Mt Rainier: The 7Up Hikes

December 06, 2015 by Steve

This is a consolidation of the 4 hikes I did in the summer of 2014. They are so named because I wanted to take advantage of off trail travel, loops if possible, and destinations that take the hiker over 7000 feet. Every one is doable as a day hike if one is in good shape. No special skills or equipment are needed outside of mild scrambling. Early season might require the use of an ice axe. These trips explore parts of the park and incorporate vistas well beyond what one experiences doing the Wonderland Trail. Each hike is written up in the williswall blog, but I have consolidated them here. If you are curious about gazing down on gaping crevasses, marveling in the world of rock and ice, see the mountain up close for a completely different perspective, and in going places few hikers go (percentage wise of all the hikers in the park), then you might be interested in these sojourns. However, the variations can be many; these are only a sampling of what is possible in this amazing place. These four day hikes total 85 miles and 25,000 feet of elevation gain.

NOTE: although written as simple trip reports with photos, I captured video in 2.7K on each of these hikes. Much of this video is incorporated into the Mt. Rainier Grand Tour series.

*Ruth/Burroughs InReach position time map*

The 7up Hikes: Ruth-Burroughs Loop

December 05, 2015 by Steve

July 25, 2014

My daughter and I just did the first of the 7Up series, the Mt. Ruth-Burroughs loop. This hike starts and ends at White River campground and entails approximately 17 miles of hiking and 5900 feet of elevation gain/loss, plus much of the hike is off trail.

Description: We hiked the Glacier Basin Trail for .9 miles to the intersection with the Emmons Moraine Trail, taking that to the end. A tread continues past the "end of maintained trail" sign into the forest, gradually dwindling until we were basically on our own. Navigation is relatively straight forward as the Inter Fork of the White River stays on your right the entire time. Eventually we needed to climb up the steepish forest grade (left) until it eased and deposited us into a meadow. From this point navigation was easy as the ridge we needed to acquire leading to Mt. Ruth (elev 8695') was in sight and it was merely finding the best line to attain the ridge crest. As we climbed higher to the ridge fantastic views of Glacier Basin and our later peaks (Burroughs Mountains) filled our view, with distant ridges and peaks appearing over the horizon with every step up. As we made our way to the ridge proper we stepped lightly over small grasses and flowers until on an obvious tread. Here's where eye popping views towards Little Tahoma and the Emmons Glacier elicited gasps and audible "wows!" from both of us, while glancing right was the ridge making up the north side of the basin that houses the Inter Glacier and Steamboat Prow at its zenith. Tiny specks on the Inter Glacier, otherwise known as climbers, gave scale to the terrain all around. This time of year and beyond sees the Emmons losing its top coat of smooth snow, revealing the yawning crevasses and ice towers, truly a spectacle. As we got closer to Mt. Ruth an obvious choice of veering right, then left up an easy ridge avoids the steeper and crumbly looking east ridge of the peak. The summit is comfortable for lounging and taking in the panorama, something we never tired of. Eventually, however, we needed to get moving so retraced our steps to an obvious tread leading straight down to Glacier Basin. Straight is the operative word here, losing no time with the descent off the ridge until we found ourselves on more level terrain and perusing old mining equipment abandoned decades ago. The last hurdle in this off trail travel was crossing the Inter Fork of the White River, which by late afternoon on a warm day is flowing mightily. It isn't very wide, however, and eventually our scouting found a place to cross that only soaked us up to our knees but rewarded us with numb feet and toes, a real refresher after the day of hiking up to this point. In keeping with my trip criteria, the rest of the hike is on trail, allowing for encroaching fatigue and sleepy minds, a familiar state for both of us. Back on the Glacier Basin Trail, it's a short .7 miles to the intersection with the Burroughs Mountain trail which had us climbing from 5600 feet back up to 7400 feet, the summit of Second Burroughs. My original plan was to pop over to Third Burroughs first (7828') but we were enveloped in cloud and just didn't see the point. Finally, at Frozen Lake, we turned on our lights and on tired legs made our way back to White River campground via Sunrise. This trip didn't disappoint, and favors those who venture higher and off trail with views of Mt. Rainier that will take your breath away.

*Mt. Ruth to the left of Steamboat Prow*

*Cassie works her way up to the ridge to access Mt. Ruth*

*the world of ice and rock, Emmons glacier and Little Tahoma*

*on the ridge now, scoping out the route to Mt. Ruth*

*Mt. Rainier, Steamboat Prow and the Inter Glacier from Mt. Ruth summit (8695')*

*peekaboo views through the clouds and setting sun from Burroughs Mountain*

*Goat Island/Banshee InReach report time map*

The 7Up Hikes: Goat Island Mountain/Banshee Loop

December 04, 2015 by Steve

August 5, 2014

This is a big hike with big views. I recruited my buddy CB for this one as the extensive off trail and planned exit warranted a partner for safety. As it turns out the gnarly exit was bypassed, more on that. This trip provides 17 miles and 5600 feet of elevation gain and loss.

We parked at the Fryingpan creek trail head and spent a very short time on trail, taking a right on the Wonderland for less than half a mile and proceeding off trail at the obvious bend. This lower part of the ridge for Goat Island is of course treed but manageable enough and eventually the terrain opened up into some meadows. We ended up climbing the west ridge a bit high and were forced to retreat lower to work around to the main east ridge, whose southeast slope is a large meadow offering a clear view to the main ridge line. We spied an elk as it entered the forest lower down. Once attaining the ridge, 180 degree views pummeled us with all the cascade volcanoes from Baker to Hood visible along with numerous sub peaks. The ridge walk is long over the main peak (7288') with pockets of flowers everywhere and easy travel until the latter part of the ridge. We made the mistake of being lured off the ridge by open flowered meadows but were cliffed out twice trying to descend to Fryingpan Creek. It seems the best avenue of escape is to follow the ridge to its terminus and descend via a gully to the moraine. Some thick schwacking was occasionally involved but these sections were short. Much help was provided by goat/elk trails. Once in the basin it's a longish walk over the bouldery terrain but the creek crossings were easy with feet dry boulder hopping. We entered the meadows a few hundred feet elevation below Summerland and the short walk there found us on trail for the first time in hours.

It seems the huge day hiker crowds are reserved for weekends (at Summerland) and we only ran into a couple of hikers. We also had an interesting talk with a shotgun toting ranger....seems a bear has become a problem having tasted human vittles and has become very aggressive in appropriating Mountain House. The campers the evening before huddled all night in two large groups, apparently even ten people screaming 10 feet away did not dissuade this hungry bruin. The ranger was looking to pelt it with bean bags and establish dominance but to no avail, the bear was a no show. This one may have to be relocated. Now here's where my planned exit changed as CB was done and was headed back to the vehicle. He had no problems waiting for me, however, so I reloaded the go juice and headed toward Panhandle Gap. From there it's a long benign meadow walk to my destination, Banshee Peak at 7400 feet. However, looking over the edge toward Goat Island Mountain made my knees weak, the exposure is intimidating. Our original plan was to negotiate Middle Cowlitz Chimney and descend to the Owyhigh Lakes trail, bringing us back to the vehicle ending with a short road walk of one half mile. This terrain did not invite solo travel, however, and toting my unused helmet and ice axe I started back for Panhandle Gap. On the way back I passed the resident goat herd often seen in this area. The rest of the hike to Summerland had the sun smacking me in the face reminding me of the hottish day I had endured. I stopped occasionally for photos but for the most part I took advantage of good trail to scurry back to the ever patient CB. We topped the day off with some chow at the Naches Tavern. This was the second hike in my series of Rainer "7Up" hikes. One thing is for sure so far, traveling above 7000 feet around Mt. Rainier offers grand vistas, sometimes in all directions, and gives one a different feel and experience outside of the Wonderland Trail.

*Cowlitz Chimneys from Banshee Peak (7400')*

*resident goat herd with Mt. Adams behind*

*wide boulevard of the Wonderland Trail to finish the loop*

The 7Up Hikes: Curtis Ridge/Old Desolate "T"

December 03, 2015 by Steve

September 1, 2014

Get ready for a spanking on this one, as it provides 26 miles and 8200 feet of vertical, the hardest parts off trail. It took me nearly 17 hours to complete. This is the third in a series of hikes I planned for Mt. Rainier National Park where vistas above 7000 feet and off trail travel let one experience a whole different world outside of the Wonderland Trail. Although already planned, the timing was spur of the moment. My wife was in LA moving my daughter back into school and the weather forecast changed for the better for Monday, Labor Day. I was prepared to do a little suffering on this one so I skipped sleep and drove to Mt. Rainier National Park, starting my hike at 1:20 AM from Sunrise. My early morning hike to Mystic Pass had me exclaiming out loud about the star show above, Milky Way and all. I stopped numerous times to turn off the light and take in the vistas above my head. Eventually the stars gave way to the superior loomin' essence of the sun about the time I reached Mystic Lake. The easiest part of this hike is the on trail portion, hiking Sunrise to Mystic Pass, just short of 10 miles. From there I took the obvious climbers trail to access Curtis Ridge, one of my favorite places on the mountain overlooking Willis Wall. This place inspired me long ago for my side business/avatar name. Usually I/we stop at what I call the "Jut" on Curtis Ridge at 7200', but I wanted to go higher to a point just below where more obvious scrambling is involved on the ridge. It is possible to go left of the ridge and climb via the snowfield to access a notch at around 9000' for even more spectacular views, but that makes for a pretty full day. All day was on the chilly side, but a cold wind had me bundled up on Curtis Ridge the entire time. I found that 7800' on the ridge offered in your face views of the Willis Wall, Carbon Glacier and the starkness of Curtis Ridge. After this I bopped over to Point 7000 on the map to tag another 7000' high point. Then it was basically rejoining the ridge to return to Mystic Pass (6000') to head for my next destination.

*morning alpenglow approaching lower Curtis Ridge*

*atop the "Jutt" looking down lower Curtis Ridge*

*birthplace of the Carbon Glacier, Curtis Ridge left*

Up to now I had merely been patted, the spanking started with the off trail portion from the WT to get to Old Desolate. I have been to the Elysian Fields from Windy Gap but this was my first explore of this interior area from the Mystic side, so it was all new to me. I started climbing a boulder field from about 5700' off the WT but found that a wash to the left was actually a better option, and this is what I took on the way down. After some semi strenuous scrambling I was deposited in a flat, almost meadow type area above Moraine Park. Here is where I had a decision to make, as (as far as I can see) the best way to Old Desolate is to drop on the easy grade into Moraine Park and climb up to an easy looking ridge from the opposite direction. I was on a time table, however, as I had to pick my wife up at the airport that evening, so I tried to make this go by scrambling the loose boulder field on a more direct line. The whole time I was uneasy about rocks being shed from above and the boulder field was very unstable and loose. My determination to make it to OD was finally overcome by these factors and I decided to turn back and get out of that mess at 6600'. Old Desolate will wait for another day, but that's OK as this area looks so interesting one could spend days up here in Moraine Park, Vernal Park and the Elysian Fields. I finally descended to exit the boulder mess and took the wash back down to the WT, and from there it was the 10 mile exit back to my vehicle. I was about 30 minutes later than I wanted to be but Wapiti Woolies was still open at 7 PM so a double shot Mocha did the trick to get me home in time to pick up my returning spouse. This was a difficult trip but the building up via the two prior hikes and a week trip to the Pasayten Wilderness made it entirely doable without undue suffering. The next and last in this series will end with over 10,000 feet or vertical and 41 miles, so don't touch that dial!

*the bouldery scramble up to upper Moraine Park*

*gully for scramble down to the Wonderland Trail, Carbon Glacier visible top of frame*

*Tokaloo Rock Loop InReach position time map*

The 7Up Hikes: Tokaloo Rock Loop

December 02, 2015 by Steve

September 17, 2014

This is the last in this year's "7Up Hikes" series. My goal of hikes around Rainier taking advantage of off trail segments and touching points above 7000 feet certainly delivered a unique and different experience of the park beyond the Wonderland. That said, this last hike (September 10th) I ended up scaling back quite a bit as the original included another high point on a cleaver and 41 miles of hiking and biking, probably too much for this old man. This one was juuust right, doable in 12 hours: Stats: 25 miles (8 miles biking)/5300' elevation gain and loss.

I had serious incentive to be done and at the Cougar Rock campground by 6:30 PM as some friends were staying there and steak and wine were on the menu. The Tokaloo time map annotates position reports sent from my InReach on this clockwise loop.

I started at the road parking outside the closed area on the West Side Road at 6:06 AM and biked to Round Pass where I stashed the bike. Then it was on trail taking the Round Pass trail to the South Puyallup River trail and on the road for 3 miles until I arrived at the St. Andrews Creek trail. The morning was clear and nice and the going was good up to Klapatche Park, only getting a little damp on the legs and feet from the wet brush. I lingered at Klapatche for a while looking at the maturing froglings in the dwindling Aurora Lake and then it was off for St. Andrews Lake, where I would start the off trail segment. Unbeknownst to me it would take me four and a half hours to do the round trip to Tokaloo Rock.

*Aurora Lake (Klapatche Park) nearly dry at end of season*

*Tokaloo rock destination in sight, left of the jutting Tokaloo Spire*

*looking across the Tahoma Glacier to Emerald Ridge*

*tarn on off trail portion, looking south*

*terrain leading to Tokaloo rock, the summit visible now just left of Tokaloo Spire*

*looking up the Puyallup Cleaver from Tokaloo Rock summit*

*clouds move in as I look down on Tokaloo Spire*

Happy to be back on trail and on schedule, I trotted the "Wonderful Trail" down to the South Puyallup River camp as the clouds slowly parted for me. Some photo ops delayed me there but I regained my trusty steed at Round Pass and pedaled maybe 6 strokes all the way back to my vehicle. I did stop to photo the boulders that cratered the parking lot and closed it, pretty impressive. I found it interesting that my end position report was at 6:06 PM, exactly 12 hours after I started, and I made it to Cougar Rock campground at 6:33:40 PM, only 3 minutes and 40 seconds late. After being chastised for my tardiness I cleaned up and was treated to one of the best steak dinners you could have sitting at a picnic table, a fine day indeed!

*basalt formations at the South Puyallup River Camp*

*boulders that cratered the West Side Road, closing the parking area*