Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Fall High Skyline loop hike on Mt Rainier

Beautiful fall day, we headed up to Mt Rainier to revisit the High Skyline Loop Trail.  
We would hike about 6 miles with about 2000 ft total elevation gain. 
We again parked in the lower parking lot and followed the Dead Horse Trail 
up towards the Skyline Loop Trail and saw deer on the way among the last of the wildflower.
Along Dead Horse Trail, with fabulous views of Mt Rainier
The trail steeps when we joined the Skyline Trail. We saw a marmot along the way.



On the way up, we did the side trail to Glacier Vista for a fabulous view.
The steps up to Panorama Point are steep.
Wonderful view from Panorama Point, haze is due to forest fires to the south
The High Skyline Trail takes you between the large rocks and Mt Rainier 
for wonderful views of the mountain.
Wonderful fall foliage.
 Heading back to Paradise.
 Myrtle Falls

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Mount Fremont Lookout and First Burroughs Hike at Mt Rainier

This hike starts at Sunrise on Mount Rainier. We hiked to both Mount Fremont lookout (2.75 miles one way with a 1200 ft elevation gain), then up to First Burroughs (another 2 miles and about a 350 ft climb) then the Burroughs Loop Trail back to Sunrise (another 2.7 miles or so)
 We hiked to Frozen Lake along the Sourdough Ridge Trail seeing the moon ahead of us.
 From the far end of Frozen Lake take the trail to the right.
This part of the trail is 1.3 miles to the lookout at the end of the ridge.
 From the lookout, there were marvelous views. Behind us to the south, Mt Rainier


To the northwest, Mt Baker (with zoom)
 To the north, Glacier Peak (zoom)
 To the west, across the Cascades and Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains.
 We returned to Frozen Lake and took the hike up to First Burroughs, 
the trail heading off to the right beyond Frozen Lake
 Our group at First Burroughs
 Hiked the Burroughs Loops Trail to Sunrise
 With such clear skies, we stopped at Sunrise Point on our drive from Sunrise, 
note Mt Adams in the far distance.