Arrived to the trailhead at 8am - the lot was about 1/4 full. Followed the PCT from behind the restrooms (which had TP!) north along 410. Had a lot of solitude and saw a few SOBO PCT hikers. The lake was a nice stop for the pup and noticed a few parties camped around the lake. It is helpful to have maps for this part, as the trail is not marked and there is lots of side trails to various campsites.

Continued up the dusty switchbacks to sourdough gap, where we found a few loud marmots. We continued down from the gap and onto the PCT. Crystal lake will have to wait when I don't have the pup with me. We made it almost to Bear Gap.

The trail is very exposed and while the temperatures were in the high 60's, low 70's it felt very warm. I brought lots of water for the pup, as the only water source is sheep lake. We stopped for a snack at a campground off the PCT and within 5 minutes, there were skeeters...when moving I didn't notice them. Enjoyed the high pitched marmots on the way back along with the view of so many wildflowers and butterflies making their way. By this point the gap was full of day hikers and many more coming up the trail. I encountered almost no one from the lake back to the parking lot. There was one space in the lot when I returned at 12:30pm. All in all a beautiful hike. 

What a fun adventure.  Took the mornings first gondola up Crystal Mountain, and enjoyed some people free time gazing across the valley to the big girl. From there, took the Silver Creek Trail down into the valley.  Trail is in great shape, minus the small avalanche area below chair 6 - where a huge snow lake still lingers. Found my way to Elizabeth lake just as the rain started, looking for a shelter spot, found Crystal Mountains Cache #4 in an old stump. From there made my way to Henskin Lake Jr and tossed a fly.  Plenty of scrappy little brookies and plenty of mosquitos in the meadow. Packed up the pole and made my way passed  Lower Henskin Lake and up the Bear Gap connector trail. From here it is fairly short, but a steep, rocky climb to the gap.  Wildflowers are really making a showing now. Headed south on the PCT because I wanted to check out Placer Lake, then ended up turning around at Sourdough gap cause I'd never been.

Few folks at Sourdough gap, empty trials most of the day. Never fails to amaze that I run into people on the trials that have no idea where they are or where they are going, especially on Crystal Mountain as there are side trials everywhere. Just a reminder to be aware as you look at this magnificent area.

Be safe people.

Starting from today (01aug2022) - a break from the heat wave (??) 😅 .. early morning i went for a ramble of the "Bear Gap to Bullion Basin" Loop.

~06:15 cool 60s_F, i arrived at the Crystal Mountain Resort, and parked nearby the Mt Rainier Gondola station. ~06:30 went OUT and got back ~11:00 ~mid-70s_F. Just a few vehicles in the parking when i arrived, but was getting full when i got back.

During my ~4+ hours on the Trail, i encountered: ~5 day-hikers, 2 hunters, 5 horseback-riders, and 3 PCT thru-hikers. Had a short conversation with the 3 PCT thru-hikers .. i find them to be amazing .. their perseverance, endurance, strength, .. 👍👍👍 Also, they were very cheery and good spirits {though, they still have (probably) ~1+ week before arriving at the Northern Terminus}. i humbly offered to share my Energy Bars, Water, etc with thenm, but they very politely turned down my offer, said that they were "good". i wished them All the Best and Safe Journey 😄

Btw, the mozzies were terrible .. swarms .. i only had a brief respite for 10 minutes when i was beside Crown Point (probably, because of the breeze) 😅😅😅. And as shown in picture_4, the section of trail (highlighted in Red) was: sandy, loose, and steep.

Happy Trails Everyone 😄

Be advised - these trails are far more steep than your average trail in the Norse Peak Wilderness area. Many years ago, the Bear Gap & Fog City Trails (#967 & 967A) were created by gold miners so they do not adhere to the 10% grade of the USFS.  But, these two trails, together with the PCT, make an excellent thigh-burning loop for a roughly 6 mile day hike. Our WTA work party spent 5 days brushing back and improving drainage on #967A so that you can easily make your way up and enjoy the amazing views in every direction.

#FirstTripReport

TLDR: Day hike Crystal lakes to sourdough gap,  on PCT thru to picklehandle point meeting with fog city trail just before crown point. Nice trail conditions. PCT is under low traffic, few snow fields. Recommended route. We used it to test how far we could carry overnight gear and supplies.

Arrived late to the trail head (9:45 am) at Crystal lakes off of highway 410 and started up the ridonkuslously well-maintained Crystal Lakes Trail.  No snow to cross over and zero branches over the trail. Thanks to the crews who must've taken care of the trail recently. Made it to the upper lake and finished lunch by 11:00 am. The upper lake was surprisingly not crowded, despite some other hikers' warnings. We suspect that the lower lake must have been busy but the upper lake had plenty of spaces left. Apparently, you can make reservations but have not fact-checked.

From upper crystal lake, we moved along a trail to sourdough gap, which is not marked on Hiking Project but is on Gaia GPS. Also very well maintained and only ~0.8 mi but there are some very steep snowfields that slowed us down. As the day went on, this trail was more slushy rather than ice-like and was easier to traverse. 

We then crossed over sourdough gap, and decided to check out the view to sheep lake by going south on the PCT. This required crossing a snow field but it was not difficult and slippage would likely not prove harmful. We then turned around and continued north on the PCT. Getting to the north trail from the junction required glacading but was easy to do with ~23 lbs packs on.  Much smaller snow fields this time, with lovely views and easy trail as it is mostly ridge running with a gradual decline. Ample bear scat sightings throughout.

We went as far north as between Picklehandle Point and Crown Point before deciding to turn around as a Blizzard from Dairy Queen was beckoning us back to society.

The way back was uneventful, turned around at 3:30 pm, made it back to our car at Crystal Lakes Trailhead at 7:13 pm. Would recommend this hike.

Miles:~ 12-13

Time: ~8.5 hrs