Northern Loop - Mt. Rainier National Park

On Saturday, August 13, after 13 hours of driving, Ashley, Tom and I arrived in Seattle stiff and sore, but in good spirits. We were staying in the center of downtown in the Westin Seattle, and had a day to recover before our big hike. We met up with Andrew at the hotel, who arrived about 20 minutes after us from Vancouver. After a quick (late) dinner, we all retired.

View from the Westin Seattle.

We spent Sunday being touristy. We wandered down to Pike Place Market and bought the most delicious peaches you could imagine. Then we took the monorail over to the Space Needle and rode the Ducks. Ducks are amphibious WWII vehicles that now transport Seattle tourists by land and water to some of the more famous landmarks in the city. Then we spent the evening packing our backpacks for the trail. Ahead of us was 55km of trail and 8500ft of elevation gain. It was time to get a good sleep!

Source: Hiking Mount Rainier National Park, By Heidi Schneider, Mary Skjelset

August 15 - Sunrise Visitors Centre to Fire Creek Campsite (12.5km)

Squirrel stuffing his face with lollipop.

According to our camping reservations, we had to pick up our backcountry permit by 10am, or the park could potentially give away our spot. So we were checked out of the hotel and were on the road by 7am. It seems like my worrying was unnecessary. There were barely any other drivers on the road, and hardly anyone around when we arrived at the rangers station. After getting our paperwork from a surprisingly unfriendly park ranger who then accused us of being "unenthusiastic" (uh... kind of hard to be enthusiastic when the person you're dealing with is grumpy), we were on our way!

Sunrise Visitors Centre-- thankfully not covered in snow.

The weather was fantastic for all four days of our hike. Monday morning was chilly, but the sun was out and the sky was blue. As soon as we started moving we warmed up quickly. We began the day with a small ascent, and continued the rest of the day on a slowly descending path.

A plethora of wildflowers.

I'm not exaggerating when I say we tore through our first day of hiking. We left the parking lot just after 10:30am, and arrived at our campsite by 3pm. We were cutting a 3km/hour pace which was pretty freaking fast! Considering we had trouble maintaining 2km/hr on the Juan de Fuca trail last year, we were all surprised by our speedy progress. Even on our first day we were surprised by the variety of scenery on the trail.

Open meadow - "Grand Parks."

Mountain scenery.

Creek crossing.

We arrived at Fire Creek Camp in good spirits and took over the Group Campsite. Later we realized that really shouldn't have set up our tents there (since we weren't a large group), but the people whose place we usurped didn't seem to mind too much.

August 16 - Fire Creek Campsite to Yellowstone Cliffs Campsite (13km)

In the morning we thought, "Oh ha ha! There's no need for us to get up early! We hiked so quickly yesterday, we can sleep until we feel like it."

MISTAKE!

Andrew re-packs his bag.

We started our hike around 11am after a leisurely morning, and quickly came to regret our decision. The trail was steep and full of unexpected switchbacks. Progress was slow, and Ashley was coping with a painful knee.

Steep incline, but pretty scenery!

We had an unpleasant visit from a snake on the trail. The sudden slithering spooked me! This guy was pretty little, maybe only a little over a foot in length.

A snake on the trail.

Our first river crossing.

We also discovered that the mosquitoes on this section of the trail were relentless. This was the day that I got dozens upon dozens of bites.

The next section of the trail included a stretch called Windy Gap. It wasn't all that windy while we were there, and it probably would have been more aptly named "Snowy Gap." This section of the trail held the longest stretches of packed snow.

Us crossing the snow covered trail in Windy Gap.

There were a few occasions where we would reach the end of a snowy section and find ourselves thinking, "Hmmm... Where did the trail go?" But we never had much difficulty finding it again. When we reached the end of Windy Gap we saw a sign that read, "Yellowstone Cliffs: 1 mile." We were all ecstatic thinking the campsite was so close. So we dug in for the last stretch.

The Yellowstone Cliffs.

Unfortunately the sign was very misleading. It literally meant 1 mile until "Yellowstone Cliffs," but the Yellowstone Cliffs Camp was still some distance away. Over an hour later we stumbled into camp, exhausted. We set ourselves up quickly, and discovered that the camp toilet was still partially frozen into a drift of snow. Despite the lack of facilities, this particular camp was set in one of the prettiest locations. We also had it all to ourselves for the night!

Our tent perched on a mild slope.

August 17 - Yellowstone Cliffs Campsite to Mystic Lake (14km)

By now we were wise to the amount of time it would take us to hike 14km. We got up earlier on Day 3 so we wouldn't arrive so late at camp.

The first few days we barely saw another soul on the trail, so we were surprised when we ran into a Mt. Rainier volunteer who was hiking by himself, cutting back overgrown vegetation to clear the way for other hikers. We decided the guy must really love the outdoors! We also played catch-up with a mother/son duo for most of the day. They would pass us, then we would pass them and repeat. Once we saw them resting on a set of rocks-- mother puffing away on a cigarette. How bizarre.

We spent most of Day 3 skirting the Carbon Glacier. It was covered in a thick coating of soil and rubble, and at first it was difficult to tell that it was a glacier at all.

The incredibly filthy Carbon Glacier.

Most of the hiking this day was a never ending cycle of switchbacks... Up, up and up!

A suspension bridge we didn't actually cross.

Ashley powering through one of the steepest sections of trail.

Our end point for the day was on the far shores of Mystic Lake. The lake was located on a blessedly flat stretch of ground that we eagerly hiked through so we could stop for the day. Other hikers warned us that bears had been seen in the area recently, but we had no encounters that night.

The shallow depths of Mystic Lake

August 18 - Mystic Lake to Sunrise Visitors Centre (15km)

This day was the home stretch for us. We knew we were heading to the comfort of our cars and a sweet, sweet shower at the hotel.

Knowing we had a long distance to go, we woke up at 6am and had broken camp by 7:15am. Maybe it was the call of civilization, but many of the sights on Day 4 seemed all the more spectacular than the last three days. See for yourself!

Riverside forest.

The dirty mass of Winthrop Glacier.

Winthrop Glacier runoff.

Tom and I crossing glacial runoff.

Tom and I with a prime view of Mount Rainier.

Andrew, Ashley, myself and Tom-- 5km to go!

Mountain goats scurry past us as we stop for lunch.

Finally, we crossed a ridge, and the Sunrise Visitors Center was back in sight. So close... Yet so far! We continued the last 2km, passing hordes of day hikers, seniors and children. It was a relief to see familiar ground again. It was a great hike, but it always feels the best when it's finished!

Sunrise Visitors Centre-- one sweet sight!

Tom removes his hiking shoes back at the car.

We made our way through heavy traffic back to Seattle. I'm telling you, a shower will never feel as good as after four days of intense hiking.

Overall, I rank the Mt. Rainier Northern Loop as #2 out of the three major backpacking hikes we've done.

1) Grand Canyon Rim to Rim

2) Mt. Rainier Northern Loop

3) Juan de Fuca Trail

Next year.... Yellowstone National Park?

We shall see!