Category: Overnight Backpack (Page 4 of 4)

I only got to hike part way up Eagle Creek this weekend, and after seeing the little bit I did, I definitely want to go back and get all the way to Tunnel Falls sometime this year!

It’s a nice steady grade all the way up the Eagle Creek canyon, with a few fun spots on the trail that have been blasted out of the cliff walls with heavy-duty cable to hold onto if needed. I had my trusty hiking poles and never used the cable, and felt very safe, although very wet after walking through all the water dripping off the canyon walls.

Metlako Falls is nice, but Punchbowl Falls is just beautiful, and of course the photos don’t do it justice at all. Incredible how the water has carved a big bowl out of the riverbed.

I only got as far as High Bridge before turning around, about half-way up the canyon. I’ll get back sometime soon and hike the whole thing, probably make an overnight backpack trip out of it, just for fun 🙂

Love love love the hike to Upper Palisades Lake in Mt. Rainier NP. No good views of the big Mountain itself, but this hike definitely has its own beauty. There are only 2 campsites at Upper Palisades Lake, so if you’re looking for an un-crowded area in MRNP, this is a good spot. The meadow below the Palisades cliffs is beautiful, makes you feel very small. When I was there late last summer, gentians were blooming everywhere. This will be another one of my “must do yearly” backpack trips.

This is the first overnight hike of the season into Mt. Rainier NP for me, because of its lower elevation. Unlike most other campgrounds, you hike down to South Mowich from the Paul Peak trailhead, not up. Not any great, spectacular views of the Mountain except for a few spots on the Paul Peak trail, but the South Mowich River valley is beautiful in and of itself, and when everything else around Rainier is still under feet of snow, this is a good option.

I leave a little bit of my heart at Skyscraper Pass every time I go out there. It’s one of my favorite places at Rainier… so much so that I’ve been known to hike out with a good book and a JetBoil to brew myself a pot of tea, and park myself at the top for 8 hours enjoying the view and talking to people as they pass by. Having to go through Berkeley Park to get there is the icing on the cake. (for photos of Berkeley Park in full wildflower bloom, stay tuned for my Wonderland Photos).

Just once in your lifetime (or several times, in my case) it’s worth it to get up well before dawn and drive out to Sunrise before the sun comes up, just to sit there and watch Rainier light up like a Christmas tree with alpenglow. It’s magical… the photos don’t come close to describing what it’s really like to watch the color change.

Sheep Lake is another one of those “gotta do this once a year” hikes… it’s an easy 2 mile hike in from Chinook Pass. Expect wildflower overload in August-ish (along with mosquitoes), not to mention a gorgeous mountain lake perfect for a picnic lunch. It’s a perfect easy dayhike, but there are also some nice camping spots around and near the lake.

Wet wet wet wet….  Ipsut Campground is in the Carbon River rainforest area of Mt. Rainier NP. Sharon and Steve and Chris braved some pretty nasty spring PNW weather to go out here with me and camp overnight. I don’t think we had so much as 5 minutes of non-rain time, but we survived 🙂

This used to be a car campground, but now it’s a 5-mile walk down the old gravel road to get to Ipsut Campground since the river has washed the road out too many times to keep repairing. It’s easy to hook up with the Wonderland Trail from here, or to hike out and get up close and personal with the Carbon Glacier.

Another great hike and/or backpack trip in Mt. Rainier National Park, I like to hit Glacier Basin as soon as the road to White River opens. Still lots of snow in the beginning of the season, so bring along some tire chains for your boots or snow shoes.

Last year I had my one and only bear encounter on this trail, with a younger beautiful cinnamon-colored black bear. He was just not interested in moving off the trail to let us by, so we waited around and got some good photos before he decided to munch his way further into the shrubs.

This is also the main route for climbers heading to Camp Schurman. The Glacier Basin trail  has been completely re-done by WTA in the last couple of years, and it shows… it’s a beautiful trail all the way up.