Panhandle Gap and a bit beyond on Mt Rainier

 One of my favorite hikes is up to Summerland and Panhandle Gap on Mt Rainier off of the Sunrise Road along the Wonderland Trail.
 We had such a great time today, we extended the hike to about an extra mile beyond Panhandle Gap on the Wonderland Trail before turning around. We hiked about 14 miles round trip with an overall elevation gain of about 3,300 ft.
The first 1.5 miles is a gentle uphill walk in the woods, then the trail begins to climb more steeply.

 About 3 miles from the trailhead, a long bridge crosses over Frying Pan Creek.

 Shortly after, the trail goes through open meadows with views of Mt Rainier.

Then the trail goes up some steep switchbacks taking you to Summerland 4.2 miles from the trailhead with an elevation gain of about 2,000 ft.

Although most of the wildflowers were gone, there were lots of gentians ready to bloom soon.

We continued on the Wonderland Trail, crossing Frying Pan Creek, where there were still monkey flowers in bloom.

The next 1.8 miles of trail climbs about 1,000 ft over rocks to Panhandle Gap. Here is the waterfall below the upper creek crossing.

 The upper creek crossing.












The waterfall above the upper creek crossing:

 This section of the trail does have some wildflowers and fall foliage.
Panhandle Gap is seen in the distance.

 The trail goes pass a beautiful tarn, with waterfalls coming off the glaciers behind it.












Panhandle Gap is 6 miles from the trailhead with a  2,950 ft elevation gain.
View from Panhandle Gap, looking back at the way we hiked up.

We hiked up a rocky outcropping above the Gap to enjoy the views and eat our lunch. We loved the views and the hike!

 View from Panhandle Gap to the south along the Wonderland Trail. After lunch, we decided to continue south on the Wonderland Trail for a mile or so, to enjoy the views and to see what we could see.

 A short distance along the trail, we saw a heard of mountain goats.

 We dropped down about 300 ft, crossed a few snow patches and saw some more waterfalls.

 To the south, the clouds lifted enough to get a partial view of Mt Adams.

 As we returned toward Panhandle Gap, we were greeted by a few marmots.

 Panhandle Gap as seen from the south.

 When we returned to Summerland there were several marmots out near the trail.

Some of the other wildflowers and fungi we saw on the hike today: