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.

We began our hike in light rain and fog which lasted until just below Sourdough Gap where we began having infrequent sun breaks. The Gap itself was very cold and windy, but we decided to go on hoping for improved weather. The sun breaks became more frequent and we had lunch with a view near Bear Gap 6 miles from the TH. On our return trip we took the short side trail to the NP where we had a view of Upper Crystal Lake. Mt Rainier remained "hidden", but the lake itself was very beautiful! Many were camped at Sheep Lake and we met 3 more groups coming in as we continued down to the TH.

Great weather. Bugs not bad. Passed quite a few PCT thru hikers on their way to Canada, on the trail since April. Most beautiful section in my opinion is between Chinook to about half way to White Pass. After that, you are pretty much in the trees the rest of the way, with minimal wide open views. American Lake is a real gem. Cougar Lakes required a drop to get to, which at the end of a long hot day, felt like forever. Not much camping that we found at big cougar lake, so we camped at smaller one. Lots of "closed for restoration" signs. Best views were on day two. Left cougar lakes, made our way back to the PCT and headed south. This stretch from the cougar/american lake intersection with the PCT, south to crag lake, was the prettiest section in my opinion. Wide open views of the Nelson Ridge range, the Bumping Lake drainage, let alone the peaks around you. There is a 1.5 mile section that offers a choice of two trails. They join together a short distance later. (Interestingly, the junction to the north is nicely marked with a metal sign; the southern junction has no sign and has branches across it). One trail drops to "two Lakes" -- good for a water fill up as water is nil between Anderson Lake and Crag Lake (7+ mile distance). But if you are good on water, I'd stay high on the PCT trail itself, as it's up here that the views were the best. This 1.5 mile stretch was my favorite of the whole weekend. Camped south of the Fish Lake area. Climb about 500 ft in less than a mile to find a nice big camp sight along a fresh running stream. From here the third day was trees/ponds and more trees. Not much picture opportunity. Hiked out the last 12 miles in 6 1/2 hours. If anyone found my pink 'Crystal Mountain' bandana, let me know thanks.

White Pass – Chinook Pass Summary We hiked the PCT from White Pass to Chinook Pass August 20 to 23rd. This hike is written up in the (as far as I can tell now out of print) Mountaineers Book: Best of the Pacific Crest Trail Washington 55 Hikes as Hike #24. This is a great intro to backpacking hike. 4 days 7 to 8 miles per day of “relatively” flat backpack packing, 28 miles total. The trails are well marked. There are abundant camp sites and many stopping spots. We left one car at Chinook Pass and drove a second to White Pass (about 45 minutes). When researching this hike many potential camp sites / named destinations were not written up , we were lucky to get good input from hikers along the way. So what follows is a series of short trip reports with a few details on the alternatives along the way. #1 Summary #2 Sand Lake #3 Buesch Lake #4 Pipe Lake #5 Fish Lake #6 Crag Lake #7 American Lake (alternative add 1.5 mi and continue to Cougar lake) Once past Sand Lake and until we reached Dewey Lake we pretty much had the trail to ourselves. We saw on average one horse packer, one PCT thru hiker and one other backpack group per day. We never had trouble finding a campsite. The absence of people was replaced with fabulous wildflowers, berries and great views. The area east of the first third of this hike towards Bumping Lake is labeled on the map as Mosquito Valley, so be prepared. We had fewer bugs each day as we worked North out of the pot hole lake country that defines the area just North of White Pass. This area abounds in wild flowers, and pretty meadows, the bugs don’t seem to keep up well when you are walking, but suffice it to say, you want to keep moving. The PCT in this section was in excellent shape. Lots of evidence of recent trail work, we didn’t encounter a single blow down. There had been recent rain so there wasn’t much dust. The area is popular with back country horse riders (much more so then the northern Cascades where we rarely see horses). So dust could be an issue. I strongly suggest doing this hike South to North for three reasons: 1: The scenery unfolds and becomes more spectacular each day. Initially wildflower meadows, bug ponds and small lakes evolve into beautiful crest vistas of the Goat Rocks, Mt. St. Helen's and Mt Rainer. Going southbound will have you wanting the car as opposed to enjoying the last day’s majestic views. 2: The sun won’t be in you eyes. 3: The climbs, such as there are on Day 3 and Day 4 Here are the camp choices: Day1: White Pass to Sand Lake 3mi or Pipe Lake 7.5mi, Buesch Lake is at 6mi and recommended in the trail guide, but we found the bugs intolerable. Your pick depending on starting time. Day 2: Fish Lake or Crag Lake Day 3: American Lake or Cougar Lake Day 4: Out via Dewey Lake, to Chinook Pass Photo’s and descriptions of each of these camp spots follow as individual trip reports

My wife and I took the girls (I have 3 daughters) and left Friday morning for a nice 3 day hike from Dog Lake up to Dumbbell Lake and staying 2 nights then completing the loop back down to Whites Pass on Sunday. The hike itself is beautiful, however, let me give everyone a fair warning... the mosquitos are maddening. As soon as you head in from the trail head from Dog Lake, they come "a-running" for ya. Needless to say, we arrived Friday afternoon but due to the pesky little flying bombers, we quickly packed back up Saturday morning and headed back down. It just wasn't much fun with the constant swatting, and with the kids... Coming down from Dumbbell Lake via the PCT was a nice hike. However, there is still many areas of snow covering the trail. The snow is hard-packed so you can walk on top of it, but it definately adds to the time spent on the trail. However, what a beautiful hike. We will have to consider going back after the frist major frost up there.