Mt Rainier National Park - Sunrise area
Sunrise is on the east side of Mt Rainier National Park and the highest place you can drive to in the park at 6400 feet. I camped at the nearby White River Campground, 2000 feet lower, for three nights, to do some of the fantastic dayhikes in the area. The campground is not reservable, first-come, first-serve only. But I arrived on a Wednesday morning, and it was half empty.
After having gotten up very early to get to the camp in the morning, and adding some thunderstorm threat, I only did the short 3 mile Emmons Moraine hike. Here is the Mt Rainier NP-style bridge over the creek to get to the moraine, and note the trail switchbacking up the hillside just beyond.
View from the end of the trail on the moraine: the White River starts at the end of the glacier, with Little Tahoma Peak above.
Next day was my big hike, from the campground up on to Burroughs Mountain, over 3000 feet above. Start on the Glacier Basin trail and turn right on the Burroughs Mtn trail. Many, many switchbacks up the trail starts to emerge from the forest.
Pull fully out of the forest at 6500 feet in glorious meadows and Rainier showing itself.
At a notch I turned left towards Third Burroughs Mtn where the trail turns right to Second Mtn. Here I am above 7000 feet.
My high point was a knoll at 7500 feet for a very leisurely lunch.
As I started down, I saw this large herd of mountain goats. First shot is many hundreds of yards away, at full zoom. Following shots get closer and closer.
The trail goes through a meadow of dense false hellebore.
Back on the Glacier Basin trail, 1.5 miles from camp, and this bear pops out of the forest and onto the trail a short distance in front of me, maybe 20 yards - too close. And then starts walking towards me, slowly. The bear was not aggressive and ignored all my shouts and waving. Just looking for food (not me - plants).
Eventually it went back into the forest and I was able to continue.
Next morning I drove up to the Sunrise area and headed off on the Sourdough Ridge trail.
After 1.5 miles, there is a junction and I turned right on the classic 1.3 mile Fremont Peak Lookout trail.
Looking at Rainier with Burroughs Mtn below. The long flat ridge is First Burroughs, the rounded hump is second, and third is to the right.
Here is a closeup and crop of the above photo. Note the red X - that's where I hiked to the day before.
Final trail to the lookout.
View from near the lookout.
Fremont Peak Lookout.
From the lookout.
Flowers blooming next to the lookout at 7100 feet.
I chose a slightly longer, but greener and shadier trail, for the return. This is Shadow Lake.
A nice meadow. Higher up, right of center, in that rocky slope, is the trail I used outbound.
A few clouds moved in that afternoon.
I did the short Silver Forest trail that afternoon.
Rainier with the White River below. My campground is in the trees to the right of the river in the lower part of the photo.
Lupine and western pasque flower seedhead.
