Today I hiked the "Northeast Loop" at Mount Rainier National Park. I parked my car at the Huckleberry Creek Trailhead along FSR 73. There are many large potholes on this road, but any car should be able to make it to the trailhead as long as you go slow enough. It took me 35 minutes to drive from the SR 410 turn-off to the Huckleberry Trailhead. My car was the only one parked at the trailhead in the morning and the only car parked there when I returned in the afternoon. Based on the number of spider webs I walked through this morning, I don't think the Huckleberry Creek Trail gets a lot of traffic. I enjoyed the solitude as I trekked through the old-growth trees up to Forest Lake.

After saying hello to a couple of backpackers, I continued up the trail to Sourdough Ridge. I turned right and proceeded past Frozen Lake and down to Berkeley Park. Fall colours were beautiful along this stretch of trail. Eventually I entered the best part of the loop: Grand Park. Views looking back towards Rainier were spectacular, even with the clouds, smoke, and rain enveloping the summit. After walking the length of the Park, I hiked down to Lake Eleanor and the Lake Eleanor Trailhead. From there, all that was left was a 4-mile roadwalk downhill back to my car at the Huckleberry Trailhead. 

Total Stats for the day were 24 miles and 4600 vertical feet. I saw very few people during most of the loop (with the exception of the portion of trail closest to Sunrise, of course). With the Fairfax River Bridge closure blocking easy access to the classic Loop through Spray Park in the northwest corner of the Park, this Northeast Loop is a fantastic alternative. 

Took the long route to Grand Park, from Sunrise instead of Lake Eleanor, to see what's happening in Berkeley Park.  And we weren't disappointed as there was a herd of 30 or so mountain goats.

The wildflowers are done in Grand Park, but I managed to take a photo of the last mountain aster (I like to pretend).  

It was a windy, sunny day.  We spoke with a ranger who said they were turning people back on the trail to Fremont Lookout due to the high winds.  Later in the afternoon, it calmed down a bit.

A weekend at Mt Rainier's 'Northeastern' Loop (contrasting the 'northwestern' loop of Spray Park, and the traditional 'Northern Loop'). 

• Roads -- can't attest to NF 73 (road to Eleanor / Huckleberry THs), but folks have noted how long and bumpy it is. Lake Eleanor TH had many (~20) cars on Saturday of various sizes; Huckleberry Creek TH had just two.
• Weather -- ranged from a sunny Saturday in the mid 70s, to a gloomy Sunday with scattered showers and zero views of Rainier from Sunrise. No smoke from the fires just east of the park. 
• Flora -- Huckleberries are past their prime, with foliage starting to turn auburn and crimson. Fungi were starting to emerge, with more likely to pop as the moisture settles. 
• Fauna -- some elk, a big herd of mountain goat, marmots, hawks. A cougar approached (pushed, really) a hiker down in Grand Park earlier. Oh, and LOTS of spawning salmon in Huckleberry Creek just by the trailhead. 

Wanted to snag a big mileage weekend before the rains began, but couldn't land permits for a Summerland loop. With the Carbon approach closed, along with Ohanapecosh / Hwy 410 south of Tipsoo, a northeastern itinerary it was. 

Sunrise > Forest Lake > Huckleberry Creek

My first pick was Forest Lake camp, a single-site camp that showed on Recreation.gov as (unsurprisingly) booked. As a last minute walk-up, I asked if the permit had been activated -- and per my hunch, it hadn't -- securing my camp for the evening. 

At the rockfield just west of the camp, I saw two immense elk grazing on plants that poked through the scree. Just 2.5 miles from Sunrise, snagging this camp means you get a private privy, bear pole, lake (albeit mediocre), and running creek -- all to yourself. 

The descent down Huckleberry Creek is mostly shaded and uneventful. Although you run parallel to the creek, water access is occasional aside from the small trickles crossing the trail. Past the sealed ranger cabin, a well-signed park boundary follows, with a campsite just north of it in the national forest.

As I neared the TH, I noticed a light shellfish odor, and investigated the large creekside clearing just by the trailhead. A splash in the water and I noticed at least two dozen salmon swaying in the pool, their skin deteriorating as they near the end of their lifespans. Two carcasses floating on the side proved the origin of the wafting scent. 

Lake Eleanor > Grand Park > Fire Creek 

4-miles of roadwalk got me from Huckleberry Creek TH to Eleanor Creek TH. At least a dozen cars passed me going down, a surprising amount considering how early in the day it was. 

The one-mile section from the TH to Lake Eleanor is marked as primitive on some maps, but was well-trafficked. A couple groups were already camped at the lake by the time I arrived. 

After three more miles, you'll open into the wide expanse of aptly-named Grand Park. This dramatic plain, with Mt Rainier cast in a shadowy dim from the setting sun, would be impossibly complete with a herd of elk were grazing on the meadows. Even after having done the Wonderland, Grand Park is still the most impressive meadow I've seen in the park.

With the sun rapidly setting, passing the many cougar warning signs, and a blanketing, eerie silence, I quickly pushed into the dusk towards camp. 

A quick turn at the junction and I descended rapidly towards Fire Creek. The camp is a half-mile off trail, and although in a silent forest, the camps are spaced far apart enough you don't hear chatter from other groups. The creek is a tiny trickle, but the pools of water were clear and cool. 

Berkeley Park > Sunrise

Waking up to a nearly 20 degree drop from the previous day, I hiked up to Grand Park where a misty morning greeted me.

The treecover returns until Berkeley Park Camp, where sites were alongside the trail and pretty much next to each other. There is decent water access though, and if you can make it for wildflower season, this is your closest basecamp. Gradually climbing up, you'll follow the narrow, moss-covered Lost Creek as you hear marmots and pika echo in the valley. 

Entering Berkeley Park, I can imagine the terraced, sun-drenched slopes exploding with wildflowers early in the summer, something I haven't witnessed (yet!). Ringing the cirque up to the Wonderland Trail, a large herd of mountain goats (~30) grazed in the meadow, staring at me with mild bemusement. Climbing up to the 5-way intersection at Frozen Lake, I rejoined the throng of dayhikers and headed back to the parking lot at Sunrise. 

You can access these hikes from Sunrise or the natl forest trailheads (though Sunrise allows you to stop by the White River WIC for walk-up permits). This loop (though with a road walk) allows you to do Grand Park with a loop, without committing to the full mileage (or elevation gains!)

Being able to camp in the natl forest also allows a backup if you can't snag camps inside the park.

It was a day of unexpected encounters.      The first one was just a mile past the Sunrise entrance where an upside down car was lying in the road.   No idea how that happened.   The driver looked okay.

We arrived at the Sunrise parking area at 9:15 am.    There were plenty of parking spots available.    As we headed down towards Berkeley Park, there was a small group watching a bear foraging in the meadow near the trail.    We carefully made our way past the bear at the curve in the trail where we had to cross in front and then in back of the bear.    There were plenty of yellow and pink monkey flowers along Lodi Creek.    There are also wildflowers in the meadows.

After Berkeley Park camp, we ascended to Grand Park.    There were great views of Mount Rainier.    Then we hiked about a half mile towards Fire Creek camp.    There is a magnificent viewpoint with Mount Rainier, Winthrop Glacier, and the White River.

On the way back, just past Berkeley Park camp, we encountered a lone mountain goat grazing by the trail.    We waited a bit and then very slowly approached the goat.     He ambled off across the stream.

The sky clouded over and the cool breeze made the ascent pretty easy.    We saw a number of marmots and a group of mountain goats on the ridge below Fremont Lookout.    At the viewpoint on Sourdough Ridge, some hikers had spotted a bear and a cub down in the Huckleberry Basin.

Twenty-five mountain goats below the cliffs, a lush, verdant stream tumbling through a valley, and spectacular views of Mount Rainier, all in a day’s hike from Sunrise. This is a glorious hike.

With a timed-entry permit acquired the evening previous, I was able to enter the park quickly. The Sunrise parking lot at 8 am on a Monday was not even half full. It was clear the day was going to be very warm, and I shed layers, down to just a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, before even starting to walk.

At the five-way intersection past Frozen Lake, I took the middle path towards Berkeley Park and the Wonderland Trail. From here to Grand Park, I saw only a handful of other hikers on the trail. Most hikers were headed to Mt. Fremont Lookout or the Burroughs.

About 15 minutes later, looking up at the base of the cliffs to the left as the path descended, a herd of mountain goats was clustered in the shadows, foraging for food. I was able to count 25 animals, including a few smaller juveniles with their mothers. This group is known to hang out in the area, and a hiker told me that the previous day they had seen almost 50 goats in the same area.

Also seen on the trail were marmots, many ground squirrels of several varieties, and swarms, literally hundreds, of California Tortoiseshell butterflies on or near the path.

From Frozen Lake to Berkeley Park, the path descends for several miles. Eventually it reaches a beautiful mountain stream which cascades down the hill through a field of wildflowers. On the way back I found a log and soaked my hot feet in the refreshing, icy waters.

At a point past the Berkeley camp sites, the route begins a long ascent to Grand Park, along a forested slope that provided much needed shade. On this day the temperature rose into the low to mid 80 degrees.

There are no signs that announce one has reached Grand Park, but it is clear when you arrive. The park is a wide open, flat plateau bare of trees that stretches on for several miles. I hiked to the far (north) end and back, meeting at least 10 hikers who were coming from the Lake Eleanor direction.

Turning around to face south to begin the return trip back to Sunrise, one is met with the full majesty of Mount Rainier’s north face. The Winthrop Glacier and Emmons Glacier, with their various shades of blue and white snow and ice, are straight ahead as one hikes towards the mountain.

The ascent up to Frozen Lake was long and hot. I was glad I brought plenty of water and electrolytes. Several hikers I met on the way up appeared very red in the face and I offered sunblock. I imagine that there was some very sunburned skin by the end of the day. A signboard outside the Sunrise visitor center stated that visitors should take precautions as temperatures would reach 85 degrees.

My Garmin InReach stated that my hike was 14.4 miles round trip. The trip can be shortened by a few miles if one doesn’t hike to the north end of Grand park, where the tree cover begins. Keep in mind that the return includes a long ascent to Frozen Lake and that you will need to save enough energy to make the climb back up at the end of the day