlook Camp. It's set back off the trail about 200 feet and overlooks the American river valley and the American ridge. Mosquitoes were heavy and aggressive at Dewey Lakes, with just a couple of small snow patches in shaded nooks and corners off trail. Lots of flowers blooming at Chinook Pass area and around Dewey Lake. Even a few Avalanche Lillies still blooming at Dewey as the snow melt is recent. Mosquitoes were moderately heavy at Anderson, but less than at Dewey. A hiker coming out of American Lakes from the weekend said they had heavy frost and frozen water bottles the night before, so that may cut the bugs down for a short while there. Hiked back out the next day and went around Little Dewey and then finished out by completing the Naches Loop trail through the Rainier NP side and around Tipsoo lake and then back to Chinook Pass parking. Around 14 miles total trip distance. About 5.5 miles one way into Anderson and less than 3 hours going in. Still water in most streams and lakes at Dewey have lots of fish jumping and rising there for those who want to try their luck. Met a few hikers coming out from the weekend at Dewey, and a couple hikers making their final push from White Pass to Snoqualmie on Mon/Tue. They were quite tired and sore as they were heavily loaded for the trek...or they weren't quite in shape for the distance. Trail is quite dusty and hiking partners must separate by 25-40 feet to avoid eating dust while hiking. Trail in good shape, nothing to steep, rocky, or muddy anywhere. Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33346716@N03/sets/72157624807244280/

The wildflowers are perfect along the eastern side of the Naches Peak Loop. At 9AM on Saturday there was no one else on this section. Bugs were only mildly bothersome along this stretch of the trail. We added the trail down to Dewey Lakes and found the perfect log to sit and have lunch with a view of the lake. Ahh! But then we were swarmed by a multitude of persistent mosquitoes, forcing a quick lunch and a hike back up to Naches Peak Loop. By this time swarms of hikers had descended on this popular hike. Go early and/or on a weekday to beat the crowds.

I've hiked this trail many times, it's gorgeous and, with the bonus of wildflower meadows and several lakes (as well as just outside the Rainier National Park area), a favorite for my dogs too! I was excited to get out there again with my family, but when we arrived at the trailhead along Hwy 410, I realized why no one had posted a trail report yet... the trail is still snowed in! I've never seen this trail impassable with regular hiking boots so late in the year. Sure, I've had to navigate some snow along the eastern slope in the past, but that's usually the only issue. The snow pack was easily 4-5 feet, so I will probably wait a month to try it again.

Wife and I did a 4 day backpack trip in the Chinook Pass area Sept 21-24. Started out at Chinook Pass at 11am and headed down the PCT to Dewey Lake where we stopped for lunch and a rest break. Trail is in good shape. Most of the camping sites around Dewey are closed for restoration on both sides of the lake. Headed on down the PCT south to Anderson Lake where we planned to camp, but found out it was in the Mount Rainier National Park boundary, so no camping at the lake. There is a camp just about 40 yards up the PCT and off to the left about 150 feet from the trail marked with a Camp sign. We stayed the night at the "Basin Overlook Camp" and enjoyed sitting around Anderson lake until the sun went down. Loads of blueberries and huckleberries. Next morning (late) we headed on down the PCT to the American Ridge trail junction and took it to American lake. A great lake and lots of good camp spots. We got in so early to America Lake (only 50 minutes from Anderson), that we set up camp and then headed off with day packs down to Cougar Lakes. The trail to Cougar Lakes heads off of the American Ridge trail about a mile east of American Lake. From there it doesn't follow either the Green Trails map or my Delorme map on the GPS. It has been rerouted to go up higher on the ridgeline and then drop down several step and rocky switchbacks just above little Cougar Lake. Nearly all the sites at Little Cougar and between Cougar and Little Cougar Lake are closed for restoration. There was only one meadow place that we found that we would have camped in, but there is a horse camp just behind it and that wouldn't be were we'd want to be. The trail to Cougar was rough and very hard to determine as multiple paths go different ways as horse groups have simply chosen where they want to travel and make their own path. The lakes were beautiful, but the trail and the camping were less than appealing. We hoofed it back to American lake by 4 PM and went for a swim to cool off and wash the dust off us. The next day we headed N on the PCT hoping to camp on the far side of Dewey lake (opposite the PCT), but after wandering the complete far side there were no places that were open to camp in except one at the top of the lake were toilet paper, feces, and urine smell permeated the entire place (interesting that site wasn't closed for restoration). So we decided to try Little Dewey Lake and found several great spots for camping on the N side of the lake. Hiked out on Thursday from Dewey back to Chinook Pass in 1 1/2 hours. All in all a great 4 days of beautiful weather, beautiful lakes, and pleanty of fresh air. Only one other party at American lake and one other party at Little Dewey. We had Anderson Lake all to ourselves (along with a herd of Elk that were bugling the entire night long.) All told we ended up hiking 19 miles over the 4 days. Blueberries were all over the place we picked several cups for our oatmeal and packed 2 cups out with us. Fall colors were great and the trail was not too dusty. Very few bugs to speak of anywhere (Dewey had the most mosquitoes, but not bad at all). Saw bear evidence on trail, but no bears.

The Naches Loop had beautiful views and great visibility, but a lot of people (for mid-week). Much of the upper part of the trail is exposed to direct sun so wear sunscreen! We did the loop (half one day and half the next) and make sure to do it clockwise for some breathtaking views of Rainier. The descent into the lakes fairly easy (and shaded!) and look out for blueberries along the trail. We walked around the lake clockwise looking for a campsite--there were some up in the woods near the other end, but the best ones were back near the beginning of the loop (i.e. take a right when you first get there if camping is your intention) The only bad part was the bugs. Mosquitoes, biting flies, bees, hornets...all of which got worse when we cooked.