One evening, I found myself ogling at the beautiful spring photos of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. Notably and understandably, the most photogenic part of Mount Rainier are the wildflowers in Paradise at the southern section of the park. However, I enjoy the solitude in hiking and trekked over to the Sunrise region in the Northeastern part of the park. For this hike, I followed Washington Trails Association Glacier Basin Loop Trail with a detour to Berkeley Park for a more mild version of the wildflowers. Below is a video and some photos that capture the memorable experience.
Mount Rainier National Park: Glacier Basin Loop Trail
Duration: 12-14 hours
Difficulty: strenuous
Length: 16.1 miles loop
Danger: steep hill on Harkins Ridge Trail, bears
Exposure: mostly shaded in the beginning, open towards the middle and end
Crowd factor: very low with the highest crowd sighting on Burroughs Mountain
Key points of the hike:
Start – White River Campground is a wonderful campground to set up base. The trailhead for the Glacier Basin Loop Trail is at the end of the loop, so it’s an easy walk to get started. Additionally, the sound of roaring water running past the campground is a sweet lullaby to sleep to.
Stop No. 1 – Emmons Moraine
Surprisingly, this lake reminded me of Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada which I had visited when I was very young and had seen numerous photos on people’s Instagram as the place surged in popularity. As I later learned, the color is from the surrounding glacier meltwater. Crossing the bridge over the raging river was very exciting as well.
Stop No. 2 – Glacier Basin Meadow
The perfect spot for a picnic, setting up camp, or even the start of the mountaineering climb up the glacier
Stop No. 3 – Second Burroughs
The high point (literally) of the journey. The trek up to the top was the most strenuous of this hike. After leaving the trees, there were many switchbacks and the path turned quite rocky. The most rewarding parts were the incredible views of the glaciers, the flowers, and the views every time I stopped to catch my breath. Once I crested and reached the Second Burroughs, I was surprised how high I was! I was running out of time and too tired to attempt the Third Burroughs, which is probably best saved as a hike from the parking lot and not the campground. The clouds move fast at the top, so I did catch a glimpse of the top of Mount Rainier, but disappeared as quickly as it came.
Stop No. 4 – First Burroughs
Another amazing (my favorite word…) view of the glaciers as well as getting a peek of the beautiful Berkeley Park. I overheard people mentioning that there were bear sightings at Berkeley. I did want to go there to check out the flowers, but did I want to test my luck and come across a bear…?
Stop No. 5 – Frozen Lake
Not quite frozen in the summer, but there was still ice lingering. It was quite windy as well. This is also a junction point for many other trails
Stop No. 6 – Berkeley Park
I was surprised to see all of the pink rocks while also wondering whether it was worth it to go to Berkeley Park. When I arrived, the area was cleared out, everybody had left, and only the fog lingered. (I was concerned a bear would pop out, but none made their presence known.) However, the beautiful vibrant flowers were everywhere! I absolutely enjoyed being surrounded by all the flowers.
Stop No. 7 – Shadow Lake
After returning from Berkeley Park, very few people were left and were making their way back to the cars. I had debated stopping at Shadow Lake, but the sun was beginning to set and I was still high up. The trek down back to White River Campground was all downhill, which really hurt the knees. Even though I had noted the sunset time, I had forgotten that the dense trees blocked out the sun so it became darker sooner and quicker than I expected.
End – White River Campground
Successfully made it back! One very long day
(hike completed in August 2016)
Happy travels!
Cat
