The Hummock (6,000')

OCTOBER 24-25, 2024 Taking advantage of a short weather window, I went to a place I had visited in 2006 to record a timelapse sunset: a hummock above Emerald Ridge. I thought a revisit was in order, and carried 4 cameras with me; a Panasonic G9, GoPro Hero 11 Black, GoPro Hero 12 Black, and a GoPro 360 Max. As it turned out I only used 2 cameras, the H11 and 12. I failed to record a timelapse sunset on the G9 due to user error, and I never set up the 360 Max.

Looking west: Emerald Ridge lower left frame

I parked at the West Side Road and walked the road to the Round Pass trail, then intersected the South Puyallup trail to the Wonderland, continuing CW on the Wonderland to Emerald Ridge. An extension of the ridge continues to the base of what I call “The Hummock”, a grass topped rocky mound that actually blocks a good portion of the mountain from the Emerald Ridge vantage point. A short class 2/3 scramble put me on the apex of the mound, where I saw 3 mountain goats below me heading for the base of the Tahoma Glacier. From there it was a matter of setting up the cameras, with the 2 GoPros plugged into a power brick to keep them going all night. It wasn’t especially cold, but there were brisk gusty winds on the mound. I found a flattish spot for the bivy (with a cross country permit) below the mound and hunkered down, letting the cameras run all night long. I had excellent vistas to the west, finally seeing the comet along with the lights of Puget Sound.

Mt. Adams perfectly framed from The Hummock

During the night the moon rose behind the mountain, and I figured that amount of light would wash out the GoPro timelapses, with the 11 set to “nightlapse” and the 12 set to “star trails.” However, I was pleasantly surprised with the results, as you will see in the video. As I retraced my steps back to the vehicle, there were brief moments of sun and pleasant temps. Although I was schlepping more weight than I am accustomed to, this was a great way to cap off the hiking season. Happy Hiking everyone!

Marcus Peak (6962')

Marcus Peak was the last peak remaining in this part of the park for me, so I bagged it when I was camping at White River for a few days, driving up to Sunrise Point to hike the Palisades Trail. A left turn to Hidden Lake brings one to an informal trail that goes to the saddle between Palisades and Marcus. The Mountaineers book shows the route going up the ridge to Marcus, with the description saying stay mostly to the right. After floundering in the trees on the ridge, I dropped back down to open country and came across a trail that led to a gully, taking you right up to the base of the summit block. However, first I traversed over to the saddle on the NW side of Marcus to check out that route; it didn’t look inviting. I circled back to the trail and finally summited by gaining the ridge from an obvious gully. The summit block provided good solid holds to the top. Stats: 8.5 miles/3,500’ elev. Video rated Mature due to one cuss word.

Mt. Rainier: Mowich Rivers

Why post this in the Off-Trail section? Because the simple bridges over the North and South Mowich Rivers tend to wash out practically every year. In 2020 the park even diverted hikers to a large log to compensate for the loss of one of the major bridges. During the exceptional low snow year of 2015 I set out to hike the west 57 miles of the Wonderland (Longmire to Sunrise) on June 9. I had 3 areas of concern: the Mowich River crossings, the Winthrop Creek crossing and Skyscraper Pass area. No trail maintenance had been done and all the previous year's bridges over the Mowich rivers were out. I was able to cobble together enough logs to stay feet dry across the entire flood plain. I also show a nighttime crossing in 2020, which utilized the same log I used in 2015.

Aurora Peak (6094')

Providing a more lingering experience of solitary hikes, the Off Trail series takes the viewer to places seldom seen by dedicated Wonderland Trail hikers or those who stick to trails during the traditional summer season. Aurora Peak (6094') is found near Klapatche Park off the Wonderland Trail. This trek took place on November 2, 2019 during a period of great weather. Aurora Peak was accessed via biking the West Side Road to St. Andrews Creek, hiking the St. Andrews Creek Trail, and proceeding on the Wonderland until the off trail section. A short visit to a frozen St. Andrews Lake was in order also. Stats for the day, 27 miles (16 biking)/5700’ elev. The blog post on this hike can be found here.

Andrew Benchmark (6716')

Piggy backing on a jaunt the day before to Aurora Peak, I set out on November 3, 2019 during a period of fantastic weather to climb Andrew Benchmark (6716'). Although it is close to the previous day's climb of Aurora Peak, with the short days I took a different route to Andrew, utilizing the West Side Road to Round Pass, then the South Puyallup Trail to the Wonderland Trail, leaving the snow covered trail in St. Andrews Park and proceeding towards Andrew. This trip involved contouring around the base of Andrew and accessing it from the Northeast side. Snow was consolidated. I had a flat tire on my mountain bike in the morning so had to do this entire trip via foot. The blog post on this trip can be accessed here.