Eastside Trail — Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020

A friend of mine got a permit he couldn't use, so I ended up on a solo backpack trip. The trip was a loop involving the Eastside Trail, Wonderland Trail, and the Owyhigh Lakes Trail. The initial correpondence from the park mentioned Deer Creek trailhead. The trailhead was marked Owyhigh Lakes. Start at Owyhigh Lakes trailhead on highway 123. A short downhill hike past some lovely falls got me to the Eastside trail. I hiked past Deer Creek camp and on my way. The Eastside trail followed Chinook Creek and was a gentle, rolling hike. No other hikers for much of the distance. As I approached Grove of the Patriarchs, I saw many day hikers, 60-70% wearing masks. Watch the trail signs at the junctions and look for the Cowlitz Divide trail. I hiked about 0.1 miles on the Silver Falls Loop trail to reach the junction with the Cowlitz Divide trail. This trail went uphill, about 1,400 feet in 2.8 miles to Olallie Creek camp. I crossed a small stream by walking over some logs to enter the camp which has one group site and three individual sites.

The next day I continued uphill on the Cowlitz Divide to the Wonderland Trail and kept going up most of the day. Once on the Wonderland the forest thins out and the scenery improved. That improvement came with a price, a lot of climbing. It was sunny and hot when I hiked it and went through water very quickly. A lot of check steps on the trail from 4800 feet up to a 5900 foot unnamed high point.  I took a lot of time admiring the scenery and catching my breath as I made my way up the trail. Besides the ever-present Mount Rainier, Mount Adams was visible behind me when I would stop and look back.

The wild flowers were in bloom and the fragrance was very nice. From that high point, I descended to Indian Bar where I stopped for lunch and water before climbing even more check steps on the trail to Panhandle Gap.  Panhandle Gap was a welcome sight when I arrived. The high point of the Wonderland trail and my hike as well. On the descent towards Summerland I had to scramble over some snow patches and rocks. Even in late August, the snow persists at these altitudes. Reaching Summerland after my 9-hour hiking day was a welcome relief. Then I saw the signs warning of black bear activity in the area. Fortunately, I saw nothing larger than the resident marmot that night. A very nice composting toilet there.

Morning came and I left for a relaxing downhill hike to the Fryingpan Creek trailhead on the Sunrise Road. Saw four Rangers heading in to do some work. The trail widened as I approached the road where I turned right for my road march.  No path, so I walked facing traffic. A short walk, about one-third of a mile, brought me to the other end of the Owyhigh Lakes Trail. The trail was a joy to hike. While it was uphill to my destination, the trail started wide and continued gradually uphill, no check steps to disrupt your pace or stride. I arrived at Tamanos Creek camp early. Coming from the north I crossed a foot log bridge. This was the water source for the camp which was about 200 yards further on the trail. The camp has a group site and four individual sites.  

Hiking out on the Owyhigh Lake Tail the last morning was nice. The trail still had gentle grades, but it was narrow and the morning dew on the brush soaked my lower pant legs. The Owyhigh Lakes were small and the morning mist rising off them was lovely. As I descended towards Chinook Creek the trail moved into older forest, more open, and less underbrush. I saw one deer on the hike down. I crossed the Eastside Trail and hiked up to Highway 123 and my car. Total distance over four days was about 35 miles.