I hiked the Skyline Trail from Paradise. Near Glacier Vista in the morning, I found a gray bag with gear and items in it left on a rock. If you lost this, please leave a response to this posting with a description of what is in the bag.

Hiked a loop from Paradise to Reflection Lakes via Lakes trail, then back up to Paradise via Mazama Ridge trail.
Lots of mud on the Lakes trail, a little snow on Mazama ridge trail.
Wildflowers were blooming like crazy in the meadows.
Not too many people once away from Paradise.
Not bad for a Saturday in July!
We arrived at Paradise at 7:30 am and the parking lot was full with cars already lining the roads.

Family had a great walk up Dead Horse Creek to Glacier Vista and back down Skyline. Paradise was busy as always. Clear sky with good views of Adams and St Helens.
Wildflowers are blooming. Enjoyed the snow fields.

The "snowfields to cross" selection for snow conditions above is for Paradise, which is completely covered in snow still. We went up with that in mind with a visiting relative who wanted to just see Rainier up close. We hiked just a tiny bit (in regular running shoes or hiking boots, among our group.) Poles helpful as it's squishy/slushy (at least on the parts of the trail closest to the parking lot.) I saw one group going up with snowshoes but I don't know if they are needed. I even saw a few people in sandals ... not sure I'd recommend that. 

The traffic due to road construction was expected. We had to wait about 10 minutes to get into the park and then 10 minutes when leaving as there is a portion that is only one lane. Kiosk at entry was not open so no one was checking passes when we went through around 10:30am. Parking not an issue at Paradise but the overflow lot was already being utilized (we saw several spots open in the main lot, which is where we parked.) The visitor center was also open. 

On the way down the mountain, we made a few stops. First at Narada Falls where we ended up opting to not hike down for a better view of the waterfall since it was kind of steep and a bit muddy and the mid to late-60s adults I was with preferred to pass. Still can view the falls from the top where the parking lot is. 

Second stop was Christine Falls. Parking is a bit more limited here but if you see parking, I'd recommend stopping. Albeit steep, it's a very short walk/hike to see the falls and you have a nice view of the bridge with the falls behind it. 

Our last stop was Carter Falls trail. It's about a 2-mile hike roundtrip to the falls. We just hiked down to the river where you can get a great view of Rainier in the background. Next time will have to go to the falls. 

Overall, great visit to Rainier with great weather. It was so warm I wish I had had shorts on. 

The gate at Longmire opened at 10:00 which left us with enough time to have a quick trip and turn around by 3 pm. 

GEAR Bring it all, along with your foot warmers, parka, and face protection. Snow drifts up to 3 ft to play around in and break trail in.

PASS use your interagency pass, senior pass or paid pass to enter Mt Rainier National Parks Nisqually entrance.

GATE ENTRANCE the upper gate at Longmire was compact snow and ice. 2 wheel drive required chains. The gate to Paradise opened a bit after 9:30 am, was well plowed. This gate is closed Tuesday-Thursday this winter season due to a staffing shortage. Chains must be carried in your vehicle.

PARKING The drive up from the Nisqually gate to Longmire was slow, icy and slick and continued past Longmire. It was well plowed with some light gravel for traction. A lot of parking help and assistance at the top parking area. Bathroom is nearby.

THE TRIP We made our way from the visitors center to the right following a previous days established snowshoe route. As we traveled along towards Edith Creek we then broke trail going up hill towards Alta Vista then traversed across making our way back to the visitor center and the Skyline Trail.

AVALANCHE Report at www.NWAC.us was considerable with two problems. 1. Slab Avalanche and Persistent Avalanche for even low slope angles.

ROUTE See Garmin link below