This was a two night trip doing the loop counter clockwise starting from Phelps Creek trailhead, with night 1 at the top end of Spider Meadow and night 2 just North of Buck Creek Pass at the Flower Dome trail junction. Also did a side trip to scramble up Cloudy Peak from Cloudy Pass. Great weather, fairly warm at night and still some larches and other fall colors to see, especially in the lower valleys.
Trails conditions - all trails were in good shape with an occasional downed tree (mostly between Suiattle Pass and Buck Creek Pass), light brush and occasional short mud and/or icy spots in some higher areas.
The re-routed trail around Lower Lyman Lake was well marked with signs and survey tape across the trail at both ends and frequently along the route. While the re-route is a little brushy in one or two spots and gets lost a few times as it descends the last slope to Lower Lyman, it's still pretty easy to follow. The other re-routed trail from below Cloudy Pass to Suiattle Pass is also easy to follow and well marked with tape and signs at both ends.
Snow - Spider Glacier was surprisingly gentle in slope but quite icy in the morning. The North side of Spider Gap actually had steeper snow - there are at least three snowfields N of the Gap where I almost put on microspikes, but they were short and not too bad if you're careful with good technique. All of the snow patches on the N side of the Gap could be bypassed on the talus on the right, though it would take a little longer.
While I carried microspikes I never put them on, although people less comfortably on snow will likely want them. Other than spider gap area, there was no other snow on the loop, other than some icy (frozen) bits of trail near the passes.
Water - there's water available at least every half hour or so along the entire loop with the exception of the stretch between Cloudy Pass to about a mile West of Suiattle Pass. In particular, there are high water sources at the foot of Spider Glacier, half way down the N side of Spider Gap, a quarter mile East of Cloudy Pass, a half mile E of Middle Ridge, at Small Creek (N or Buck Creek Pass) and about 2/3 mile down the S side of Buck Creek Pass (upper Buck Creek).
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