Day 1 - Saw four elk by the road just beyond Greenwater, none after that. Parked at Walupt Lake Trailhead, self issue permit available at TH. Trail follows lake for several miles with little elevation gain, in the shade with no view of the lake. About half way to the PCT the trail gains in elevation. This route to Sheep Lake is about 9 miles and the other route, Nannie Ridge Trail is 4+ but most of it has elevation gain. We had multi night loop plan so opted for shorter downhill route for the return. Thru hikers on the PCT and some stayed overnight at Sheep Lake. Beyond Sheep Lake most of the thru hikers were not stopping until White Pass. High and low bush Blueberries along the trail. Lots of wild flowers.
Day 2 - Hiked PCT across Cispus Pass to Snowgrass Flats and set up camp. Multiple segments of the Cispus had good water flow in the basin. Not much between Sheep Lake and the basin. Then not much from the basin to Snowgrass Flats. There is a spring with very good flow at Snowgrass Flats that did not show up on Farout or GaiaGPS. Spring goes underground, under the trail and comes out on the west side below the trail. You can hear it from the trail. It is the last good water source on the PCT before crossing Packwood Glacier, the knife edge and back down into the trees.
WTA has a crew working on tread and drainage in the area. Largest camp in the area is being used by the crew. We had planed to camp higher on the ridge, closer to Old Snowy but could see there were already several tents set up on the ridge, up so opted to take what was available and have a longer day hike the following day. Overnight there were a lot of wind gusts that really rattled the tents. It also blew a lot of sand into the tents. Less wind gusts the second night but check which direction it is coming from as it was just a nice refreshing breeze when we set up and increased later.
Day 3 For second night we rotated tent opening to the west as the wind was mostly coming from the east. Day hike. On the way out we took the Alternate PCT. On the return we opted to take the PCT. The alternate is the better trail for anyone who is squeamish crossing loose scree with little trail tread but PCT is shorter and has less elevation gain.
Knife edge had some breeze but for an 80 degree day, felt welcome. Once you leave the trees at the south end of Snowgrass Flats there is limited shade.
At the bottom of the Glacier there is a melt pool but people were allowing pets to wade in it and there is a red algae on the glacier ice pack. The PCT crosses the glacier twice. We followed in existing footprints in both directions with no problem as snow pack was soft. If the temperature drops it could be ice. Hiked across the knife edge to the Coyote Trail that goes down to Packwood Lake. Found a little shade for lunch and to enjoy the view. Turned around, crossed the knife edge, Packwood Glacier and returned to camp. Day was clear so had all the best views from the alternate PCT, PCT and knife edge to include Mt. Rainier, Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, Packwood Lake, Goat Lake and Old Snowy. I had been there before but with high wind, sleet and 20 feet of visibility so this was a good reason to repeat the trip.
Day 4 Returned to Sheep Lake for the night. Weekend coming but I think the hot weather kept some away as few at the lake when we arrived (2 PM). Several camp sites were in use by dinner time but still some space available. There were hikers who had seen Mountain Goats on the hillside but were not there when we passes. We heard Pika in several locations but could not see on the rocks. Few Marmots were visible near Snowgrass Flats.
Day 5 From Sheep Lake hiked Nannie Ridge Trail to Walput Lake. No name lake along the trail had water and some water crossing the trail at a few spots as we got closer to the lake. Did out and back on side trail to former lookout. Had hoped for view but heavily treed at this point and lookout is gone. Had read another trip report suggesting night sky view and you could get that view from the camp sites. All vertical, not horizontal. There were a few side trails that may have given some view but not an open hilltop. Tree cover for most of the Nannie Ridge trail.
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