This is primarily a fire damage report with some snow and wildflowers thrown in.

I went 4.5 miles up the Norse Peak trail, the Goat Lake Trail to the snow-covered saddle that looks across at Castle Mt and down to goat lake, and up to the ridge on the Big Crow Basin trail where I could see the trail with some large snow fields remaining as it curves around the bowl south of Norse Peak.  

Miles 3-4.5 of Norse and the the other 2 trails are mostly through areas where all of the trees burned. In all of these burn areas, the roots of the trees did not burn and very few of the trees have fallen. In total there were about 10 fallen trees that had to be gone around. In every burn area I saw, the grasses and perennials were not killed and are coming up (glacier lilies, false hellebore, lupine sprouts, and more). The burn areas I could look down upon, Goat Lake and Big Crow, looked similar, very few fallen trees. 

This is in sharp contrast to the last miles of the Snoquera Palisades and Ranger Creek trails (where they meet at the old shelter). The fire burned so hot in these areas that the roots of the trees were burnt in the ground, 100s of trees per tenth of a mile are down (with many more to come). There is nothing holding down the soil and very little of those trails remains.   While people have traversed where the trails used to be, it's very slow going and no one has sounded like they enjoyed it too much. 

While the map below shows where the fire burned, we'll have to see/report from trail to trail to know what's hikeable and what isn't. 

http://centralwashingtonfirerecovery.info/2017/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Norse-Peak-Soil-Burn-Severity-Map-ps-1.pdf

Wow! Amazing overnight backpacking Big Crow Basin loop, camping at Basin Lake with a summit of Norse Peak. Elk, Mountain Goats & Deer sighting. Basin Lake is a beautiful place to camp and swim. All trails are in good condition. This is the trip titled Big Crow Basin in Craig Romano's "Backpacking Washington" book (about 20 miles total). From the Norse Peak trailhead (#1191) we headed up and did the Goat Lake trail, then PCT south to Lake Basin. Next day continued south on Lake Basin trail (#987) to Crown point. Then back north on the PCT up to Scout Pass. Went up Norse Peak from the south side (there is a foot path) and back down the north side and back to the trailhead. Note that there are a lot of side trails, unmarked junctions and maps were not exactly correct at times. Do your research.

Total Mileage 14.2 Miles Hike Type One-Way Total Hiking Days 2 Days Hiking Distance - Day 1 8.2 miles Hiking Distance - Day 2 6 miles Date Hiked 6/25/2016 - 6/26/2016 Caltopo Map https://caltopo.com/m/GFAT Greentrails Map Bumping Lake, WA - NO 271 Pros: Seclusion, elk and mountain goats prevalent, some of the best Mt. Rainier views outside of the park. Special Concerns: None. We stayed at the Alpine Inn at Crystal Mountain. It is about two miles from the trailhead. Perhaps it was due to hiking a little early in the season, but this was one of the most secluded hikes I have ever been on. From when we started the trail until about ten AM the next morning, we didn't see another human. While surreal, it is almost the exact reason we get out anyway. The trailhead is a couple of miles from the resort at Crystal Mountain, just on the side of the road. If there aren't already cars parked there, it can be easy to miss. Park and cross the street to start your hike. Starting this hike is going to be the biggest slap in the face, as it gains around 2000 feet in the first 2.5 miles up a series of Switchbacks. When the trails starts to level off you will come to a fork with Norse Peak to the right and Goat Lake to the left. Don't ruin the surprise, and leave Norse Peak for tomorrow and head bear left to a horse camp. From here, everything flattens out. Take a moment to view the first basin below you. 400 feet below you is Goat Lake, which does have some camps. They should absolutely be avoided, however, as the lake itself is filthy. Instead, keep an eye and ear out for elk, as they seem to enjoy the oft-vacant site. Head South from the junction with the PCT to start taking a look at the old shelter in the Big Crow Basin below you. This is a great place to stop for lunch, which will add a little distance and elevation to your trip. Once again, keep aware for elk. Head further South to the next basin where you will be making camp, at Basin Lake below. There are a few places to make some really great camps down there with running water near. Keep an eye on the rocks on the South Side of the camp, as it is prime for mountain goat viewing. Pack up and head back up the basin the next morning, retracing yesterday's steps. Head for Scout's Pass on the PCT for the first fantastic Mt. Rainier view. Stay in this small meadow for a while to get your pictures and catch your breath from the 700 foot climb from the basin. Head North (turn around) on the PCT and as you cross the pass, look to your left for a small path the aggressively climbs above the trail you were just on. This may not be marked, but this is the Trail up to Norse Peak. The trail gets a little overgrown at times, but keep with it. Soon you will be at the peak with the best view of the day. On a clear day, you will be able to see five volcanoes across Washington and Oregon. Stay up here for a while, few places have a view that compares to this one. Once you've decided to leave the peak, you will be on a new trail heading due North, well above the Big Crow Basin. Like, very above it which may be a concern for some of the more acrophobic among us. A note for those individuals, the next part of the trail will be very difficult, and you may want to double back the way you came in which will add around a mile. The next path then takes you to a very steep ridge that you are to walk along. The trail here is no wider than a foot and is slanted to the left itself. As long you take it slow, you should be fine. Take a quick break if your knees are a little wobbly after this, you're going to need them for the incredible downhill you're facing in the next four miles. If you remember the switchbacks that tired you out the day before, you now have to travel down them. Take it slow if you have knee issues, and if you brought trekking poles, now is the time to break them out. An ibuprofen taken earlier in the day may prove helpful here. You'll be in your car soon enough, where you can sit down the whole way home and who needs knees then? For the whole trip report, please see my blog at: https://happytrailswashington.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/norse-peak/

I originally completed this trail in late September 2014, when fall colors were beginning to show and elks bugled non-stop through the night.  Unfortunately, this area is in the Norse Peak Wilderness, and the entirety of this route is currently on fire.  I am heartbroken to see that the wilderness as I knew it is gone and thought I would share our trip here, as a way to preserve the memory. There weren't too many trip reports from this area and hopefully this is useful in some roundabout way. Many more details on my blog here. 

The trail began on dusty switchbacks for several miles. It popped out to a scenic valley with Goat Lake in the distance. We continued on towards Basin Lake, with a side trip to the old shelter in Big Crow Basin. We took a false junction then made it back on track to Basin Lake. 

We slept at the beautiful Basin Lake overnight, saw tons of goats and heard many elk. In the morning we climbed out of the basin and to Scout's Pass. The fall colors were phenomenal and we saw our first view of Mt. Rainier. We continued on the PCT, and back down the dusty switchbacks that plagued us on our way back. 

More pics and details on the blog: http://everytwopines.com/2017/09/20/looking-back-big-crow-basin/

The trailhead for this hike is found on the north side of 410 right after you cross under the log overpass (shortly beyond Tipsoo Lake). We shuttled cars to the endpoint about a mile past Pleasant Valley campground (milepost 81.5) on the north side, signed for Fifes Viewpoint and this worked very well. The first 8 miles or so of this trail is a fabulous ridge ramble - flowers continue to emerge in bright splendor and views are wide and dramatic. There is no longer a snowfield to cross beyond Sourdough Gap. Watch the signs for successive trail junctions at Bear Gap, Fog City Trail and then just below Crown Point. We turned off the PCT where the Union Creek trail turns north - look for the sign for Union Creek trail just beyond the sharp left hand turn on the PCT below Crown Point, and angle right to descend along the steep slope. This trail has been severely damaged by lots of horse traffic under wet conditions, and in places is sloughed off down the steep hill with barely a tread left. After about a mile of those terrible conditions the trail levels into pretty Cement Basin, with small meadows and groves of trees. A group of elk were spotted in the distance and we passed a group of cows and juveniles in the trees (making funny little mewling noises!). There is a steep climb up from the basin to a high saddle, then a steep descent into the Lakes Basin. After the saddle just look for unsigned side trails going down into the basin, and another turn to continue downhill to the lake. Camps around the trees are horse-damaged but enough flat spaces were found near the fire ring on the nearside of the lake to make a good camp for our group of 7 (5 tents). There was also a camp on the far side of the lake, but it was forested and buggy. Flowers were lovely in the basin and there was a group of about 10 goats climbing around on the crags above us. Total of about 11 miles on this day. In the future, I would recommend staying on the PCT beyond Scout Pass and descending from there to Basin Lake - the Cement Basin trail has lots of climbing and descending and much of the trail is in poor condition. Day 2 we climbed back up to the PCT on the same trail and turned right to continue under Norse Peak. A few of us did the easy walk-up through flower fields to the top following a gully going up from the PCT - excellent views, highly worth it. After descending it was just a couple of miles to a well-signed junction with the Crow Lake Way trail going east. This trail followed the creek through meadows for a short while, coming to a ramshackle shelter with great camps about a half mile from the turnoff. Then we entered forest and descended, sometimes right next to the creek and sometimes away, for about 5 miles. Much blowdown and horse damage on this trail. Periodically the way passed through pocket meadows with no obvious sign of trail, but if you looked carefully you could see the trail going back out the other side in the trees. Several crossings of the creek, getting more and more tricky as we got toward the bottom. Logs and rock-hops were possible but some were a bit more treacherous than I liked. However the group made their way safely across. As we reached the bottom, the combination of heat and vast mosquito populations made the walk miserable. We took a right at a sign near Crow Lake (signed Crow Lake Way) to continue our loop, and from this point the trail climbed steeply, continuing to be extremely buggy. Openings with breeze didn't appear until about 4 miles past this turnoff, beyond the junction with the side trail the Sheepherder Lake...and the openings were fairly small without sufficient water for camping. (Perhaps water in this area is more plentiful early in the season, but we had a tough time finding any. Sheepherder Lake was noted by others as being buggy and we could believe it.) Finally the trail descended a short way to a modest-sized meadow with a small stream; crossing this meadow to the right from the trail there is a nice camp in the trees, and we set up there for the second night under a crag which was home to more goats. This camp remained seriously buggy despite a nice breeze. The next morning we finished the climb to the top of a gravel bald with broad views of the American Ridge to the south, and a walk-up ridge to the east which probably would have provided excellent views to Fifes Peaks. However the group was on a roll and we continued with our sights set on reaching the cars early. After the gravel bald the trail began to descend, gradually at first and then down steep switchbacks about 4 miles to the trailhead. More horse damage all along this section as well. I would not rate the loop worthwhile to repeat as we took it. By all means go to Basin Lake and perhaps ramble on to Big Crow Basin, perhaps making a loop of it leaving a car at the Norse Peak trailhead or elsewhere near Crystal Mountain. However Crow Lake Way had very little appeal to make up for the poor condition of the tread and the serious mosquito populations.