Skyscraper Pass, Skyscraper Mountain — Monday, Jul. 21, 2025

My hiking group had Skyscraper Pass  / Mt Rainier on our hiking schedule today.  We all read weather forecasts ahead of time but felt we could beat the odds on not get wet, extremely bad idea!  We got caught out 2.5 miles from Sunrise and were battered with hail, heavy rain and rolling thunder and lightning moving through the area early afternoon.  It was 51 degrees with mostly sunny skies when we pulled into Sunrise parking area just before 9:30. The bathrooms and vault toilets were open, clean and stocked with supplies.  After gearing up we headed up the dry and dusty Sourdough ridge trail.  Lots of hikers were headed out and back in all directions.  The wildflowers were in peak bloom for most varieties - we saw lupine, paint brush, anemone, bistort, saxifrage, cinquefoil, penstemon, aster, lousewort, partridge foot, heather, hare bells and more.  We had incredible wildlife sightings including marmots, chipmunks and a goat herd of 10 plus a couple strays.  After the 5 way intersection trail traffic got really light, we passed and chatted with 8 other hikers all overnight backpackers or hiking the complete Wonderland Loop Trail.  Clouds started moving in and Rainier’s summit slowly became cloud covered.  Once at Skyscraper Pass a few in my group wanted to hike up Skyscraper Mtn so we hung around for over an hour.  In hindsight we would have had a much better luck at not getting soaked had we grabbed a quick bite and turned around immediately. On our return the goat herd was hanging out above the Wonderland trail above Berkley Park and who doesn’t want to stop and snap a few photos of Mtn goats?  That’s where the rain started and continued in intensity all the way back to Sunrise.  Most hikers on other routes had the same idea get off the mountain and take shelter as soon as possible.  I counted the seconds after lightning strikes and they were 10 - 12 seconds or miles away.  With the trail being so dry it soaked up the moisture on the really sandy and silty areas and all the flora and fauna were soaking it up.  When we drove out of Sunrise at 3:30 the rain grew in intensity and our car wipers were on full speed and runoff water was flooding the road in 5 different places as we wound our way down around Sunrise Point and 2 switchbacks below.  It was hard to imagine unless you were driving in it, the path of least resistance was flowing straight down. I have experienced clouds forming and moving in quickly in both the Rockies in Colorado and the Alp in France and this weather  system was on par with that.  Everyone in my group made it down safely and have a hair raising story to tell until our next great trail adventure!