My friend and I hiked the PCT south from a road access just north of Government Meadows to Chinook Pass as a warmup for a longer trip later this summer. Left one car at the WTA hiking guide location just over Pyramid Pass on FS787. Rough road for first .5 mi after leaving FS70.

We camped at Urich Cabin campsite. PCT thru hikers told us the water there was infected with "Nora" virus according to PCT blog. Symptoms after two-three days bad runs, nausea lasting several days. Do not drink notice posted on the web. I have not looked up the posting. We got the word in time and had enough water from home. Treated some of the water with chlorine tabs overnight. This is a very dry section of the PCT. Next water 5.4 mis south. Next water after that 6 mis south. We used headnets for bugs the first evening.

Trail is in good shape. A few logs down between Govt Meadows and the spring near Norse Pk trail junction, maybe 3-4 per mile in wooded section north of the Norse Peak fire burn. Good camps near the spring. About 13 mis. We saw lots of thru hikers southbound going to Mexico and fewer norhtbounders section hiking. Bugs present but no headsets needed here.

Second day, we hiked on to Chinook Pass, about 10.7 mis. Many many day hikers from Sourdough Gap on. It was a sunny Saturday. I estimate we passed 80 hikers coming up the trail between the Gap and the parking lot over 1.25 hours. All happy, many families. All official parking lots were full. Every highway shoulder space below and above the two parking lots was full all the way over the pass to Tipsoo Lake parking lot at 12:30pm. We did not encounter this volume on Thurs when we left our second car, but the lots were almost full at 2pm. Basically, with new entrance limits to the Sunrise entrance, plan B for all visitors is Chinook Pass. Much heavier use than in years past. Crystal Lake trail parking lot was full with shoulder parking too. 

When we returned to collect the first car, we met two "trail angels" set up with snacks and cold drinks for PCT hikers where we left our car. Good conversation with them. Very fun. This section of the PCT is surprisingly scenic with many views of Mt Rainier and broad vistas due to the burn. I was surprised and pleased.

There is no snow of consequence on the 8 miles of the PCT north of Sourdough Gap (photo 2 shows the gap and the switchbacks on the north side of the gap). There are a few patches of snow totaling 80 feet in length. Bullion Basin has a few patches of easy snow (only on the long way up from the basin). We came down Silver Creek from Bear Gap and there is a small patch of snow at the trail junction to Henskin Lake. There looks to be a lot of snow on the Henskin Lake trail.

It is mostly the early flowers that are out. Many of them were battered by the hailstorm on Thursday (there were still patches of hail on the ground in spots, photo 3 shows some battered false green hellebore). There are some nice patches of early flowers and even some magenta paintbrush (photo 4). Elephant's head lousewort is blooming on the ski slope at the beginning of the Silver Creek trail (photo 1).

Followed the Pacific Crest Trail from Chinook Pass past Sheep Lake to Bear Gap, with a short side-trip to the viewpoint above the Crystal Lakes area, and hiked down to the Crystal Mountain base area via Henskin Lake and Silver Creek Trail.

Road Conditions. Paved roads and parking lots. Some construction going on at the Crystal Mountain base area.

Trail Conditions. No obstacles on the Pacific Crest Trail, just a bit dusty in places. The trail down to Henskin Lake had a few blowdowns and was slightly overgrown in places. No issues with Silver Creek Trail. The final half mile in the ski area consisted of ugly, rocky roads, nicer when covered in snow. Surprisingly, both Sheep Lake and Henskin Lake had inlets with running water.

Highlights. Blueberry shrubs had zero berries left, but provided nice fall colors. Spotted (or heard) several pikas.

Crowds. The Sheep Lake parking lot was full at 9:30am, and there was a steady trickle of hikers on the way up to Sheep Lake, and plenty of people up to Sourdough Gap and the Crystal Lakes viewpoint. Only a handful people beyond that.

A tough group of Mountaineers hiked a 15 mile key exchange from Norse Peak to Chinook Pass. On average the fall colors are waning, though there are many pretty patches. The best colors were from Chinook Pass to Bullion Basin and miles 3 & 4 on the Norse Peak Trail.

The 2 smoke monitors at Crystal were green all day. Photo 4 shows those monitors on October 14th, the higher monitor is green on this very smokey day in the lowlands. A link for a website that shows these and many other monitors is attached.

I hiked a loop, beginning at the Norse Peak parking on the Crystal Mtn road, then using the PCT, the Bullion Basin trail and the Gold Hills Road to return to the car.

The hike up to the Norse Peak summit was pretty much as described in the August 6 report.  I started early (7:40), so I saw only a handful of people on the ascent, including one party of horsemen.  Views into the valley and across to Mt. Rainier were excellent, but there was considerable haze to the east and the south from the summit -- some of it probably caused by wildfire smoke.

After snacking at the summit, I retraced my steps to the rim of the basin and took the trail which angles down through the basin and connects with the Pacific Crest Trail.  En route to the rim I met another horse party and was told of a more direct route to the PCT over the back of the peak, which I wish I had taken.  The first part of the descent into the basin was on a very narrow, steep, badly tilting trail composed of loose rock and powdery dust which was a bit of a trial.  This connector trail, however, was fairly short at under a half mile.

Once on the PCT I turned right and proceeded about 2 1/2 miles.  The trail is mostly open to the sun, which could be a problem on a hot day.  It passes 2 turnoffs for Basin Lake on the way up to Scout Pass, which is where the alternative route down from Norse Peak intersects.  From there it is mostly level or downhill, with excellent views across the Crystal Mtn ski area.  Before reaching the junction with the main Bullion Basin trail there is a cutoff trail, which I took.  To my regret.  It is steep and loose, and not much fun.  I believe continuing on to the main trail would have been a better bet.

Once on the Bullion Basin trail proper, the rest of the hike was fairly straightforward.  In less than 2 miles the trail reaches a crossing with the Gold Hills Road (confusingly shown on some maps as Road 410, not to be confused with U.S. Route 410 just down the road).  Following the road for about 2.5 miles takes you right back to the original trailhead.

Near the bottom I encountered some rescue personnel along with some spare horses.  They were too busy to answer my questions, but I gather there had been an accident higher up with one of the horse parties.  I hope it was nothing too serious.

My GPS showed a trip of 12.3 miles with about 3100 feet elevation gain, including some ups and downs on the PCT.