Greenwater and Echo Lakes — Thursday, Jun. 19, 2014

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

This was my first time to Echo Lake. I have mixed fealings about this hike, its very pretty, but Seriously Crowded and trash everywhere. The trail to Greenwater lakes is flat and easy and the first couple of miles fly by. We saw no issues with the trail to this point. After Greenwater Lakes the trail begins a slow climb up the valley. The trail is in good shape most of the way. After the Maggie creek junction the trail gets steep. There are a couple of spots on this section that are washed out. The washouts are small, just take care as they are in some seriously steep terrain. The camps at Echo are quite nice. To get to some of the camps you will need to climb over some logs. We were in awe over the beauty of the area, but disappointed at the amount of trash we found. Wine bottles, and other trash greeted us at camp. Seriously annoyed to have to haul out other folks garbage. Someone had even dumped a large amount of rice and noodles into the lake fowling the close water supply to our campsite. Its also worth to note, that you will not be alone at this lake. It is FAR more popular than the guide leads one to believe. Someone in one of the camps on Friday night was shooting guns, well after nightfall. Seriously. We could not determine who it was. Its also good to note that Echo Lake is below a pretty major flight zone, so you will hear Jets fairly regularly. Bugs were out until just after Greenwater Lakes. We saw ZERO bugs at Echo Lake. If you go take a fishing pole, but just know that if you are even close to a weekend, you wont be alone.