Made a mistake and ended up on the lower section of the Naches Peak Loop (near the southern tip of Tipsoo Lake) because we couldn't find any signage for Dewey Lake, and without cell reception had a hard time finding additional directions (let that be a reminder to all - WTA's website rules, but sometimes you don't have internet and it's always better to have some of the instructions in a good old fashioned guidebook or scribbled on your own paper). We parked just inside the National Forest (not National Park) near the PCT/Sheep Lake-Sourdough Gap trail since I already had a NW Forest Pass, but walked south into the National Park and started our hike at the Naches Peak Loop entrance right across from Tipsoo. Once you walk a little ways up the entry point, there is a trail sign pointing to Dewey Lake.
There were still a few snow fields at the beginning of the trail, and I wished I had my trekking poles for balance. Views of Rainier are fantastic in this first half on Naches! Tons of alpine flowers are blooming, too. Magenta paintbrush is starting to come in. Then we made it to the turn off for Dewey Lake. There is a large blowdown right at the beginning of the Dewey Lake trail where the permit box is - you can climb over it relatively easily though. The rest of the path to Dewey is rocky and rooty, so watch your footing. You descend quite a ways to get to the lake, and there are more snow fields on the way down which are now melting in earnest. There are some suspect looking snow bridges here, so be careful. The lake is beautiful when you arrive, crystal clear, and was a perfect spot for us to dip our feet and eat lunch. Then we made our way back up to the main trail; a real thigh burner on the return. I don't buy that Dewey is only a 600 ft elevation gain!
At the main trail, we went to the right and continued our loop on the PCT. There's definitely more snow on this side of the loop; still manageable without special gear, but beware, snow bridges are getting weak in places and you should not trust your full body weight to any of these without testing it first. You can't see Mt. Rainier from the PCT side, but there are some other spectacular views anyways, craggy peaks and small alpine lakes and meadows.
BE ADVISED: We met another set of hikers about a mile from the Dewey Lake/PCT junction who just moments before we got there, had seen a black bear in the field below. They got a great video of it! Be sure to stay bear aware.
I'm a slow hiker and still feel in "winter shape" despite it being mid-July; the elevation makes this hike more challenging. Round trip took us about 6.5 hours, with lots of breaks.
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