Finishing off my jaunts into the west side of Mt. Rainier, I took advantage of clear weather following the season’s first snow to loop through Emerald Ridge. Starting at the Kautz Creek trail head, I did the short bike (6 miles) down the road to the West Side Road and secured the bike at the parking area. The remainder of the hike was on foot, hiking up the West Side Road to Round Pass and hopping on the Round Pass Trail to the South Puyallup Trail, intersecting the Wonderland. After checking out the sedate South Puyallup River, the Wonderland was the avenue to access Emerald Ridge. I was on snow for much of the day but it was never deep, and trail runners were more than adequate for the conditions.

*Frozen tarn, Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground, Mt. Rainier (Oct 30, 2023)*

It always amazes me the sometimes fast transitions of seasons on the mountain…just a few weeks before I had experienced the pinnacle of fall colors and bivied at 6,000’ in moderate temperatures. On this day I was wearing 3 layers on top for half the day and had numb fingers in the morning hours. Any northern aspects that didn’t receive direct sun were cold and darkish, with some frozen water features and crunchy snow. Southern exposures of course provided some warmth and melt of the previous snow accumulations, and the warm sun on my face during those times was a welcome condition.

*Mt. Adams and the southern view from the Kautz Creek Trail, Mt. Rainier*

Now that November is here, the closure of most of the roads, including the lower 3 miles of the West Side Road, will limit access in line with the winter season. The last holdouts, highway 410 and highway 123, will follow shortly, leaving only the Nisqually and Carbon River entrances available for drive in. So goes the ebb and flow of recreating in the park. CAVEAT: no drone footage was used, just a 360 camera on the end of an extendable pole.