Left the morning clouds and headed for Sunrise. The sky was clear and ""The Mountain"" was majestic. There were only two small snow crossings before the junction and they were well tracked. There is still a lot of snow on this side of Burroughs and on the trail to Skyscraper Pass but Grand Park is clear on top. The views were breathtaking as usual. Some of the flowers were out but it will be a few weeks before the heather shows. Another great day lf hiking and photo taking.

Woke up Saturday morning and saw that the clouds were thick down here....maybe we could drive to the sun! Decided on Mount Rainier and we were rewarded with some splendid weather up at Sunrise. Headed out to Mount Freemont Lookout, which is a very pretty hike, some snow as you begin, but nothing to worry about. Saw several marmots (I'm a sucker for cute and fuzzy). We got lucky, we hit the lookout about 11am and had beautiful vistas from every side. On the way back down, we looked up and saw the lookout suddenly covered in fog, so we felt rather smug as we passed other hikers going up. You really need boots on this one, lots of rocks and some snow. I'm always surprised at how many tennis shoes I see. Their feet must hurt. Anyway, great day on the mountain!

Trail from Sunrise to Frozen Lake is in good shape with a few easy snowfields to cross. The trail from Frozen Lake to the lookout was snow free to just in front of the lookout. The marmots and golden mantled squirrels were out in force and seemed to be eating non-stop and have very little fear of humans. The marmots came right up to our feet. The views were non-existent as the weather rolled in....dense fog from the valley floor and clouds from above. Always a nice hike though and very few people on this Saturday. Even the parking lot was nearly empty when we returned at 5 pm.

Had lunch in the Sunrise Parking lot enjoying the view of the Mountain. She was beautiful, huge, white and still. We decided to hike to Fremont Lookout again....third time since July. There was a light dusting of snow in the meadows and on the trail and clouds kept rolling in and out, but it was very quite still and extremely beautiful. There were drifts of snow here and there on the trail...up to about 1-1/2 feet deep in places, but people had just post-holded through. The entire trail to the lookout from the ""Y"" was covered with from 3 inches to a foot or more of nice fresh snow. The views of Little Tahoma were beautiful. It was cast in very good light. No snow to the East. No marmots, or mountain goats (last visit we counted 13 goats). The wind would gust now and again and it was a very cold wind. This may be our last visit to the lookout this year....things will be snowed in soon. It was a wonderful hiking season and it was more meaningful to me I was adapting to a rebuilt knee.

As JCG sez, its just like summer but without the heat, bugs and crowds. Outstanding views from the lookout, saw Columbia tower with binocs. Trail in great shape, wish I could say the same. Park volunteers report 3"" of snow and 92 mph winds within the past 3 weeks. Emulate the mass of boy scouts we ran into, be prepared. There were lots of folks on the trail who were not. Out of the sun it was very chilly. Take warm clothes, hat and gloves. Happy hiking. No flags.