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Trip Reports
Here's where you peruse WACer trip reports and post your own for everyone to see. Remember: Never let the truth interfere with a good story! | Trip Reports |
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| TrailConditions | snow above Lake George |
| Owned By | mike |
| Mailed to WacList | 06/27/2010 |
| RowId | 490 |
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I really like Mount Rainier National Park. I've been to lots of places in the park. But the areas on the west side of the mountain were still unvisited by me -- until today.
Shortly after entering the park at the Nisqually gate, there is an intersection with Westside Road. As far as I can remember, I've never been up Westside Road. So today, I decided to go up it. The road is closed a few miles in, near the base of Mount Wow. It was washed out by Fish Creek, and the park service decided not to try and fix it.
I had heard that there was a lookout up in that area, on a small peak called Gobblers Knob. This used to be a very short and easy hike, back when the road was open (about 2 miles). But now you have to walk 3.5 miles up the road just to get to the trailhead. (Or you can ride a mountain bike, which I think I'll try if I ever come back here. It's all uphill to the trailhead, but it would have made for an easy and quick trip back to the car.)
The last thing I did before I left home was print out a topo map of the trail. I almost didn't bother, figuring that it would be easy to follow. But I don't like being without a map, so I did. And it was a good thing!
The road was long and boring. The less said about it, the better. The trail up to Lake George was pretty nice, however. And Lake George was pretty. It would have been a nice destination all by itself.
As soon as I headed up from Lake George, I realized things were going to be different. There was a lot of snow. Not enough to be able to just go anywhere you wanted to go, but enough to make it difficult to find the trail.
I hiked up, variously walking on trail and walking on snow. At first I was following footsteps in the snow, but then I ran into a man and a woman coming down. Shortly after that, the footsteps appeared to go in random directions. I guess those two couldn't figure out where to go, and so they turned back.
However, I'm pretty experienced at finding trails, and I figured out where the trail went. Eventually, a few switchbacks later, it passed by a small pond. This pond was still completely frozen over, but there was no way I would try walking on it.
According to the map, the trail passed to the left of the pond. So I headed that way and I found a log bridge over the pond's outlet creek. The only problem was that there was a three foot wall of snow down to the log from my side, and about a five foot wall on the other side. This was not the way to go. But I found a snow bridge that got me across the creek, and so I was still in business.
Shortly after that, I realized that someone was coming up behind me. His name was Matthew, and he didn't know where the trail went either. He was just following my footsteps.
So I kept guessing, "If I were going to build a trail through here, where would I put it?" And sure enough, we were able to find and follow it.
Eventually the trail crossed a steep and exposed snow slope just below the lookout. It was the only place on the trail where I really wanted my ice axe, but I hadn't brought it. Oh well, just don't slip then!
Finally, we were there. And is this ever a great viewpoint! It has a 360 degree view, including a commanding view of Mount Wow, a look into the crater of Mount Saint Helens, a view of Mount Hood, and of course a great view of Rainier.
After relaxing quite a while up there, we headed back, following our own footsteps.
Matthew is a teacher, and is working at the park for the summer developing lesson plans so that when school groups come up to the mountain, the rangers can have a pre-developed environmental science lesson that they can teach. The pay is nominal, but it includes free housing in the park for the summer and a chance to do all the hiking he wants, all summer long. Sounds like fun.
He was camping at Lake George, so that's where we parted ways. Then I walked back down to the road.
But before I walked out to the car, I turned the other way. According to the map, there was something called "Marine Memorial Airplane Crash Monument" nearby. And, in fact, it was there just like the map said it would be. In 1946 a plane carrying 32 Marines crashed into the Sunset Amphitheater on Rainier, killing them. Their bodies are still up in the glacier somewhere. And so a memorial was placed there by the side of the Westside Road -- which no one can drive up anymore (except park employees, with high-clearance trucks). But it looks like the memorial is still tended and visited.
Then I walked back down the road. If anything, it was even more boring than when I walked up it. But at least it was well into the evening, so it wasn't nearly as hot.
Just before I got back to the car I saw a really pretty waterfall that must drop more than 1000 feet off of Mount Wow. I hadn't noticed it going up because it would have been behind me.
When I reached the car it was after 7pm (I didn't leave the car until almost 1pm). So I was pretty hungry. Fortunately for me, one of the best after-hiking restaurants I know of is just outside the park boundary. The Copper Creek Inn was packed with people, and service was pretty slow. But the reason it was so crowded was because the food is so good! And while it did take a while to get served, I had a delicious meal that was well worth the wait. Yum.
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