I parked my Ranger on the east side of 410, near a clear bootpath that takes you right up to a sign on the White River trail. Following this towards the junction with Ranger Creek trail, you almost immediately get to your first set of blowdowns. 

While on that topic, I'll report the amount of blowdowns per section of trail I counted all the way to Little Ranger Peak. 

White River to Little Ranger viewpoint: 12 

Little Ranger viewpoint to junction with Palisades trail: 19

Palisades trail to summit of Little Ranger Peak: 60+ 

To be clear, not all of these were terribly difficult to get through/around/under/over, and they ranged in size from 6"-24" in diameter. Though they take time to negotiate. Also some were slightly dangerous in terms of stability and stob. And.. one in particular at about 3.8 miles in, which was a bit of a blowdown/rootball combo, had me go sideways after tripping over a sneaky root. 

That said, there is plenty of clear trail to enjoy, and this was a wonderfully quiet sunny weekend day where the only other hiker I encountered was in the last mile on my descent. 

Some other takeaways I can share: First, the Palisades trail is fully snow covered between the junction and about a half mile before Little Ranger Peak. No traction required but gaiters and poles are helpful. Second, there are goats around here! When I was just about to reach the viewpoint off the switchback near the summit, I was greeted with a surprising and curious gaze of one said goat. I backed away to give it space, and when I slowly began making my way to the viewpoint it had disappeared. Third, the summit of Little Ranger Peak is attainable via an easy forested slope scramble and has a register tube. These views were the most clear and expansive of the entire hike. 

RT 11.4/2562ft

Day hiked from the trailhead at Ranger Creek to a saddle at the intersection with Palisades trail.  Total out and back was a bit over 10 miles, with an elevation gain of 2,794’.  There are numerous blowdowns, some within the first 1/2 mile, many to crawl under or over, and many covered with soot from the Norse Peak fire.  There are a few glimpses of views of surrounding peaks.  The Ranger Peak viewpoint is a tiny, rocky ridge, with partially obstructed views.  There is intermittent snow along the trail, and several washouts.  We didn’t use micro spikes or snowshoes, but poles are helpful in the tricky places. Our group of four encountered only four other people on this unseasonably warm January day.  It was close to 60 degrees at our lunch spot!  When we got back to the car it was 37 degrees at highway 410!

I attempted to hike to Little Ranger Peak today. I didn't get there due to snow and blow downs.

I got to the trailhead about 8:30 and was the only car there. It was 31 degrees, but there was a strong inversion and was in the mid 50s by the time I hit the ridge top.

I counted 20 blow downs between the trailhead and the junction with the Palisades trail. Most were relatively easy to climb over or crawl under.

intermittent snow patches started about 3.5 miles from the trailhead, transitioning to continuous snow in another half a mile. After the junction, the Palisades trail became very difficult to navigate with 1-2 feet of snow and blowdowns every 20 feet or so.

I arrived around 10 and was the only car there. I parked on the side of 410 and took the short section of White River trail to access Ranger Creek trail. The worst blow down of the hike was on the White River trail about 3 minutes into the hike. All other blow downs were easy to go over or under and there were not that many. The trail is snow free all the way to the peak and about a mile past that until you hit the burn zone. I had the trail to myself going up and down. Nice mid week nature bath. 

Mt Rainier Area-Highway-410 Hustle. Loop from Camp Sheppard-Trails were White River>Ranger Creek>Palisades>Snoqera Falls. Total Miles=16.5mi/Elevgain=3600’. 28Nov25.
The night prior I did considerable "mission planning..." Trail and Weather Apps (GAIA GPS, alltrails, NationalWeatherService) all showed significant snow accumulation beyond 4500' elevation. So my plan was to go up Ranger Creek until I encountered significant snow - and then turn around and NOT push into deeper snow. I've made bad choices in this area during previous "runs" of these snow covered trails. But Ranger Creek Trail was in great shape, snow-free and the damp forest fog was dissipating to reveal a beautful sunny blue sky.
My first significant snow was encountered at 4600' elevation. Then the snow got deeper...As I continued to climb I came into fresh snow several inches deep (from overnight?). By 4800-feet, coming into Ranger Creek/Palisades intersection, the snow was 6" deep. So much for being told-"It's just a dusting of snow up at 5000-feet elevation, you'll be fine..." The trail was completely covered but I've traversed this trail route enough times that I knew where to go. Just in case, I had navigation Apps and - fresh animal tracks to follow. I'm pretty sure the tracks were from Elk. I was confidant they weren't mountain lion, bear or Bigfoot tracks...