Burroughs Mountain, Dege Peak — Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

 Hiked to 2^nd Burroughs this morning via the Sunrise Rim trail, with an added side trip to Dege Peak. Started at 6 AM and a brisk 44 degrees. The trail from Sunrise on the Rim trail is pretty much all downhill to Shadow Lake, then its all uphill to Burroughs 1 and 2. Lots of flowers along the trail to Shadow Lake, mainly Aster. The trail up to Burroughs 3 looks to be free of any snow patch crossings. From Burroughs 2, took the trail down to Frozen Lake and onto the Sourdough Ridge trail. Most of the foot traffic was on this portion. Eventually, the trail comes to a junction, with the right headed back down to the parking lot. I stayed on the left, going straight ahead 2 miles to Dege Peak. The number of hikers reduced drastically from here. Reached Dege and I had the summit all to myself. Headed back down and only ran into a handful of hikers. Back at the parking lot, it appeared to be almost full, with plenty of cars parked on the gravel side lot. Saw a large herd of mountain goats resting down in the valley between Fremont and Burroughs, but otherwise no critter sightings (except for a large group of Grouse that were just off trail heading to Burroughs 2). Back at the car by 11 AM. Really did not have any bugs to deal with. Total mileage for the hike was approximately 10.5 miles (4 miles total for the Dege Peak portion) and an elevation gain of 1400 feet. High points were Burroughs 2 at 7400’ and Dege Peak at 7000’. Another great day to be out at Mount Rainier!