Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

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RobinB
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Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by RobinB » September 21st, 2014, 3:20 pm

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Opening picture: Little Tahoma and the Emmons Glacier, from Mount Ruth.

This one's a little late, but there don't seem to be a lot of trip reports from Rainier National Park, so I thought it might be helpful anyway. This winter we talked a little about the Wonderland Trail, but doing the whole thing felt like too much of a headache, so we planned a shorter trip, futzing around the northeast corner of the park, between Glacier Basin and Granite Creek.

The wilderness permit reservation system is a little bit of a bother. The park begins accepting requests on March 15, and begins processing them on April 1 (info here). Requests received between March 15 and April 1 are processed in random order, so it's basically a lottery system, but your chances are apparently better if you state on your application that you're somewhat flexible about dates and camps. Note that a reservation costs $20, and that, on top of that, it costs $15 to enter the park. Ugh. In any case, we got exactly the trip we wanted:

Thursday: White River TR to Glacier Basin
Friday: Glacier Basin to Granite Creek
Saturday: Granite Creek to Berkeley Park
Sunday: Berkeley Park to White River TR

Thursday

We woke up early, drove up to the National Park, stopped by the ranger station to pick up our permits, and got to the trailhead around 9:00. It's only a few (crowded!) miles to Glacier Basin, and I didn't really take any pictures. The designated camps at Rainier are kind of lame: a bunch of spots so close together that it's almost like car camping. If I go again, I'll probably go for backcountry camps. We took it as a good opportunity to dayhike.

Without much of a plan, we walked down into the Glacier Basin and crossed a couple forks of the White River.

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Headwaters.

A mine was built in Glacier Basin in the early 1900s by an interesting character named Peter Storbo and his Mount Rainier Mining Company. There's some great history of the area here:
The old Storbo Road is visible from the White River Campground. A sign mistakenly calls it Starbo Camp. Up at Glacier Basin, hikers can spot remnants of a rock crusher, and the stone foundation of the hotel. You can see a few mine entrances if you know where to look. In the brief summer at Glacier Basin, when wildflowers shroud tailings gouged from it's mines, it possible to imagine Pete Storbo coming up the trail in an old truck, grinding gears and bouncing on hard rubber wheels, his ears ringing from dynamite and his head aflutter at finally finding that mountain of copper.
The old mine's just on the south side of the river, almost directly across from Glacier Basin Camp. There are a bunch of endlessly fascinating old rusting machines. Anyone know what they did? (These are all from the way back, when the light was much better.)

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Rock crusher?

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Half buried something.

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Fuel tank?

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No idea.

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Old cart?

After hanging out with the machines for a long while, we headed up the steep east ridge of Mount Ruth.

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Up and up and up and up.

The view of the Emmons Glacier from the top of the ridge is just incredible. Emmons "has the largest area of any glacier in the contiguous United States." It's huge!

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Glacier, Little Tahoma, and part of Rainier's summit.

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Crevasse City.

I don't know the names of the peaks below Little Tahoma, but they were gorgeous too. I think this area's above the Wonderland Trail (?). Might be a great place to backcountry camp...

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_____ Peak.

We'd spent so much time wandering around and taking pictures that we had to head down, but I really wanted to go all the way up Mount Ruth. Maybe as a long dayhike from White River. Anyway, on the way back down, we stopped at a gorgeous stream.

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Feet soaking water.

After getting back to camp, we had a quick dinner then sat out in the meadows above Glacier Camp looking at the stars until well after "hiker midnight."

Friday

I woke up early to take a couple pictures of the basin before heading out.

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Looking up toward The Wedge and Interglacier.

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Rainier closeup.

Our destination for the day was Granite Creek, over Burroughs Mountain and Skyscraper Pass. It was probably the prettiest day we had, despite the crazy crowds (and weirdly officious national park volunteers) between Burroughs and Frozen Lake. The trail from Glacier Basin to Burroughs Mountain is just stunning. It's also totally deserted until you get to the first pass, where you run into people who have taken the shorter hike up from Sunrise.

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Me on the way up, happy and alone.

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First views of the Interglacier.

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Looking back at Rainier and the trail up.

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Skyscraper Mountain.

The views stretched all the way to Mount Baker and the North Cascades.

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Even if they were a little fuzzy.

It was cool too to look back and see all the melt water running off what I think was the Fryingpan Glacier.

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Black and white for contrast.

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Snow cave?

After cresting the first (or second or third - I couldn't keep track of the numbers) Burroughs Mountain, there were suddenly dozens of people. It felt a little like the gorge does sometimes, when you suddenly leave the wilderness and arrive at a theme park. The views stayed good, though.

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Frozen Lake. The people might blend in with the rocks, but there were as many of the former as there were of the latter.

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Looking down into Berkeley Park from Burroughs Mountain.

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Back up the Burroughs Mountain Trail.

After a couple odd interactions with dayhikers confused by our backpacks, and one depressing interaction with a sort of macho volunteer who was incredibly patronizing to my wife but more-or-less respectful to me (dude: she planned the trip), we decided to motor through as fast as possible.

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Run!

Once we passed Frozen Lake, the crowds immediately thinned, and we rejoined our people (read: marmots).

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Marmot kisses make everything better.

We made good time over Skyscraper Pass and decided to take the quick sidetrip up Skyscraper Mountain. The trail up is steep but totally non-technical.

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"I swear, this will be worth it."

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View of the Burroughs Mountains encircling Berkeley Park.

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View north of the West Fork White River.

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Looking way down at Berkeley Park.

From Skyscraper, it was just a nondescript walk through the woods to Granite Creek. Note that the best spot, #3, is a long walk up the hill away from the others. If you didn't know it was there, you might just think it was a use trail, but it's got a lot of solitude, and proved an excellent place for an evening full of stars and mac and cheese.

Saturday

We slept in, ate a leisurely breakfast, and Krista put on her fabulous hiking outfit, which I think makes her look like an 80s superhero.

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"To Berkeley, and beyond!"

On the way back up, there were excellent views of Willis Wall.

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There's rock under all that snow after all!

Then, down into Berkeley Park, we again ran into some marmot friends, bringing big clumps of grass into their holes. Insulation for winter?

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Or maybe just some snacks?

Berkeley Camp is, as seems maybe to be the norm on Rainier, a little claustrophobic, but after setting up camp we spent a very pleasant afternoon lounging around the meadows, soaking our feet in Lodi Creek, and taking pictures of what's left of the flowers.

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Does this count as a flower?

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I'm pretty sure this does.

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Maybe not so much "flowers" as "greenery."

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Oh oh, but that's sort of flower like!

Dinner was, like the whole day, unhurried and relaxing. Afterward, we sat in a boulder field above the meadows, hanging out with pikas, eating huckleberries, and watching the sunset.

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Pika.

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Huckleberries.

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Sunset.

Sunday

Man, it got cold Saturday night. On our way out of Berkeley Park there was a thin frost over everything, which seemed to make the grass magic.

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Autumn's coming.

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Melting out.

From Berkeley Park, it was just a quick trip through Sunrise Camp (why is this so popular?) and back down to White River, the car, and a couple of greasy, delicious burgers.

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One last look.

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kelkev
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by kelkev » September 21st, 2014, 3:46 pm

Stunning photos, great trip report! Rainier is such a beautiful place. I day hiked a couple of weeks ago to Frozen Lake and Burroughs Mountain, then down to Shadow Lake back to Sunrise. So much beautiful country, your photos make me want to go back!!
"Going to the mountains is going home."
— John Muir

justpeachy
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by justpeachy » September 21st, 2014, 4:30 pm

Ah, so beautiful! The scenery in those parts is just amazing. Thanks for sharing! :D

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drm
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by drm » September 21st, 2014, 7:39 pm

I just this evening got back from Rainier. I camped in White River CG for some dayhikes and among other hikes, did the Wonderland/Burroughs/Glacier loop. So some similar terrain.

What you said about Rainier backcountry camps is true. Many camps are away from views and cramped in the forest, Carbon River and James Lake, for example . But not all. Over time you learn that there are some camps in spectacular locations: Klapatche, Indian Bar, Summlerland, and that camp you got in Granite Creek. A few years back I got that one because the ranger who wrote up my permit told me about it. Some written guides warn hikers to enjoy the views on the hikes, since some camps have no views.

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retired jerry
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by retired jerry » September 21st, 2014, 7:44 pm

I'm torn between camping at exposed locations with views vs sheltered locations without views.

If the weather's good, the exposed site with views is good, but bad weather not so much

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RobinB
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by RobinB » September 21st, 2014, 8:08 pm

Thanks, everyone!
retired jerry wrote:I'm torn between camping at exposed locations with views vs sheltered locations without views.
Unless the weather's really bad - as in: very strong wind and driving rain - I'll go for exposure with views over protection without.
drm wrote:Over time you learn that there are some camps in spectacular locations: Klapatche, Indian Bar, Summlerland, and that camp you got in Granite Creek.
Thanks for the tip! Apparently you can also get permits for off-trail camping in designated Crosscountry Zones. Ever done that? I think next time I might go that route.

peanut170
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by peanut170 » September 21st, 2014, 9:38 pm

First time I ever stayed at Rainier I used the lottery system and stayed in the designated camp. But was quite dissapointed. Pay $15, then $15 to get in the park, then camp in the trees. Now I just show up, go to ranger station and pick the zone I want to explore. Obviously a little research helps and study some maps. But a walk up is free, and ive slept under the stars with a nice view of the mountain and very little if any people everytime. It takes more work but the reward is well worth it.

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the hiking nurse
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by the hiking nurse » September 21st, 2014, 10:13 pm

Here's a salute from someone who just got back from 3 weeks in Yosemite who is jealous of your trip! Awesome is all I can say...

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drm
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by drm » September 22nd, 2014, 7:26 am

RobinB wrote:Thanks for the tip! Apparently you can also get permits for off-trail camping in designated Crosscountry Zones. Ever done that? I think next time I might go that route.
I haven't done it yet, but have been thinking about it. I would want to do some research to find out some good places for it. I've seen some reports and seen some places on my hikes that look like they might be good.

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anne37
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Re: Mount Rainier National Park: Sept. 4-7, 2014

Post by anne37 » September 22nd, 2014, 7:49 pm

Funny you say that about the patronizing volunteer - I've had a similar experience with a younger ranger or volunteer (?) there named Zack. Never anywhere else, though.

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