Greenwater and Echo Lakes — Saturday, Jul. 30, 2016

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

We almost didn't make it out this weekend! I had a minor emergency that took me to the doc on Friday night and a specialist on Saturday morning. Still determined to have a weekend in the backcountry, we picked this hike for its relative ease, and earlier trip reports that seemed to indicate an abundance of campsites at the lake for latecomers. The trail is lush with ferns, moss and stately trees. The beautifully built bridges criss-crossing the gushing Greenwater River add interest to an otherwise fairly standard river hike. Early on there's a bridge marked closed and teetering sideways at a somewhat disconcerting angle; it's still usable with some care. The second half of the trail has some blowdowns to get around, but aside from that, the trail is in great condition. Having left the parking lot at 3pm, we arrived at Echo Lake around 5:45pm. Despite it being a peak summer weekend, we still found a lovely established campsite just past the south end of the lake to set up for the night. The bugs descended almost immediately but were manageable with bug spray. The lake is at a low enough elevation to allow campfires, which also helped with the bugs. All in all, a nice low-key overnighter, and only 90 minutes from Seattle!