Ruff! Arrived at a full trailhead (with another 30+ cars parked along the road) at 1pm on Saturday in the hopes of finding a somewhat remote camping spot at Lost Lake. No such luck! If you are looking for solitude, this is NOT a good weekend option at this time. From the sound of earlier trail reports, we (and seemingly a hundred other people) thought it wasn't an overly popular sight, but the lake is lovely, and thus was jam-packed :)
So, the deets: The trail to Greenwater Lakes is just beautiful as it runs alongside the river most of the way and the carpeted forest bed makes for a lovely stroll. Greenwater Lakes to Lost Lake is not quite as scenic, but the rock formations as you come upon Lost Lake are pretty cool, and the lake before Lost Lake is gorgeous in it's bright blue/green color. The whole trail is snow free with the only obstacle being a downed bridge that (as previous trip reports mention) require either getting your feet wet or traversing a big log over the water (we chose the latter and my pitter pattery little paws made it just fine). Arrived to the lake at 4pm (which does have many camping spots) to 20+ groups camping, and it was VERY difficult to find a spot. That being said, everyone was friendly and welcoming, so we joined a few other camping groups in the 'resort' area of the lake.
The next morning we awoke at 5am to see the early sun from Noble Knob. It was really beautiful and only one camper was up there so we finally got the solitude we sought. There were patches of snow but the top was mostly snow free. We used poles and while they were handy, they weren't necessary. Lovely panoramic views with towering Rainier in the background on this clear morning.
In total, we hiked 18 mi: 2.5 to Greenwater Lakes, 3.5 to Lost Lake, and another 3 to Noble Knob. Great trip!
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