After a weekend of heavy rain, the weather looked to be gorgeous. We parked at the Sheep Lake - Sourdough Gap parking area along Hwy 410. Instinctively, we chose a parking spot in the shade; but after opening the door, we quickly moved the car to a sunny spot. At 5,400' elev, shade is chilly even on a sunny day.
Note: At this parking area, the restrooms are closed.
We headed eastward on the PCT. The trail rambles along, slowly gaining a bit of elevation, through beautiful meadows and forests near treeline. Fall colors are popping in the meadows and along the trail, including purple huckleberry leaves and orange Sitka mountain ash. Mountain hemlocks are abundant near the beginning of the hike. (The presence of these mountain hemlocks, which prefer marine air, may indicate that the area is not quite within the rain shadow on the NE side of Mt. Rainier.)
At 1.5 mi, the PCT meets a trail coming from Tipsoo Lake, marked with a sign. Not far from this junction, and staying on the PCT, we began a steady descent to Dewey Lake. On arriving at the lake, the PCT heads right, along the southern lake shore. We headed left on a trail that's not quite as well-used, going along the northern shore to find a campsite. There are a several great spots before getting a quarter of the way around. The only slight downside of our spot was the absence of a view of Mt. Rainier.
We spent a delightful evening with not a single mosquito. Huckleberries were abundant and delicious, reminding us of "Blueberries for Sal." In the middle of the night, we heard elk bugling for about 30 minutes ... either that, or maybe it was hunters using an elk call.
From the lake and along the trail, several dramatic volcanic plugs are visible on the ridge to the south.
Heading back westward, we chose to veer left and take the return trail toward Tipsoo Lake. On this trail, Mt. Rainier seems right overhead. I recommend making this loop.
After reaching Hwy 410, we turned right and walked along the road for about 10 minutes to get back to the Sheep Lake - Sourdough Gap parking area.
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