Crystal Mountain Loop (Silver King) — Saturday, Jul. 27, 2024

We started counter-clockwise up Kelly’s Gap a little after 7am on a Saturday. They were just opening the restrooms when we got there. There were maybe 4 cars in the parking lot. We only saw one dog (and her on-leash human) on the way up - saw lots more people coming clockwise up Silver Creek trail on our way down. The way up was very exposed and we were glad for the early start. We got to the top just as the gondola was bringing the first few people to the top. Unfortunately we were too early for the Summit House which opens at 10:30 on Saturdays, so we admired the view of Mt Rainier for a little while and then headed back down via Crystal Mt / Silver Creek. I’m glad I was following a GPS map because we almost missed the turn off at Henskin Lake and would have headed straight for the PCT. Minus the disc golfers playing loud music that we followed for a little while on our way down, it was a very peaceful hike. Smoke wasn’t an issue, but the views were pretty hazy.