Quick trip report for a 30 mile loop I completed using the trails above.

Started from the Corral Pass Road TH about a mile off 410.  Road is gravel but in good shape.  There is some foliage encroaching on the road the last half mile.  TH has no facilities and room for a handful of vehicles.

Hopped on the White River trail for about half a mile and then began the initial climb of the loop up Deep Creek Trail.  This trail passes through quite a bit of burn zone.  It has some rough patches, blowdowns to navigate and no water sources.  It is snow free at this time.  Of note, lots of exposure here so it will be warm when the temps rise.

After the big climb, I took a right no Noble Knob Trail towards Corral Pass.  This trail is in good shape and does have two small water sources at this time.  I believe one will be around into the summer.  Snow free as well.  

At Corral Pass (nice new TH facilities), I hopped on the Greenwater Lakes trail.  This continues to pass through burn zone as you switchback down to Hidden Lake.  Water sources here but also more blowdowns, some very muddy sections and bridges out over creeks. The tread is a bit beat up as well.  However, once you pass Hidden Lake, you enter a non burned zone and the trail improves greatly.  Still quite a few blowdowns to negotiate though.

Followed this down to Echo Lake where I stumbled up what looks like the remains of a hunting camp (yes, some assumption there) but it's a giant canvas tent that has broken down but still has a stove, dutch oven, sleeping cot, sleeping bag and other odds and ends in it. Surprised someone would leave that equipment up there so I am sure there is a story behind it.

Continued on down, going through another burn zone but then the last four miles is a lush green forest.  Only obstacles remain blowdowns.  At the junction with the Lost Lake Trail, I turned left and began the climb up that valley.

This trail has been logged out within the last year or so and is in great shape.  Almost missed Quinn Lake but it's worth the side trip.  Amazing aquamarine color!  Lost Lake is a beautiful spot, lots of camping sites.  The trail past Lost Lake gets a bit rougher and I began to encounter snow here.  It's in short patches though and it's easy to stay on the proper path.  A step bit of climbing and you break out of the treeline and start to see some vistas that show just how much forest the fire claimed.

A nice traverse across an exposed meadow below Noble Knob and I was back on the Noble Knob Trail.  Some snow patches in a bowl to get around here and I think they will be around for another ten days or so.  Again, the trail is easy to follow though.

I then hopped on the Ranger Creek Trail and made the long descent towards the White River.  This trail is in great shape and has a couple water sources up high. These were the first I encountered since passing Lost Lake.  At the bottom, I hung a left on the White River and finished out the journey.

Really interesting loop and going from burn zone to untouched forest was really something to behold.   Lots of camping options at the lakes.  

Here's a quick TR from paying fealty to the Knob yesterday. Hiked from the turn off at Ranger Creek airstrip up to Dalles Ridge, over to Noble Knob, down Deep Creek trail, and completed the loop using the White River trail.

• No snow on Noble Knob
• A bit of snow on the southern notch before the Knob, nothing terrible
• Ranger Creek trail is in beautiful condition
• Deep Creek trail, however...still suffering from the Norse Peak fire
  
  • A bit of a jungle gym from 5800' to 4000'
  • Saw trail work resume at 4000', so it is being worked on
  • No dependable water sources on Deep Creek trail

Did Little Ranger Peak today. Mixed feelings on this one: it was infinitely better than staring at a computer screen all day. But the hike itself wasn’t that thrilling. Was hoping for at least a good view of Mount Rainier at the end, but you could barely see her. What does this trail have going for it? Solitude. I only saw 3 people. I hiked for hours without seeing a soul. Kind of nice.
The trailhead is literally right off 410 and is kind of hard to see but there is a flag tied to a tree where it starts. The all-trails map of “Little Ranger Peak Trail to Shelter” will get you most of the way. Then turn left at the intersection of the Palisades trail for another mile to get to Little Ranger Peak. I didn’t do a loop, just an out and back. But with a good map, there are lots of trails options to connect.

We did a one-way hike up the Palisades trail from Highway 410, descending via the Ranger Creek trail #1197 back to 410, This totaled about 12.4 miles and something like 3200 gain. It's the 15.9 loop minus the flat return along the White River trail - we accomplished the "shuttle" with our most fit and energetic hiker trail running the extra mileage back to the car. 

The trail up past the waterfalls through the steep old growth forest is really nice. Smooth tread - Lots of short switchbacks. Gets to a more open and level forest with a gradual ascent to the overlooks. Several overlooks past the 4.5 one. Note that you can only see the top of Rainier but the views into the valley are interesting. 

After the overlooks the trail climbs some more, enters recovering burned area, then at about 7 miles arrives at an open area with trail intersection with Dalles Ridge. From there the descent is kinda long - marked as 4.6 miles back to 410. As others have noted the top section has a lot of switchbacks with loose gravel and slightly sketchy footing but none of us fell. Poles were helpful. Descends out of the burned area into increasingly lush forest. No views but easy walking. Obvious parking area just north of Forest Road 7160. 

I should add that every single blowdown has been cleared, obviously pretty recently! We didn't have to step over a single log the whole way. Saw one polite mountain biker and maybe 8 other hikes total, all in the first 5 miles although at least of those two hikers were doing the full loop. Saw no one for the second half of the hike on this beautiful Friday. 

I decided to take my fast packing gear out for an early season trip (given our late spring snow it feels like early season anyway.) I started at Camp Sheppard on 6/30/22, ran parallel to the 410 highway on trails to the Ranger Creek trail. Passed the Little Ranger Peak viewpoint and ascended to the Dalles Ridge trail, then finally onwards to Noble Knob via the Noble Knob trail. I camped on the knob overnight before retracing my steps on 7/1/22.

Trails are in good shape with only minor debris- one or two blowdowns past the Palisades trail junction. No snow until about 1.1 miles from Noble Knob, just past the large rocky outcropping where the trail takes a sharpish bend  north after having been going southeast.  At first it’s just tongues of snow over the trail which are easily traversed with some care. Then a half mile or so of solid snow through a meadow area that the trail dips into then more snow with occasional dirt patches as the trail heads north and rises again. This stretch required navigation and careful foot placement. The meadows at the foot of Noble Knob have some snow but the trail is obvious. The knob itself is snow free EXCEPT for a VERY steep snow slope on the east side! Sketchy but I did it in order to reach the summit. (Picture included in this trip report). A slip here would mean a long slide down towards the lake! I’d probably just scramble over the west side that you see from the approach through the meadow next time.

No water except for some streams on the Ranger Creek trail. Zero liquid water on the Dalles Ridge trail and after that, of course there is snow you can melt but I did not see any flowing water to collect. Plan accordingly!

Gorgeous views and 0 people seen on 6/30/22. I jogged out on 7/1/22, only saw 3 people on the Ranger Creek trail - then nobody else until I was nearly at the trailhead. A memorable trip!