We hiked out the Nannie Ridge Trail to Sheep Lake. From Walupt Lake to Sheep Lake was steep and hot, as expected but the trail is in great condition. We set up camp at Sheep Lake, where there was a nice hearty breeze to end the afternoon. As soon as the breeze stopped, the mosquitos moved in and they were relentless.
The next morning we left our camp at Sheep Lake and hiked along the PCT, up and over Cispus Pass. This section had multiple snow fields that, depending on your comfort, were fairly easy to cross. Some had long slide outs so traction and poles were very handy. Just prior to Cispus Pass, the snowfields and scree made a difficult choice. We chose the scree, which made it very challenging to get to the pass. Once over, the trail opens up again with more passable snowfields. Caution is needed around the water run-off areas as there are very tentative snowbridges in the process of collapsing and fast moving water underneath. I expect these will melt out completely in another week or two. We traveled just beyond the BIG waterfall (feet got soaked, no avoiding it) and the scenery was absolutely stunning! The basin was filled with flowers, views of Adams/Pahto and St Helens/Loowit, and all the surrounding peaks were just incredible!
We attempted to make a loop and go back to camp via the Old Cascade Crest trail, but it became obvious pretty quickly that we would spend much too much time route finding. We abandoned that plan and went back over the pass, this time choosing to take the snowfield down.
Day 3 we hiked out the PCT to make a loop from Sheep Lake. Gorgeous hike out! All in all a great trip. In a couple more weeks, the snow will likely be gone and the hoards should arrive. As it was, we only saw 2-3 other hikers!
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