Glacier Basin

Drove up to the White River Campground to hike up to the Emmons Moraine Trail and up to Glacier Basin Camp, about 7.2 miles round trip from the parking area and about 1,750 ft of total elevation gain.
First, walked down the the White River to see this view of Mt Rainier upstream.







In the parking area where squirrels and

deer.

This trail is mainly in the forest, but there are some views, here a first look at Little Tahoma.















There are lots of full streams from snow melt.

View before the turn off to the Emmons Moraine Trail, about 1 mile up from the trailhead. Near the top of Inter Fork here is the log bridge over Inter Fork.

log bridge over Inter Fork on the Emmons Moraine Trail.

View of Emmons Glacier, with the White River emerging from under the glacier.

a green tarn in the basin

here is the end of the maintained trail

I went about 0.25 mile beyond the sign, and saw this view before returning to the main trail.

lots of water in the Inter Fork

a view of the top of Rainier from the trail a short ways after the trail junction.

Fabulous view of Mt Rainier along the trail, on the way up to Glacier Basin Camp.

basalt cliffs up on the north side of the basin

stream running over the trail with a glimpse of Little Tahoma

About 1-1/2 miles up from the trailhead the snow was over the trail in large patches.

last glimpse of Rainier as the trail goes into the forest until after Glacier Basin Camp

some old abandoned equipment along the trail.

The mountain climbers have left their  tracks in the snow.

snow is melting from underneath the top layer

sign pointing up to Glacier Basin Camp, continuing straight on the winter route to Rainier as the snow layer over the Inter Fork is very weak and treacherous.

View just beyond Glacier Basin Camp: Mt Ruth, tippy top of Rainier and St Elmo's Pass

view close to the edge of Inter Fork, I could hear the river roaring underneath the snow.

enjoying the views of Rainier as I return down the trail

some of the wildflowers seen along the trail today:

Iron Bear and Jester Mountain

 We drove out to the east Teanaways to hike up to Iron Bear and Jester Mountain to enjoy the views and the wildflowers that are blooming in profusion! We started at the Iron Creek Bear Creak Trail on FR 9714, off of Hwy 97

 We were soon seeing wildflowers in bloom along the side of the trail

 Lots of penstemon, paintbrush and balsamroot.

 It felt as if we were walking in a garden

 At the junction, about 1.7 miles up the trail, we turned right on to the Teanaway Ridge Trail

 It was a great day for penstemon!

 As we continued on the ridge, we could see snow capped peaks in the far distance.

 Wildflowers and views along the ridge line

 View from Iron Bear, Mount Stuart in the far distance

 We continued on the Teanaway Ridge Trail, and at the next junction, turned left onto the County Line Trail for about 0.1 of a mile,











 then went uphill to the summit of Jester Mountain, where we found the summit register. Here you can see the Mount Stuart between the trees. Although Jester Mountain is about 100 ft taller than Iron Bear, Iron Bear has better views.

 looking east from Jester Mountain

There are some nice rocks up here.

 We returned to Iron Bear for a lunch break and enjoy the views. We descended before the thunderstorm started.











some of the many wildflowers we saw in bloom along the trail today: