Was trying to think through an interesting loop near Chinook Pass and finally landed on this 21.5mi 4200ft gain one.

Starting at Mesatchee Creek Trailhead > we went up Dewey Lake Trail > joined the PCT to Chinook Pass > continued on the PCT across 410 > up-and-over Sourdough Gap > down Bear Gap Trailhead road > briefly scuttle across 410 and back to Mesatchee Creek.

I'd definitely recommend this loop as it just had a bit of everything. Maybe next time make it a little longer via American Ridge. Anyone ever do a similar, longer loop?

Quick notes below:

Dewey Lake Trail

• Some reports aren't too optimistic on this one, but I found it mostly easy going
• There definitely are a lot of blowdowns between wilderness boundary and ~1 mile shy of the PCT
• But I never found any to be all that heinous
• Ford or log shuffle required at American River
• Plenty of water as of now

PCT, Dewey Lake to Bear Gap

• So amazingly cruisy and pleasant
• You could do this loop starting from the trailhead here...but it was a madhouse today
• After Sheep Lake is completely dry until hitting the road down from Bear Gap 

Bear Gap back to Mesatchee

• It's a bit of stretch to connect these, but my new years resolution was no out-and-backs and I'll be damned if I break that
• Good trail down from Bear Gap, and a pleasant road walk down
• The section on 410 isn't as enjoyable - but there's an unmarked dirt road ~1/4mi down after you join that shortcuts to the trailhead

Parking quickly filled in the chinook pass parking lot by 10 am. Trail is dry and hot except for a few snow patches that are easy to cross in the forest. They were soft on the way back. Bugs are out and biting, they were the least annoying at sourdough gap. The high was supposed to be 66 today but it felt much hotter and we went through almost all our water and it was plenty warm for swimming. Making it to the gap in the heat was a push for my 5 year old. Moderate trail traffic and campsites looked empty on a Monday, we saw a few backpackers headed up late afternoon. The pit toilets were being cleaned as we left and in the best shape we’ve seen them.

My hiking group had a great hike on the PCT to Sourdough Gap and over the ridge to Crystal Lakes overlook today.  The parking area was filling up and we snagged the last 3 official stalls.  It was sunny skies and 63 degrees, with a forecast 82 degrees high.  We followed the advice from recent trip reports and stopped at the Tipsoo Lake parking area to use the restrooms.  They were clean, and stocked with TP and hand sanitizer.  Two of the Vault toilets at the Chinook Pass TH are now open, the other 2 still locked. They had litter all over the floor and animal waste bags on the ground outside the door! 😬 The entire trail is dry and dusty, except 2 small snow patches to cross. Wildflowers were popping up the entire route and some were starting to fade.  Now is the time to hike for a wildflower bonanza - we saw anemone, avalanche lily, glacier lily, valerian, bluebells, phlox, paint brush, penstemon, cinquefoil, cusick speedwell, louse wort, wall flower, buckwheat, soapwort, violets, lupine and heather.  It was a 4 volcano day - with sightings of Mt Adams, Mt Hood, Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier along our route.  Wildlife was allusive today except a couple camp robbers, bugs on the other hand were ready to pounce on you anytime you stopped for a few minutes.   Everyone had on bug repellent or clothes treated with promethean and mosquitoes and gnats were still hovering.  The beauty of the sub Alpine experience outweighed pesky bugs in my book. Trail traffic was moderate.  We passed a few groups heading back from Sheep Lake early morning, then some SOBO PCT section hikers heading south. At the PCT junction with the side trail leading down to Crystal Lakes hikers seemed to be going in both directions.  Some in my group extended their hike with a walk thru down to Hwy 410 Crystal Lakes TH and other made a loop of upper Crystal Lake and retraced their steps back to Chinook Pass Th.  So our outing had challenge for anyone wanting a longer or shorter elevation hike. One of our members took a total plunge in Upper Crystal Lake and reported it was cold indeed!   It was 84 when we walked back to our cars so quite toasty.  Another fantastic day out in nature with friends!

Stunning trail! Felt easier than I expected it to, it’s a gentle slope that is relatively flat the first mile and a half away from the parking lot then slightly increases towards sheep lake, and then steeper towards sourdough gap. Highlights: saw 2 marmots on the scree field behind sour dough gap where the PCT continues through!! Very cute :) gorgeous wild flowers the whole way, and a quieter trail till about 11 am. We got there at 8:15am and the parking lot had space (Sunday after July 4th). By the time we left at 1 ish (we meandered quite a bit at the top and around the lake) the parking lot was packed.

Had a lovely post-Fourth of July hike inside the Mount Rainier area! It was not too crowded, and there was some parking available. The trailhead has four toilets, which had just been serviced. There was a tiny amount of snow - I brought poles, but they would not be necessary. 

The sweeping views were lovely. The hike to Sheep Lake has a very gentle incline. And after the lake, the elevation gain increases to get to the gap. Once you reach the other side, you can see Rainier. The wildflowers were out in full force and the trail is well-maintained.