Greenwater and Echo Lakes — Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

I had never been up to Echo Lake before today and became somewhat curious as I approached the trail head at 9am and found it nearly packed full. As the day went on, I discovered that many of the car owners had hiked a few miles down the trail the night before and camped. The trail was good for that, as numerous camp sites sprouted out from little social trails all the way to Echo Lake and all the way around it. With the exception of two or three very small muddy spots, the trail itself is in great shape. The bridges were all in great shape. It seems that a lot of work has gone into maintaining this trail. Thanks! The Greenwater lakes are reached at the 1.5 mile mark. The first one is a bit smaller, but well worth a gander. The second lake, larger, is also worth a few moments of enjoyment. There were people swimming here as I stood and watched. It does look cold. brrrr As for water, the river, of course, plus several little creeks feeding it made access to water plentiful. It is just about the 4 mile mark when the climbing gets a bit more difficult. The trail climbs a respectful 1200 feet in about 1.5 miles; reaching 4100 feet before descending about 300 feet into the lake basin. The lake was somewhat crowded with campers, fisher people, and us day hikers. It appeared that campers were sharing spots and the fisher people were working the rods all the way around the lake's banks. I hiked to the far end of the lake and kept going for about a half a mile before turning around and heading back to my car.