Swamp Lake, Bumping Lake & American Ridge — Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012

We decided to do a short loop near Chinook Pass. The road to the Swamp Lake trailhead was accessible by my normal-clearance sedan, but might be tricky in the rain. There were a few bugs at the trailhead, but it was tolerable. The ford of Bumping River was cold but totally do-able with hiking poles. We camped the first night at scenic American Lake. Even though this was a Tuesday night, there were other folks there and it felt a little crowded due to limited campsites. There were some bugs there, but not as bad as we've seen in other places. A trail crew we saw told us that Cougar Lakes are just as pretty, but have more space, so we would opt for that next time. Having arrived early, we did a short day hike north on the PCT-- lovely views of Rainier. Day 2 involved a hike south on the PCT and more amazing views of Mt Rainier, and eventually of Mt Adams and the Goat Rocks. We found a lunch sopt with panoramic views in both directions. Then on to camp at Crag Lake. We missed out on the site with the great jumpin' rock, but we did have a nice view of the lake. Again, there were some bugs, but they could have been worse... and in fact, on out hike out along Bumping River trail on the 3rd day, they WERE worse, to the point of making snack and bathroom breaks unpleasant. Strangely, they had let up again by the time we made it back to the trailhead. All in all, it was a good trip, with fantastic views, nice lakes for splashing off, and wildflowers in bloom all along the way. The trails were all in good shape-- thank you, trail crews!