We tried to drive here a week ago but the road to the trailhead off of Highway 97 had too much snow on it for our vehicle to manage and it was still snowing fairly heavily then.  Today, the road getting to trailhead was snow free with a few potholes, some with water.  Parking lot had only one other car.  We headed out clockwise picking up the trail across the road from the parking lot. We chose this direction, having been here previously, knowing that the majority of larches would be plentiful very soon.  The trail had very little snow and some ice. We saw the beautiful golden larches with the sun shining through them.  Gorgeous. We had sun breaks throughout our hike highlighting the beautiful golden yellow of the needles. After 3/4 of a mile we made it to the top of a high point with spectacular views all around.  We lingered here as long as our bodies could take it as it was very windy and chilly. There was a lot of moisture on the plants which our pants' legs picked up making it a chilly return to the car.  We took a short cut rather than doing the entire loop.  The views and larches were worth the bit of chilliness we encountered.

We got to the trailhead around 7:30am. The road is a bit rough but we expected that with the recent fire nearby it would be a good place for vehicles and equipment to be parked or moved around. Some potholes - more than usual but nothing awful. There was a bit of patchy snow left but no need for spikes. It was really windy today and very cold at the viewpoint but the color was worth the chill. The larches are mostly golden now although a few are still that pale lime green so made for great color along with the pinks, reds and yellows of the brushy vegetation. It snowed on us for a hot minute but otherwise just a little drizzle this morning. This is a nice wander if you want to see some larches and are on the east side of the cascades since all the larch hikes nearby are unavailable due to fire.

A little bit of snow left on the trail from last weekends snow storm. Not hard to navigate. The larches are beginning to turn. Most were yellow with only some lime green. Such a beautiful and scenic path with great views. Wasn’t Smokey but could see in the distance where some smoke was still billowing.

First timer on this hike and what a beautiful loop! Our group of five arrived in time for a lovely sunrise with colorful skies around 7:15am. There was some snow and ice in the shady sections of the trail that our group felt more comfortable crossing with spikes on. 

I’d read several trip reports about other hikers preferring to hike this loop counter clockwise which I would agree with. We started right behind the trailhead sign and were immediately star struck with the variety of views and landscapes this loop offered: the big vista views, the larches, and the red colored pine cones.

We meandered and enjoyed our surroundings, immersing ourselves in the magical golden larches which have mostly all turned on the trail. Their needles are so soft! The fall colors were popping throughout the hike but especially on the climb up to the high point. Discovering much better views of the Enchantments and Mt. Rainier at the high point was a treat. I think we may have spent just as much time appreciating nature as hiking because it was 10:30 before we arrived back at the trailhead. A total of seven cars including our two at the trailhead when we returned. Privy is open but no TP. 

Note: we did see a little smoke in the distance lingering in one of the valleys from the smoldering Labor Mountain Fire. The air quality was good on the loop though. 

All of Blewett Pass was swarming with fire crews and firefighting activity today, but the trailhead was still open to recreation. Accessing the parking lot requires a short drive up a forest service road after turning off of the highway which was snow covered and very rough. A low car with poor tires might struggle a bit here. Once parked you can hike the loop in either direction (my preference has always been counterclockwise). There are a few large downed trees that require navigating around or under and the trail is mostly packed snow and ice. While I didn't use my microspikes due to having a pretty aggressive tread on my boots, you may find them helpful for traction on the steeper pitches. In the few sun-exposed areas where the snow has melted off, the trail was very wet and muddy. Crocs and flimsy sneakers are going to have a bad time, you've been warned!

LARCHES: STILL VERY GREEN!
These are Western larches (different species than the Alpine larches found around the North Cascades and Enchantments areas) so they tend to turn golden several weeks later than the other higher elevation species. Wait another week or two if that is your sole purpose for driving over Blewett Pass.