I hiked from Chinook Pass to Anderson Lake on the PCT. At Anderson Lake, I found some equipment dropped in the grass. If you lost something in the last few days at Anderson Lake, comment back to this trip report. The hike was great in the sunny weather. The flowers were fantastic from Chinook Pass to the start of the descent to Dewey Lake. On the descent to Dewey Lake, the berries are still green, but looks like a good crop in a week or two. The fishing was OK at the upper Dewey Lake (8" trout), but no success at the lower. The mosquitos were out, but repellent seemed to keep them at bay. There's a nice view of the top of Mt. Rainier over the trees from the east end of Dewey Lake (on the trail around the north side), but not as good as from the Naches Loop Trail. The hike down to Anderson Lake is a nice walk through the woods and past a large marshy meadow south of Dewey Lake. Anderson Lake is small, no fish, but not crowded like Dewey Lake.

I parked at Chinook Pass and stood on Hwy 410, right outside of Mt. Rainier N.P. (hitchhiking illegal from within the national park), thumb out, with a cardboard sign reading, “Hwy 12 / White Pass.” Motorists passed by, some scowling, some averting their gaze, others pointing and smiling. After almost two hours I thought, “Okay, this was a stupid idea. I’ll give it five more minutes, but I guess I’ll have to change my hike.” Right at that moment a noisy group of northbound hikers crossed the bridge over the road and asked, “Where are you headed?” “I’m trying to get to White Pass,” I answered. “Dude!” their leader shouted. “We’re taking you there!” They had just completed the section themselves and were shuttling back to pick up their other vehicle. The only space for me was squished in the back of their pickup, buried in backpacks with a dog named Trillium. I faced backwards, as we took the tight curves through the pass, Rainier filling my vision as we headed south down Hwy 123. Forty minutes later they were dropping me off at the White Pass PCT trailhead. The first 10-12 miles of this hike were pretty moderate/relatively flat, shaded under old-growth hemlock, passing small lakes and meadows. The mosquitoes were bad, so I hiked faster, and instead of stopping at Snow Lake, kept on going, stopping 13 miles in at a lovely, large campsite (WACS2313 on HalfMile’s PCT maps) next to a creek (name?) about a ¼ mile past the Jug Lake trailhead. It was backed by a large meadow dotted with subalpine fir. I was the only person there until right around nightfall, when a hunched-over fellow in his 20s, with the knees on his convertible pants all blown out, came shuffling in. He set up his tarp-tent in like two minutes flat, and stopped by to say hello. French accent, started at the Mexico border in February, was happy that he only had 17 days left on the PCT. We talked about bear bags (he sleeps with his food, and told me, “I am not worried about bears here AT ALL.”). I hung my food anyway, and as I fell asleep, I thought, “Oh I have too much food with me; I’ll give him some in the morning.” But of course he was long gone by the time I woke up. Day 2 was harder. You descend to Bumping River (couple of small campsites here, 14 miles in), then begin a steady climb up to a plateau on the flanks of Crag Mountain. A lot of mental chatter (work/relationships/annoying Beach Boys songs/various aches and pains/etc). I was planning to check out Crag Lake, but missed the trail, but soon came across another side trail to an unnamed lake directly west and slightly higher than Crag Lake, in the same basin. I’m going to call it “Upper Crag Lake.” It was a smaller lake, but clear and deep. There was a campsite here, and a network of trails. I stripped down to my pale office-worker body and went for a swim with the rough-skinned newts. Dried off for about a minute before the mosquitoes and flies found me, so started hiking again. The climb out of this section is hard, but at the top you finally come into view of Mount Rainier, and keep it in view for much of the next few miles, as you follow a generally more open and sunny route near the ridgeline. Not much water here unless you want to make a long-ish detour down to Two Lake or American Lake. Took a break at Anderson Lake, then decided I still had more walking in me, so pressed on to Dewey Lake, passing a lovely high meadow and converging creeks. Hiking in the late afternoon/early evening is the best. Camped near the trail and explored the area. Met a southbound PCT thru-hiker who seemed a little bit lonely but in otherwise good spirits. This was another 13-mile day. I slept with my food. Day 3. Hiked two more miles or so back to my car. Took deep breaths while sitting in traffic on I-5, trying not to lose what I’d just gained.

We hiked the PCT over 4 days from Chinook Pass Southbound past White Pass, through Goat Rocks Wilderness to exit at Walupt Lake via the Nanny Ridge trail just South of Cispus Pass. The PCT was in excellent condition from Chinook Pass to White pass with only one or two downed tree easily stepped over. However, there are a few dozen downed trees on the PCT between White Pass and the North end of Goat Rocks, most of them between Hidden Spring and Elk Pass. There were lots of mosquitos between Craig Lake and White Pass, and especially the first few miles South of White Pass on the PCT. There are several low-angled snow fields on the higher parts of the PCT above Snowgrass Flats, but they are all low angle and fairly short. However, there are two larger and slightly steeper snowfields on the NW side of Old Snowy on the PCT, between the two junctions for the Old Snowy summit trail and the PCT. There's also a small snowfield on the steep North side of the ridge just before Elk Pass, but it's very small and should melt out within the week. The bugs were minimal in the more alpine sections South of Chinook Pass and through the whole Goat Rocks area. For a full trip report and more photos, you can see the following blog post about the trip: lesmoorephoto.com/pct-section-hike-chinook-pass-walupt-lake/

We set up the trip as a one-way with car shuttle, going north to south. The hike down to Dewey was without snow or any other problems and the swim in the lake was the perfect antidote from the heat. We continued on to American Lake where we hoped to set up camp, but were disappointed to find only one appropriate (durable surface) campsite which would accommodate a max of 2 tents (we had 5). Although we were tired and the day was running out, we pressed on toward Cougar Lakes. We came across a family who had stopped at an old post with no markings and they insisted that it was the trail to Cougar. Our GPS indicated the same, so we headed up the trail, along with a couple of horses. The trail on the GT map looks to stay fairly level, staying on the contour and reaching the lake at the low point. But the trail we took had some steep gain, was poorly maintained (if at all) and climbed high on the shoulder of the ridge, descending a rocky trail to the lake. But at least we got there, and found good campsites as well. The next day, we took the adventurous trail through rock gardens that C. Romano mentions in his book, joining the PCT again. This section of trail goes in and out of Mt Rainier NP which forbids dogs, weapons and vehicles. OK, everyone, stash your dogs and guns! In no time, despite some serious attempts at lollygagging, a lost art among backpackers these days, we arrived at the Laughingwater Creek junction. A few of us continued on the PCT for some views to the Goat Rocks, Mt Adams, Mt St Helens and Crag Lake below, then headed back to Laughingwater. The camp at Three Lakes is very civilized, with a bear pole, toilet and a patrol cabin which was full of a trio of Rangers who were having a loud game of cards. Good to know their job is not all digging toilets and picking up trash. The remainder of the trail has seen a lot of clearing of trees, presumably by horsepackers, evidenced by the "apples" left on the trail. Yay for horse people!

I spent six solo days out on the PCT, from Forest Road 5603 to Sheep Lake, just past Chinook Pass. I could go on for days about the trip, but I'll stick to the details I hope will be useful for others. I chose Forest Road 5603 because it was 72 miles (ish) south of Chinook Pass, which was my ending point. That gave me about 12 miles a day to complete, a comfortable pace for me. I used the directions for Potato Hill on WTA to get to the trailhead. Note: I found that the mileages for each turn off were a smidge too long. We reached each before we'd actually hit the mileage noted. Still, directions are fine. Leave yourself some time for this drive. The last section of road is rough, but passable in a passenger car. I started a bit before noon and still was easily able to get in 13 miles well before dark. This first section of trail is mostly in wood and is extremely easy hiking. The bugs were bad here in any of the forested areas that were damp, especially in the evening. The next day I climbed up and over Cispus Pass. There was a small bit of snow here. It was all easy to cross, except for the last 12 feet or so, when the boot path goes up a very steep pass. I have short legs and the steps were too big for me, but I made it fine. Given how fast everything is melting out, this could even be gone by now. The basins on both side of the pass were gorgeous. Cispus Basin was particularly lovely. It had tons of waterfalls and streams crossed the trail many times. There are a number of good camps on the far side (if you're traveling north) with truly excellent views. I really wished I'd been able to stay the night there. That night, I camped below the climb up to Old Snowy. There's a nice camp back off the trail to the west. Look for an obvious foot path. I experienced something fascinating while staying at this spot. When I arrived, I went to find water. There was a small stream, which was only running at a trickle, although it had lovely deep pools. While I was making camp, suddenly I realized I could hear water gushing. I went back down and the stream and turned into a rush. Clearly the sun must have hit a patch of snow and dramatically sped up the melting. I was entranced. The next morning, the stream was back to a gentle trickle. There are also some more exposed camps up closer to the Old Snowy Pass and the Goat Rocks. The view from them is amazing. The climb up to Old Snowy felt long for some reason, but it's really not too bad. There are a few lingering snow patches and I was grateful for my trekking poles. (I'm a pretty big wimp about snow if I don't have an ice ax.) At the top, the trail splits giving two options. Right takes you up toward Old Snowy. Left takes you along the PCT. Left is shorter and has no gain. I chose right for two reason. One: Did I mention I'm a wimp about snow? There was a long section of snow with exposure that made me nervous. It ended with a steep downhill that also had exposure on one side. Most people were going that way, I think but I suspected going to the right would mean less snow. And reason two: I wanted to get up higher and have a good look at Old Snowy, even if I didn't have time to scramble up to the true summit. I'm glad I went to the right. There was only a little snow, not at all scary. The view from the top was lovely, including a really cool walk through some tall rocks that rise up impressively on each side. The trail was pretty rough. Some was scree and some was rough slabs, but it wasn't hard to follow and I'll take sketchy rock over sketchy snow any day. Your mileage may vary. I do recommend taking the short Old Snowy detour. It only adds a few tenths of a mile and a couple hundred feet of gain. The views from up there are awesome and you get a really good view of The Knife, the next section of trail. The Knife was gorgeous, huge views all around. A few areas had tiny patches of snow and lots of areas had loose scree. In a couple short sections, the trail has sloughed away to almost nothing. Again, I was grateful for my poles. The trail here rolls up and down a lot. Note: There is, as you'd expect, no water up on the ridge for a long ways. This was the only section where I ran out of water for long enough to wish I had it. (If, however, you're not like me and don't knock over your nearly full water bottle, you'll be fine.) The valley below The Knife was lovely. I wished I could have stayed there, but I needed to make more miles. The last snow crossing on the way out scared me -- that snow bridge is going to collapse at any moment. It may have already. I was very careful crossing. There were a number of downed trees on the trail on my way to Hidden Springs, where I camped. None of the trees were hard to navigate around, however. Hidden Springs is a bit back off the trail. There are many camps here. To find the springs, take the first obvious left on the side trail. (The turn to the springs is across from an obvious campsite.) If you follow the main trail all the way to the end, across a small meadow, there's a lovely, big, private site with an excellent view of a valley below. The next day I hiked as far as Dumbbell Lake. The bugs were bad on this section of trail. Dumbbell Lake is also a ways off of the trail, perhaps a little over half a mile. It was definitely worth the side trip. I had the entire place to myself, except for a doe and her two fawns, a sandpiper and her baby and 8 million mosquitoes. Seriously, the mosquitoes were terrible and I think I have a high tolerance. I was thrilled when the wind picked up. I ate my dinner on a chunk of rock sticking out into the lake. The wind kept the bugs away. When I went back to camp, more protected in the woods, the swarm followed me. I got into my tent as quickly as possible but I had to smash 24 (24!) mosquitoes that came in with me. Anyways, Dumbbell Lake: Highly recommended unless you really, really can't stand bugs. Near the lake there's a section of forest that must have burned some years ago. The white snags looked really pretty in the evening light. The bugs are bad on each side of White Pass once you get a mile or two from the road. I suspect the knowledge about this has gotten around since I saw about two dozen hikers while descending to White Pass and all but one had bug nets over their heads. From north of White Pass, it looks like some trail work has been done recently to clear logs. Thanks! It's a very nice section of trail. Smooth and easy. I spent the night at Two Lakes. My map showed a loop trail off of the PCT that ran by Two Lakes, but I think that trail may be overgrown. Or I missed it. Anyways, I just took the side trail down to the lake. Again, I had it to myself. For my final day, I decided to push on to Sheep Lake. My ride was picking me up early the next morning, and I knew it would be easy to make it down to Chinook Pass from Sheep Lake. I regretted that decision. It was a Friday and Sheep Lake was hugely crowded. I should have expected that and stayed before Chinook Pass rather than after it. Dewey Lake would have been a good choice. This is a lovely section of trail. I highly recommend it. The Goat Rocks were the highlight of the whole trip, and I'm certainly going to go back to explore that area more.