We knew to expect some nasty weather, but Sarbar & I have been wanting to do this section for a long time. Southbound, Chinook Pass to White Pass is somewhere around 29 miles depending on which map you look at. We set off well before dawn on Wed morning. After 2+ hours of driving, we left a rig at White Pass and the other at Chinook Pass and began heading south. Hmmmmm. Why isn’t there anyone else out here hiking today? You weenies!...It’s just snow! Headed up the Tipsoo Lake trail to soon join the PCT above Dewey Lakes. The snow was not bad, but getting a little deeper the higher we went. The weather varied between really foggy, to really sunny, to snowing like hell! Nearing Crag Mountain at the 5700’ level, the snow was about 9” deep and it was snowing very hard, and quite windy, making trail finding sketchy. Using multiple maps, compasses, a GPS and common sense, we had no trouble finding our way, though. We had talked about camping at Crag Lake, but we decided to head for the lowest point on the section at 4100’ to camp, hoping for less wind and less snow. At the Bumping River we found a nice horse camp under a copse of trees, on the edge of the river and a nice meadow. It was almost dark and we had less than 30 minutes to set up. It rained at this elevation until about 10 pm when the snows came. We woke up to about 2"" of new snow. There was significantly less snow from this point on and trail finding was easy. The sun even came out a few times, making for some beautiful scenery and easy hiking. Of course as the day progressed, the snows came again and we had to batten down the hatches and go much slower. We met some northbound horse packers near Beusch Lake who were headed in to set up a hunting camp. If you’ve ever walked across a snow field that has already avalanched, you know how uneven, hard and rough the surface is. This was how the trail now was, because of the horses having churned up the snow which then solidified. Made for some very tough walking! Oddly, there were about a dozen blow-downs on the trail between Beusch Lake and White Pass, but none before that. Some of them appeared quite old! We finally exited at White Pass at about 4:30PM and drove back to Chinook to get Sarbar’s rig.

For our annual backpacking trip, Mike and I decided to do a portion of the PCT this year. We picked the stretch between White Pass and Chinook Pass. Monday the 25th--We left one car at Chinook and had our friend Lorin shuttle us down to White Pass. We got there about 11 AM and within a few minutes we were on our way. Within a 1/2 mile of the road is a horse camp and that would be the theme of the day. Lots of road apples on this section of the trail. I would say we'd see some about every quarter mile along the trail. What's funny is we never saw anyone on their horses, just their droppings. The trail has limited views as it winds along in the forest. You pass a lot of nice lakes and some not so nice ones. Our orginal overnight destination was going to be Buesch Lake but after talking to 3 people who had stayed there the night before and seeing it in person we decided to push onto Snow Lake for the night. We got there about 3 in the afternoon, found a nice campsite on the North side and had it to ourselves. Tuesday the 26th--We got up early and were on the trail before 7 descending to Fish Lake. We passed a horse camp along the way and from that point on the horse signs we had encountered the day before became less frequent. At Fish Lake we geared up for the ascent up to the ridge. It took us about two hours to get to the ridge top. The first half of the ascent takes place in forest then you traverse the base of a rock face. We were mighty hot and mighty tired but at the top you make a right turn onto the ridge top and the East Side of Mt Rainier is visible for the first time. We also had great views of Adams, St Helens and the entire Tatoosh Range. The trail meanders along the west side of the ridge before crossing over to the east side. At this point we were getting a little concerned as we were running low on water. Word of caution for anyone doing this portion of the PCT, the water sources are few and far between. Every stream and creek we crossed was bone dry and quite a few of the lakes we passed were low and the water did not look very good. As we hiked along and consulted our map we noticed a side trail to Two Lakes. We took it and hallujah! The lake was full and the water was good. We hyrdated at Two Lakes for a while before continuing on. The trail eventually crosses back over to the west side of the ridge where it follows the contour lines. A little bit up and a little bit down but that's it. The lupine meadows were gorgeous. We hit a trail junction for Cougar and American Lakes and took a long lunch break. We had originally thought about staying at one of those lakes but decided to push on to either Anderson Lake or Dewey Lake so our last day would be a short one. After our break we started up the trail and met two couples heading the other way. They were the first people we had seen in a day. They recommended staying at Dewey Lake so that's what we elected to do. Once we reached Dewey Lake we were glad we had made the choice to stay there. The lake is quite large and beautiful. Since it's close to Chinook Pass we saw lots of day hikers and some overnighters as well. We picked a real nice spot on the lake and proceeded to set up camp. After we ate we wandered around and met some of our fellow campers before turning in for the night. Wednesday the 27th--Sometime during the night I awoke and heard something lumbering into our camp. I got Mike up and we looked around and whatever it was crashed away from us into the water. In the morning when we got up I looked around and we had fresh elk tracks and elk scat going all over our camp. I guess we're lucky one of them didn't step on us! We had a short day ahead of us and we were on our way before 7. It took us about an hour to ascend out of Dewey Lake and then descend on the other side to Chinook Pass. While we had a good time I'm not sure we would choose to do this portion of the PCT again. The bugs were the worst we have ever encountered in all the years we have done an annual backpacking trip. The good water sources were few and far between and the first portion of the trail with the horse stuff smelled and looked like a zoo. We'll have to figure out something different to do next year. See you on the trail. SR

Miki (a border collie/springer spaniel cross)and I started out from Chinook Pass in late afternoon so I only went in about three miles to Dewey Lakes, which are pleasant with well separated sites. They hold small trout and lots of noisy nocturnal elk. The next day we went southward on the Crest trail to the well marked American Ridge trail junction and followed this eastward a short distance to American Lake for a lunch break and catch and release of a couple small trout. This is a lovely lake, with a fabulous ""lawn"" for a campsite. It would be a great overnighter from Chinook Pass, about 5 miles in. Sitting high on the ridge in a shallow basin, one may go around the lake and take a short cut drop into the Cougar Lakes over the ridge top, a fact I found out after my return. Instead, I continued down the Amer. Ridge trail until I met the Cougar Lakes trail, where my route turned south again. This trail is easy enough to follow but somewhat unappealling due to erosion and horse damage. Cougar Lake was our next camp and I was a little disappointed. The prime campsites between the lakes have been rightfully closed for revegetation. The other sites weren't that great, although I did see a side trail at the far end the next morning that may have led to a site on the lower, larger lake, which is mostly inaccessable due to steep shores and brush. The trail south that climbbs out of the Cougars is in good shape and is very pretty, climbing up beneath House Rock. It attains the ridge and drops over the west side about 200' to meet the PCT again. This junction is not well marked and could be easy to miss from the south. The trail then traverses above Two Lakes (out of sight) and One Lake, merely a tarn. It then winds around a shoulder of Crag mountain and begins to drop, offering views of the Goat Rocks, Mount Adams and small tarns above Crag Lake. We camped at Crag Lake which offers several nice sites. It also has small trout, which are reproducing in the inlet stream. The next day we headed south once more past Buck Lake, a small lake in a big meadow and on to the low point of the trip, Fish Lake and Cowlitz Pass. I passed on through without investigating much and began the gradual climb up to the ""plateau of many lakes"". I passed through these without stopping much but did note nice camps at Pipe Like and on the peninsula at Dumbell Lake. I diverted somewhat eastward from the Crest trail and followed the Cramer Lake trail down to White Pass, about a mile east of where the Crest trail emerges. This finished a 14 mile day, whew! Bugs are tapering off but still intense in some of the boggier areas. My picture is of a small tarn near Chinook Pass.

John Strother and I completed in 10 hours the section of the PCT between White and Chinook Passes. To have gone slower, would have been to risk death by mosquitoe bites. The bugs were bad! Between White Pass and Fish Lakes, there were many horse parties and evidence of horse damage to the trail. On the high ridge section between Carlton Pass and Dewey Lakes, there is not much water. The snow is mostly gone except for a few small patches. The wildflowers, however, are out in abundance and gorgeous. The views of the east side of Mt. Rainier are stunning.

The South Cascades - The Corps packed up for a fine trek of about 27 miles on the PCT from Chinook Pass to White Pass over the hottest (yet) weekend of the season, July 25-27. Overall, an excellent trek; a sampler of high meadows, long reaching views, and subalpine lakes and forest; the north half very different from the south half. The route starts around the east side of Naches Peak, fine trail on steep, open sidehill, and stupendous flower gardens. Very few snowpatches remained on and around the trail. The descent to Dewey Lakes left most of the hikers behind, and trail conditions deteriorated. From here to Fish Lake the trail is in need of much maintenance. We encountered numerous downed trees, washed out and loose rocky sections, and even a small slide over the trail. Most of the bridges have broken treads if not completely fallen, and are navigable with care. Hikers can get over (the Navigator) and/or under (First Lady) most of the deadfall; horses are eroding paths around them. Obstacles aside, this section of the PCT is unbelievably spectacular - with surprisingly few biting insects. It winds back and forth across the crest in a patchwork of flora; Mt. Rainier visible west of the crest, the Goat Rocks with Mt. Adams as a backdrop in the South, Nelson Ridge and Mt. Aix to the east. The views south and west are especially breathtaking near the junction with the Laughingwater Creek trail - a nice potential for camping if you pack water. Speaking of water, there are periodic watering opportunities up to just south of Anderson Lake; from there to below Crag Lake, the PCT is dry, dry, dry! The Corps made camp the first night at treed Two Lakes, slightly off the PCT on a parallel trail (Tr 990). The PCT contours the small cirque in meadows several hundred feet above Tr 990, both trails about equal length (1+ mile) and in reasonable condition. All sizes of deer and elk tracks outnumbered boot tracks along Tr 990. The descent of the south side of Crag Mountain is a contrast in winding through rocky cliffs, meadowy lake shelves (Crag Lake, Buck Lake) and transition into forest, with enticing views south to Mt. Adams and the Goat Rocks at the higher elevations. Going south from Fish Lake, the character of the area changes to relatively flat forests of tall alpine trees interspersed with multitudes of lakes of all shapes, sizes and depths, and meadows overflowing with sweet smelling lupine. The trail from Fish Lake to White Pass appears to be much better maintained than the trail north, except for plentiful drying quagmires, hoof churned trail sections, and more broken down bridges. As expected, the flying hordes increased with every step south in this myriad of water holes. The dusty, dry trail, and dry stream beds contrast with the countless lakes and lush meadows here. We waited out a rather large thunderstorm under cover of several large trees along with hundreds of hungry hummers at Snow Lake, then continued south, making camp on a bench above the PCT just north of the junction with Trail 44 (Penoyer Lake/Tumac Mountain). Day three found us beating feet out to limit the blood loss to ever hungrier, ever larger hoardes of mosquitoes. No relief for the Corps from the heat or the mosquitoes; clouds of which found openings in our Deet covered bodies, moving or stationary, morning till we left the trail just after noon. The PCT south from Cowlitz Pass continues through lake dotted meadows and alpine forest, wandering past Tumac Mountain and over a shoulder of Cramer Mountain. Portions of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams are visible along the crest near Cramer Mountain, as is a pretty view down the valley to Spiral Butte, Dog Lake and Rimrock Lake. Finally (!), as the trail dropped off the Deer Lake shelf into deeper forest, the insect population dropped off to tolerable, then negligable by the trailhead. Throughout late Sunday afternoon and evening, and Monday morning, first one, then another, then a third small plane flew back and forth, then continuously circled the area around Tumac and Cramer Mountains and over our camp. We wondered, were annoyed at the intrusion, and speculated on the reason. The Forest Ranger, stationed at the trailhead, enlightened us and pointed out the locations of the *fires* set by the previous afternoon's lightning: Tumac Mountain, east of Dumbell Lake, and the vicinity of Fryingpan Mountain, all within a few miles of our camp and route. The planes had been spotting, then dropping fire fighters. A reminder to pay attention to unusual aircraft activity!