With the beautiful weather we chose this hike hoping to cash in on some great views of Mt. Rainier. However, that didn't work out -- from the trail at least. The trail was snow free to the viewpoint 3 miles in. We didn't even see the sign for the short trail off to the left until our way back down. From the trail heads inland toward the Dalles Ridge trail. Sign said three miles. We hiked about 2 miles toward that junction but turned around after hitting snow around 4,700 feet. The viewpoint had good views of the valley but Mt. Rainier was MIA. Perhaps you could see the very top of Mt. Rainier but it was hard to make out (see photo below). But we didn't leave empty handed. After the hike we continued on 410 for about 10 miles where we got gorgeous view of the mountain from inside the park boundary.

One tree down at the beginning of the trail (still) at the first switchback, but there is a cut trail allowing the switchback and fallen tree to be avoided. Trail clear and beautiful, with only a patch or two of snow to navigate. Beyond Ranger Viewpoint, 5 additional switchbacks can be navigated snow free, but snow gets deep at about 3,900' (according to my Garmin). Last 1,000' to the top won't be clear likely until early May, like in 2012. On May 15, 2012, we did the entire loop (Ranger/Pallisades) and there was still snow for about .5 miles from the Cabin to the edge of the Pallisades trail. On 4/20/13 no wildflowers or budding of trees yet, but beautiful nonetheless. LOTS of Elk pellets the entire route, and Grouse drumming the whole way up.

The trail is snow free and in great shape except one long downed tree that blocks the trail in two places but isn't that hard to get over. It's a nice trail through a lovely forest with a nice summit. The weather was good to us, staying dry until just before we got back to the car. We saw just one other couple all day. And lots of evidence that elk frequent the area.

This place is versatile. Options include a short hike to Snoquera Falls, moderate hikes of varying length up to scenic overlooks atop the cliffs, ascent of Little Ranger Pk (5250?), and ascent of Pt. 5701 (is this "Ranger Pk.?) on Tr#1173. We did the 14-15 mi. (?) loop from Camp Sheppard up 1198 to Little Ranger Pk and down 1197 (Ranger Creek). We did not take it seriously enough, getting a late 9:30 start, when we should have used all the daylight available. Fine mild weather, unimpaired visibility. The trailhead is on highway 410 on the White River, just SSE of Skookum Flats and The Dalles campground. Although 4 short trails access Tr#1199 along this stretch, the only plowed parking area we found was Camp Sheppard, and the Scouts were busy this weekend, so the lot was crowded. Green Trails map No. 238, Greenwater, rev. 2001, seems to have several confusing mileage errors, esp. along 1199 where it parallels the road. That's a 'complicated' area with several junctions and social trails and mildly confusing trail signs. The Green Trails No. 238 elevations are inaccurate in several places -- we had some trouble with our altimeter, perhaps because we set it carelessly by the printed jct. elevations, not the contours. The printed trail junction elevations are only supposed to be accurate to within 100' anyway. The #1198/#1197 jct. is labeled "5200", but it's shown at the 4960' contour; this confused me at an inopportune moment. Oddly, the most difficult and dangerous part of this hike was the flat mile on either side of Camp Sheppard(!) -- snow compacted to ice by many feet. We had no traction devices and only 1 set of poles, and this equipment was missed. Very slippery in places, and hard; not a good place to fall and break a hip or wrist at 9 PM in the dark. We took this quite seriously, actually walking beside the trail in places in the softer crunchy snow. Otherwise, trail conditions were fairly good, light to moderate snow, considerable dry trail. We used snowshoes above 4000', definitely necessary above 4400'. Above 4000', the trail was deeply covered and untracked, but still surprisingly discernible in many places. Be prepared for cross-country navigation. Little Ranger summit at 4:40 PM. Although one of us was familiar with the area, it was "questionable" to commit to the descent of Ranger Ck 1197 in the failing light. The SE slope is quite steep, forested but with some rock outcrops and cliffs, and deep snow. We did not go as far as the junction, shortcutting the trail and descending SE from the ridge. Beginning this descent too far to the SW would be a serious error. Now it was dark, and finding the trail was a real concern. A 15' Green Trails quad and a questionable altimeter are not much help at this small a scale. Surprisingly, the trail was quite apparent when we reached it, perhaps because it was tracked by one elk. I think we were done with snowshoes below 4400' and the trail was largely dry. Glad we each had a spare headlamp. The Scout staff kindly invited us to the aftermath of their campfire, reminding me of the important work they do, and how I got my own start in this stuff.

There was snow on the trail the whole way up. We elected to hike it sinde the snow wasn't deep. We were initially greeted by 15 or so elk who quickly headed away from us. There was a serious tree crossing the trail across 2 switchbacks which we were able to work around. It was cloudy so the view from the top wasn't as goos as it can be, but it was worth the effort.