After his great hike to Owyhigh Lakes and Tamanos Mt yesterday:   https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2022-09-06.0829208382

I wasn't sure if my sidekick Jeno would be up for a hike this morning but he said yes so I picked him up in Maple Valley at 5:00 AM and we headed south down Highway 410 to Mt Rainier to hike one of our favorite early Sept hikes, the Naches Peak loop with a side trip down to Dewey Lake.    We arrived at the empty parking lot a few minutes after 6:00 and while we were getting ready two more cars joined us.  One guy was there to take sunrise photos of Mt Rainier while the other said he would be following us on the loop but not down to the lake so we never saw him after leaving the parking area.   I did use the bathroom and it was stocked full of TP and that's all I'll say about it.

We headed clockwise on the loop trail and were rewarded with a really nice sunrise over the Cascades.   We were on the long stretch to the turn down to Dewey Lake when Jeno hollered out "bear."   My eagle eyed friend had spotted a solo bear about 40-50 yards away and down slope from us.  Sadly he was too far away to get any good photos or videos.   We continued on our way and made the turn and descended down to Dewey Lake.   One of the reasons we like to do this hike in Sept is the odds of running into north bound PCT thru hikers are pretty good and today was no exception.  We met and talked to Sandals, Zombie and Gib.  I video taped my interviews with them. Jeno said I'm a regular Walter Cronkite with all my questions.    I have attached a 4 minute video of our chats with them.  Please note the video was taken and posted with their permission.  Thanks to all 3 of them for taking time out of their trip to stop and talk with us.  We appreciate it.

We ran into Sandals and Zombie at the lake and Gib when we were almost back to the Naches Peak loop trail.    I was a little worried down at the lake as it had clouded up but by the time we made the climb and were back on the loop trail the clouds were moving away and we had some great views of Mt Rainier to complete our hike.  What was really neat was the clouds throwing shadows on Rainier...my pictures do not do it justice.  I was thinking of the term "a day of light and shadows" as that's what our trip was like.  Some really interesting perspectives of the mountain in the morning light today.

Other then seeing one other photographer on the loop trail we didn't run into any other people so a quiet day on the trails.   The bugs were a non factor kept at bay by cooler temps and a slight breeze thru out our hike.   Now I have to give my buddy the business....yesterday he breezed home and said no road construction on Highway 410.  Well not so fast my friend Jeno!   We ran into one stoppage near the Greenwater fire station (they were working in the ditch) and another one just outside of Enumclaw where they were putting down gravel or sealer or something.  We timed both right as we were stopped for less than 30 seconds at the first one and maybe a minute at the second one which was using a pilot car to navigate the lane closure.  So they are still working on 410.   

Stay safe everyone.  See you on the trail.  SR    

Sunday of Labor Day weekend 2022 and I was camping in the Chinook Pass area.  I decided to check out Dewey Lake - and add on Naches Loop.

The TH parking lots were all very busy and lots of people milling about the area on this holiday weekend.  Weather was sublime - temps in the mid-60s and blue skies.  A very beautiful day!

Lots and lots and lots of people headed both directions on the Naches Loop Trail (I started from the bridge over 410 and went clockwise towards Dewey Lake).  Only remaining wildflowers are some well past peak Cascade asters and quite a few Western Pasqueflower seedheads.  There is quite a bit of pearly everlasting near the roadside/parking lots.  I did see some Sitka Mountain Ash bushes with yellowing leaves and berries turning red.  Fall is on the way!

At Dewey Lake, there were a few backpacker groups hanging out, relaxing by the lake.  It was a truly beautiful day and this lake is quite picturesque!  It was nice to be able to have a patch of lake front to eat lunch solo - as compared to the crowds up on Naches Loop.

After lunch, I headed back up to Naches Loop trail to finish the loop.  I was amazed at how 'gentle' the trail was headed back up from Dewey Lake - gotta love PCT hikes!  Naches Loop was super busy, of course...but everyone was in good spirits.  Views of The Mountain were tremendous.  

I heard/saw several birds - Red Breasted Nut Hatches, an American Robin, some Canada jays (which people were feeding at one of the lunch rocks on Naches Loop), Vaux's Swifts at Dewey Lake, various Dark Eyed Juncos, golden crowned Kinglet, a Steller's Jay, a Northern Flicker, a Raven flying around one of the tarns on Naches Loop and Sooty Grouse and MAYBE a Western Screech Owl in the forested area headed down the trail - I heard something that sounded like one and looked and looked up in the trees, but couldn't find anything.

What a gorgeous day for such a gorgeous trail - and the addition of Dewey Lake is highly recommended!

Hiked Naches Peak Loop Trail to Dewey Lake.  Beautiful day, and as always a beautiful hike.  Had Dewey Lake to ourselves on a Monday afternoon, and the water was quite pleasant for swimming. Cool but not really cold. There were no noticeable mosquitoes, but some buzzing flies that weren't too bothersome.  On the trail, there were a couple of black flies that stung, but moderate bug repellant kept them away.

There were wildflowers in stretches, which were very nice, but they are definitely past their peak now.  

The trail to Dewey Lake from Naches Peak Loop Trail is signed, so avoid some other social trails that seem to head down to the lake that people have created near Naches Peak. These social trails just lead to other view points.

One note of caution: Route 410 leading into the Park is under major construction both ways.  They've reduced it to one lane in many places, and will hold traffic in one direction, to let cars go by in other direction.  This can add 30 minutes each way to your drive. You should factor that in when you calculate your drive time. The construction seems to end at 5pm, when both lanes of 410 are freed up.

We arrived at the Tipsoo Lake parking area at 9 AM Sunday and there were two spaces left. We hiked the Naches Peak Loop trail (Pacific Crest Trail) in the clockwise direction to the junction where the loop trail continues around Naches Peak and the PCT drops down to Dewey Lake. That first section to the trail junction was fairly crowded, but most of the hikers were doing the loop trail so there were way fewer hikers from there on down to the lake. Since it's the PCT, the trail is easy hiking. At the overlook a little before the trail junction, you have a nice view down to Dewey Lake and peaks beyond to the east. You can also see the very top of Mt. Adams peaking over a ridge to the south. From the long traverse a little below the trail junction, there is a good view to the southwest that includes peaks in the Tatoosh range just south of Rainier.

The trail arrives at Dewey Lake near the inlet. We walked all the way around the lake clockwise with a lunch break on a beach. The path got a little indistinct towards the east end of the lake and there was a stretch of a couple hundred feet just north of the outlet stream that required a bit of bushwacking but not hard. There's a log across the outlet to cross. From there back to the PCT, which runs along the south side of the lake, the trail is clear. There's a nice sandy beach by the outlet. The water is super clear and we watched big trout swimming by. We saw bear scat and what we think was elk scat. 

This is an easy hike with some nice views to a pretty lake. 

Note to hikers with dogs: The ~1/4-mile trail from the Tipsoo Lake parking lot to where the PCT crosses Hwy 410 on the footbridge and the trail to Dewey Lake begins is signed "no pets" at both ends. This makes no sense since the only alternative from the parking lot would be to walk the highway to the footbridge (not safe), and dogs are allowed on the PCT. If you want to abide by the signage, it's possible to park along the road near the footbridge or at the overlook lot a little east of the footbridge.

OK, based on comments below, here's some clarification:

If you want to hike the trail to Dewey Lake from Chinook Pass with your dog, don't park in the Tipsoo Lake parking lot planning to walk the short trail from there to the start of the trail at the footbridge over Hwy 410 at the pass. The Tipsoo Lake parking lot is just barely inside the National Park hence the "no pets" signage on the trail there. Instead, park just east of the pass which is outside the Park boundary.

Started at Chinook Pass around 3pm on Thursday - lot was mostly full but a few parking spots were available and it seemed to be clearing out. No TP in toilets. We hiked clockwise around the Naches Peak trail until the turnoff for Dewey Lake, and headed down to stay the night. Found a large campsite along the PCT - perfect except for the constant drone of mosquitoes. I found them tolerable; someone more susceptible to bites might not, but they cleared up once the sun went down and weren’t as bad in the morning. We explored along the south side of the lake and tried to find the path that loops around, but gave up after several brushy dead ends. In the morning we found some blueberries - seem to be winding down, went for a swim, and headed back out, turning left onto the Naches Peak Loop Trail to complete the loop. On a Friday afternoon the trail was busier, and a friendly WTA(?) crew was building new wooden steps and water bars - thank you! We got a brief but spectacular look at Mt. Rainier before the clouds came in around 2pm. Rewarding loop for a short overnight, a first backpacking trip for one member of our group!