Fife's Ridge Washington

This Fife's Ridge hike was a last minute decision, it was raining hard on the west side of the Cascade Mountains, first we cancelled our hike, then decided let's head to the east side of the Cascades.

We went hoping to see the Larches turned yellow.

This hike is 8 mile round trip with 3100 ft elevation gain.

We found the trailhead sign nailed to a tree near the parking area near Hwy 410. 

This is the only sign we saw along the trail, a trail that would disappear.

 Most of the trail was in the forest. Part way up the trail, we found a ledge with some limited views.

 We saw yellow larches across the valley.

 After this, the hike became a lot steeper and we lost the trail among animal tracks and rocks.

We continued to head uphill and hike by many interesting rock formations.

 I didn't make it to the top of the Ridge (almost), Barbara is a stronger hiker, so she went scouting ahead. The clouds were so thick and it had begun to rain, so there was no view that afternoon.

It was getting late, and we wanted to reach the car before dark, so we turned around before I got to the   ridge. I took this picture of what I think is Fife's Peaks earlier in the hike.

 We got a good workout, and enjoyed our day outside,

and the rain was much lighter on this side of the mountains. 

We saw lots of larches along the side of the highway.

Shriner Peak Hike at Mt Rainier

A beautiful hike on the East side of Mt Rainier National Park. There is only one trail up and back on Shriner Peak, so no getting lost. It is a steep hike 8 mile round trip with an elevation gain of 3,434 feet

 After 1.5 miles through the forest, the area opens up in an old forest fire area. 

My husband and I enjoyed the fall foliage as we climbed up the trail.

 As the trail climbs, you begin to see glimpses of Mt Rainier

 Some portions of the trail have steps

We didn't "see" any wildlife, but we saw fresh cougar tracks and heard elk bugling

 The panoramic view from the top of Shriner Peak is fabulous!

 Although the day was hazy, we saw Mt Adams to the South. 

On a clearer day, Mt St Helens & Mt Hood are also visible.

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

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.

High Skyline Loop Hike at Mt Rainier

We drove up to Paradise on Mt Rainier for a gorgeous hike. We parked in the lower parking lot to give us more time in the meadows and a longer hike. We hiked about 6+ miles with around 2000 ft total elevation gain.On the trail between the upper and lower parking lots we saw grouse and deer, besides lots of wildflowers.

We hiked up the Alta Vista Trail option of the Skyline Trail, even at the end of August, 

we had a couple of snow fields to cross. We were now hiking in the clouds.

 We hiked the short side trip to Glacier Overlook and then up to Panorama Point,

very limited visibility. 

 We didn't want to cross the steep icy field on the lower Skyline trail, 

so we headed up to the High Skyline trail, lots of large interesting rocks

 As we descended back into the meadows, the was lots of fresh snow melt 

and an abundance of wildflowers.

 
The trail continues past the Golden Gate Trail turn off, on to Mazama Ridge then descends down the Skyline trail

 
We saw marmots in the rocks among the wildflowers.

 On the left: Sluiski Falls (300 ft) in the distance. On the right: one of the many small falls we saw.

 

 Continuing along the trail, the clouds lifting to the south. More wildflowers.

 Myrtle Falls (60 ft) only 0.4 miles from the Paradise Inn.