We did a two nighter. Friday afternoon we drove to the Rainy Pass TH and hiked up and found the signed camping area at 3.5 miles using headlamps with nobody there. We picked a spot further on in case another group came later...and they did.
PSA to get on my LNT soapbox -- remember LNT guideline 7: Be considerate to others. A group of 5 showed up about two hours later and were completely unaware of us and that they were talking and laughing very loudly until about midnight. We could hear every word even though they were 150ft away. Please, PLEASE remember that you aren't the only ones out there, even if you can't see them!
Next morning we broke camp early, walking by our neighbors, trying not to wake them, and headed up toward the pass. There are some trickles of water up to about a mile or so from the pass, so be sure to fill up because the next water source is about 5 miles away just before the climb up to the Snowy Lakes basin and you have a lot of sun-exposed terrain and traverses to cover. Note that Section L here has a few spots where constant erosion and slides narrow the path to less than a foot wide, with some exposure, so this may bother some people who can't deal with a drop of 100ft or more just a few inches from their footpath.
Once you find the boulder and post (no sign) to head up to the lakes basin, turn right and head up the bootpath. You have about 600ft to hike up to the lakes. Thankfully, some new switchbacks have been dug in to make the upper part of the climb a bit easier; you're hiking up to 6,800ft and might be a bit gassed.
We found a spot to the left of the upper lake with big views to the NW. There are a lot of places to camp, both near the lake and up on the high ridge to the left of the lake with huge views, though more exposure. Our spot was on a lower edge of the ridge; there is a series of campsites spaced out.
Again, though -- and normally I'm not this ranty -- but the same group of 5 showed up below our campsite about 150ft from us and picked up where they left off the night before. Loud talking, laughing, and no concerns for people that were surrounding their site on three sides, many even closer than us.
It was a very warm evening -- It seemed to get only down into the low 60's or upper 50's -- so I stumbled out at midnight to get some star shots, as the sky is very dark and clear up there.
Next morning we left early for the long hike out; the earlier the better to keep our dogs from facing the hot temps predicted for later in the day. As we passed the lower lake, we saw a tent pitched on the grass right next to the lake. Come ON! This is a fragile alpine area, and there was a very viable and durable campsite just 75ft away!
We made it back to the TH by mid-day, passing trailrunners and dayhikers all along the way.
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