First. Larches.
Second. I ate more huckleberries that I picked than I did the food I brought with me.
This is a great overnight backpacking loop! Going counterclockwise, there are a bunch of campsites before you get to Spider Meadow so we decided to night hike the first 3 miles so we could get an early start the next morning. Once you get between Spider Meadow and Spider Glacier make sure to stay on the trail and not accidentally follow deer trails somewhere you are not supposed to go.
After you finish the ascent to the base if Spider Glacier, there is no longer a marked trail. Hike on the glacier to the top of Spider Gap and then back down the glacier on the other side of the gap.We started to follow a trail that mislead us to too far right of the glacier and we ended up having to scramble down to the valley bellow. I do not recommend. I would recommend, however, at least having trekking poles with you. If you aren't used to hiking on snow/ice then bring some extra traction for your shoes.
Once you are next to Upper Lyman Lake, follow it until you find a very large cairn that marks the continuation of the actual trail. From that point the trail is very clearly marked and well maintained for the rest of the loop.
Water was readily available along the trail and easily accessible. All stream crossings are doable via rock hopping and without wet feet.
One fire closure rerouted the trail out of the bottom of the valley between Cloudy Pass and Suiattle Pass but rather had us take a shortcut along a ridge above the valley.
It was cloudy during the day obscuring our view of Glacier Peak which would otherwise be watching over you during your hike in this area.
From Buck Creek Pass to the road has a ton of large campsites protected from the elements (sadly we didn't camp here).
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