Ventured out to Mt Rainier on a spectacularly warm late September weekend (Sept 24-25) for a little overnight trip. Starting from the popular Naches Peak Loop trailhead, I hiked clockwise, meeting up with the PCT and continued to Dewey, American and Cougar Lakes.
Arrived at the Naches Peak Loop trailhead at 8 am with plenty of parking. I do think for this routing it might make more sense to park at Chinook pass, but I had never been to Naches Peak trailhead and was looking forward to seeing more of the trail the first day since I usually don't hike shorter mileage trails. (Chinook pass trailhead has more parking and no NW pass requirement) The Naches trail was beautifully maintained with WTA crew members making even more improvements. The trail crowding dissipated once I reached Dewey Lake. Saw quite a few backpackers at the lake, but overall very quiet and made for a nice break. If you need to fill up on water there is a water source near Dewey or fill up at the lake. There is another unnamed lake a little further out, but your next water source will be American Lake. I am sure earlier in the season more water sources are available.
Clear turnoff and signage to American Lake off of the PCT. Arrived at American Lake at 1:30 with two sets of backpackers already setting up camp. I found what it looked like 3 designated spots and one party was camped in a restoration marked site. American Lake was an ideal resting spot and with the usually warm weather it would have been a nice lake to take a swim in, but I had plans to camp at Cougar Lakes. It was hard to tear myself away, but made my way. The trail became a bit more brushy, rocky and rooty after leaving American Lake. I heard a lot of elk, but didn't see any. As I rounded one corner I saw a big bear bottom. Not wanting to spook the bear, I backed away silently and from a distance began making loud noises and it ran off. Only bear sighting of the trip. After a mildly steep descent down to little Cougar Lake I found the most glorious patch of berries. Natural trail magic! Once you arrive at the lake there are 2 established sites. One quite large a little wooded. I hiked past inlet that has clear closed for restoration signs listed. I made my way to big cougar lake where I found 2 established campsites and a nice little beach. Based on the previous trip reports I really thought I would have seen more people, but once I left American Lake I saw no one. After checking out the lake for a bit I decided to head back to American Lake. Arrived back to American Lake by 6pm. Made dinner and went for a little walk and enjoyed the sunset. Nothing too notable to mention on my return. Crowds were back once I reached Naches Loop and the mountain was out. This was a great overnight trip with wonderful views of Mt Rainier, multiple lakes and wildlife!
If you are interested in a vlog style trip report. Video link posted below.
https://youtu.be/eEafqVJaRgE
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