Just an update from a few weeks ago. We hiked this section again as part of our we Wonderland Trail trip this week. The snow melt is significant! Didn't need ice axes for this section. We were amazed with how much snow was gone near the visitor center! Two weeks ago the snow was a few feet deep- now it's patchy and easy to cross. The trail is there!

I had never done this hike before because the views aren't great and you can drive to both ends, but with Sunrise road still closed I figured I would give it a shot. The trail is in great shape and I even ran into a couple of rangers making more improvements so it should be great. There aren't any views until reaching the rather large waterfall (not sure if it has an official name, but I have heard Yakima Park Falls) where it starts to open up and you can see Rainier and Goat Island Mountain. There are a couple patches of snow but they are short and not hard to navigate. Snow starts around 5,300', but stays off the trail for the most part. I brought but did not use micro spikes. Treking poles came in handy. The meadows of Sunrise are mostly snow, but it's not too deep and looked to be melting fast.

Hiked to Sunrise visitor center from white river camp ground. Infrequent, easy snow patches start around 5100 feet. There is one section after that, around 5500 feet, that we relied heavily on our gps because there were no boot prints or trail markers. This was in a heavily forested and shaded area. When you are out of the trees, navigation becomes easier. Had lunch at the empty parking lot at sunrise. Kind of fun to sit in the middle of the abandoned parking lot, being sunny and warm. Hiked on further towards frozen lake, crossing some snow fields about 1-2 feet deep. Snow clears for a bit when you get out of the meadows, heading towards Burroughs in the rockier sections. We had spikes but didn't use them because the snow was really soft. Poles were good to have. We turned around about .25 miles from frozen lake. At this point there were some steep Avalanche shoots we didn't feel comfortable crossing without ice axe/crampons. Didn't pass ANY hikers. Saw some deer, lots of goat poo, and bear tracks. 9 miles total. Nice day.

We did this as an evening hike leaving the campground parking lot at 4:20pm and reaching Sunrise at 6:30pm. The trail is snow-free until about 1.5 miles in. Once the snow begins, route finding becomes more difficult. We were able to follow some recent footprints and used the GPS to make sure we were on the right track. Just before the waterfall we put on microspikes and were very thankful for them, especially on the way down. Although the snow is deep in places, snowshoes were not needed as it is still compacted. We made it down in just under an hour (motivated by incoming snow) and reached the parking lot at 7:55pm. Overall great hike! It was fun to see a favorite spot without ANY people. Take poles, navigation and traction and be smarter than us and get an earlier start. PS. GPS and Fitbit said this was 7.25 RT (not 6 miles like the guidebook says)....perhaps we wandered a bit. :)

We started from White River Campground and ascended to the Sunrise area on the Wonderland Trail, which is in great condition. We then followed the Shadow Lake trail up to Frozen Lake before climbing up First and Second Burroughs. There was a bit of snow on the trail leading to Second Burroughs, but it was easy to cross, and it's probably gone by now anyway (writing this report two days after the hike). After lunch at Second Burroughs, we descended to the junction with the path to Third Burroughs. Since the mountain was not out, we opted to pass on Third Burroughs and descend to the Glacier Basin trail. The trail down is steep, rough, and rocky; sturdy boots and poles were helpful. About halfway down, we stopped to give our knees a break and to observe a herd of mountain goats on the hillside above us. The Glacier Basin trail, with its gentle grade and soft tread, was a sight for sore eyes when we finally arrived there. The last three miles were a breeze. We estimated the loop to be around ten miles with about 3500 feet of elevation gain. We saw surprisingly few other hikers.