Shriner Peak — Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024

Weather looked to be the best heading towards Rainer. I stopped at Chinook Pass, but it was mostly covered in a cloud. Decided to do Shriner Peak as the clouds were moving with some sunlight peaking through.

The trail is essentially up the whole way and I was feeling it from the start. You start in the forest and the trail is narrow at times. There is still a decent amount of fall colors at peak including some nice reds and yellows. As you get further up, some of the yellow ferns are a bit past peak. There was a nice viewpoint around 2.75 miles where on a clear day you could see Rainier. Not so much today. There are some small patches of snow as you get within the last mile of the summit, but nothing impacting the trail.

At the lookout, it was completely socked in with no views. The lookout itself was locked but you can walk the catwalk which was nice after having done Granite Mountain the week prior where you couldn’t. I ate lunch on a step below the catwalk and bundled up as it was windy and cold. After lunch, I walked down to check out the two camp spots which would be a great place to stay. I didn’t see any water sources along the trail which the sign makes clear at the trailhead. This is definitely a hike to make sure you pack plenty of water on a warm day.

Even with the lack of views, it was a great hike! Garmin tracked 9.10 miles and 3,566 feet of gain.