The ""trail"" is only a tiny piece left that starts just below the mountain top. If you hike up the road you will eventually see the sign. The trail starts near a Forest Service sign about a Noble Fir planting area. Less than a mile in length, the trail switchbacks through open forest to the top of Sun Top. The view of Mt. Rainier is spectacular, and one can also see Mt. Stuart on a clear day. Looking to the northwest, in the foreground one can see a strange bare mountain shaped more like a hill in the English Lake Country. It has a broad, flat top and the sides and top are bare of trees. It sticks up from a ridge that is forested. I wonder what geological event created this particular oddity. No rocky spires or snow gullies or meadows here, just a big lump of rock and dirt. The road is in good shape and can be driven to within one mile of the top, assuming it is snow-free. Better though is to drive part way up and hike the rest. This will make a great early/late season hike and even with a few inches of snow on the road would be easily doable.

A glorious day after a week of gray wetness called for an adventure. As I headed out of town I saw Rainier fully exposed to the south. I knew that I wanted to get close to it, to soak up its energy and celebrate the coming winter in its shadow. SunTop seemed to fit the bill nicely. I parked at the Sno Park lot at the start of Sun Top road off FR 73. There was no snow here at +/-2200'. The road is a nice steady grade for its 6 mile length giving me just the right amount of workout to deal with any Thanksgiving payload. At about 1.5 mi I saw the first signs of snow, and it got deeper and whiter as I went up. There was some car traffic going up to capture wild Xmas trees, but mostly I was left to myself. At 3 mi I had to help extract an SUV that went beyond its drivers abilities. She asked me why I was walking up the road as we pushed her sideways hunk of steel and glass out of the ditch. I said something about me getting to the top while she was retreating, only half way there. After that little distraction I saw no one else til I hit the saddle at 5 mi. There was one parked truck with a ski trail heading up from it. At 4 mi the view opened up . Across the valley was Snoquera Falls, spewing an awful lot of water over the Pallisades. It was a beautiful landscape across the valley, with the miles and miles of mountains, hills, blue sky as far as I could see. As I walked up windows to the hills opened up here and there keeping me aware of my elevation gain. I was gaining on those mountains. At the saddle I found the trail to the summit and slogged up. I had not brought my snowshoes and I did just fine, but there were times when I was feeling the need for a little flotation. On the top (5300') there was about 2' of snow, more drifted in places. Rainier was right there, big, white, and majestic as always. The wind was crowning her with a veil of blowing snow. It made me cold to think about being up there. I ate my Black Diamond cinnamon roll and investigated the lookout. It was all put to bed for the winter, but it made a nice windblock. I spent another 2 hours investigating the other dead end roads up there, then headed down, walking the last hour in darkness. Jupiter came out to guide me back to the van. A perfect trip.