Dewey Lake — Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

First of all, I'd like to point out that "Dogs Allowed On Leash" is not an entirely accurate statement for this hike. If you follow the directions and park at the Tipsoo Lake parking area and cross the street to start this hike, you're still in the National Park and dogs are NOT allowed. You must continue E on 410 about 3/4 mile to a lookout on the right and parking area on the Left side of the road. Park there, then walk back along 410 to the end of the lookout parking lot and catch the PCT. This is where dogs ARE allowed. This might add a little bit (~1/2 mile roundtrip) to the hike. The first 1.5-ish miles are still snowy. But it's manageable, lots of people and kids on this section. The snow seems to be melting fast though. Once you get to the saddle, the trail is mostly snow free down to Dewey Lake. We planned to camp overnight at the lake...but we didn't have bug spray. If you don't have bug spray, go home. It's miserable. We had a ThermaCell which worked great for a few hours, but after that I got eaten alive. So we packed up and left. Left the lake about 5:45pm and made it out in about 1.5 hours. We had the trail to ourselves on the way out, which was great. Overall: Awesome views, pretty flowers, great lake, LOTS OF BUGS (and people early on).