Obstruction Point Road is open! The road is sometimes steep and narrow with sheer drop-offs. However, it's totally doable as long as you're slow, cautious, ready to yield, and lucky with no upcoming cars in the worst parts :) The parking lot had ~16 cars when I arrived a little after 10am on Friday.
I originally planned to spend two nights (Thursday the 18th & Friday the 19th) at Moose Lake, but cut it down to one since it was unclear what time Obstruction Point Road would open on Thursday. The rangers told me it would be Thursday afternoon, but didn't have more information than that. I appreciated their patience with my frequent calling.
I did the Grand Valley Loop (in through Grand Valley, out through Badger Valley) + Grand Pass and Grandview Peak.
The Grand Valley trail starts off with spectacular views and blooming flowers, then descends down to the lakes. No snow or obstacles on this portion of the trail. I set up camp at Moose Lake, then day-hiked to Grand Pass. The trail got more and more beautiful with each step I took. Wildflowers galore! There were a few inconsequential snow patches below the pass. The views were great, but I'd recommend climbing the extra 200 ft to the peak on right. Up there, you can see Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and much more! I'm not much of a scrambler or peak-bagger, but that one was quick and worth it.
Moose Lake is a great place to camp! Just be aware of the salt-hungry deer - guard your things and pee away from your tent. A few got close to my campsite, but I didn't have any incidents. The area got more campers as the day wore on, and I could see some from my campsite, but it still felt quite peaceful. The toilet and streams were both easy to find, and the bugs were not bad at all. There were not many mosquitos until the late evening, when they grew in numbers.
I returned to the trailhead via the Badger Valley trail. Here, the trail was often brushy and had a number of blowdowns (all easily passable). It began with 2 miles of continuous downhill, which was hard to deal with mentally, because I knew that meant that my final uphill hiking would be condensed into fewer miles. There were also lots of mosquitos in the forested section before the low point of the trail, just to add insult to injury.
However, once you climb out of the forest, the flower-filled meadows appear and the world feels better again! There were lots of small streams for potential water sources, and the views were superb. Doing the loop is satisfying because you get to see many sides of this grand area. The final push up the scree slope is steep, but stable and manageable.
Definitely a great backpacking trip! The trail never felt too crowded. You can connect to lots of other trails from here, so there's plenty more to explore!
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