I have long wanted to explore the looping trails and numerous lakes and tarns in the area just north of White Pass, and this is the perfect season to do so, so I went. Sheesh, it's a long drive from Seattle though. Parked at Dog Lake and hiked past Cramer to Dumbbell Lake, about 5 miles to the camping side of the lake. Nothing super spectacular, just forest and then pretty meadow and tarn country and easy hiking after the initial gradual climb in. Elk country. No bugs to speak of except in some of the low grassed-in tarns.
Dumbbell is the prettiest lake of the bunch I thought, with some pumice rocks lining it for jumping in for a swim. (Most of the lakes are rather marshy). There are lots of good camp spots with trees to hang a hammock, grassy meadows, lovely lake views. My dog and I took a 6 mile loop around some of the other lakes--Pipe, Long John, and lots of tarns. Main trails are marked, others aren't, so I was glad I had my map and Gaia. Soon the elk will be bugling.
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