We made it to the Summerland trailhead around 8:30, which was already full. After getting all the gear together and sending off my fiance to hike up at Sunrise, I started on the trail at 8:45. From the trailhead to Summerland, the trail was snow and blow down free. It was my first time to Summerland when it wasn't covered in snow, and it was stunning! Many wildflowers I cannot name (but others already have in their reports) including pink/purple Indian Paintbrush, which I've never seen before.

Continuing up to Panhandle Gap, there were a couple of snow patches to cross and marmots to watch. Honestly, these were probably the worst snow crossings of the entire trip, as there were a number of spots that were melted out and the risk of falling through was higher. That said, there were already track going up around the holes, or there is the option of just getting your feet wet (why not on a hot day?)

From the gap, there is more snow than trail for the next 1.6 miles, until you reach the ridge that descends to Indian Bar. There is a good boot trail to follow through the snow, which was soft enough that I was fine in my trail runners without spikes. The slope of some of the crossings can look a little sketchy, but the boot track is fairly wide and well dug in.

The snow disappears as you head into Indian Bar and the trail becomes muddy. I almost slipped here more time than I did on the snow! The snow reappears in patches as you climb back out. You'll top out on a snowfield that is lacking the nice boot path. Heading down, there are a few more snow patches to cross until they disappear for good. The rest of the trail is in good condition. I think I jumped over one blow down, but I forget where.

The bugs could be annoying whenever I slowed down to catch a view or eat a sandwich, mainly in the wetter areas. 

Overall, an excellent first time out on this section of the Wonderland!

This damn site keeps crashing, so I posted my TR to Facebook lol. I'll link it below in hopes that less words will make this go through.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/washingtonhikersandclimbers/permalink/2386718314887835/

I love this overnight hike and would do it a million times. The trail is in excellent condition. Indian bar is the most amazing camp sight we've seen on Mount Rainier.... actually, the most amazing ever. It's magical. If you get the chance to camp there, do it! We started at White River, went through Summerland & Ohanapecosh, camped overnight at Indian Bar and returned the same way we came the next day. We thought coming back up from Indian bar would be SO hard, but it wasn't too bad! Snow fields in June! I fell through a small snow bridge into a creek at Ohanapecosh Park. Oops! Lucky it was only a couple feet and I was fine, just startled.