Hiking on the wettest day in months kept the dust, bugs and crowds down. Not that this trail gets crowded, hiking from the east end at SR123 up to the lakes and back, starting at 11:30am. It's a beautiful hike through old-growth fir and cedar forest on a good trail, punctuated by waterfalls and creek crossings. Creeks were running and waterfalls were falling and so was the rain. A few short bridges and puncheon are in need of replacement. One log bridge had me a little nervous with its wet, tilted surface but footing was fine. Huckleberries are ripe and plentiful along the trail. Some salmonberries, bunchberries (Canadian Dogwood), and a few red huckleberries, too.
I met two pairs of hikers on the way up to my turnaround time, a bit short of the lakes, and one solo hiker on the way down. The solo hiker was going to the other end on the Sunrise Road, then hitchhike back around. Back to the car at 4:00pm. My raingear kept me fairly dry but my feet were soaked with water running down inside my Gore-tex lined boots. Drove on to camp at White River, and came to the Owyhigh trailhead on that side and spotted the solo hiker on the road. So, turned around to ferry him back to the other side, trading stories about our mutual quest to hike all the trails at Mount Rainier NP. Then did the trip again, this time all the way to a quick dinner and a good night's sleep in a quiet campground.
Comments