Summit Lake — Saturday, Mar. 7, 2015

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich

My intent was to wake up at O dark hundred and drive to the trailhead and hike to the Summit Lake to catch the Sunrise. Well that didn't happen. The alarm went off at 0330 and I went back to bed. I hit the road at 0530 leaving from Bremerton. It was a pretty foggy drive for a good share of the way. Once over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge the fog cleared. I made good time. I turned off from Carbon River Road and crossed the single lane bridge over the Carbon River. There were quite a few campers out enjoying the weekend. As I began driving up the road, I noticed some elk on the hillside on the left hand side of the road in a clear cut area. That was a nice treat. This was the beginning of the longest 6.8 mile drive I've had in a long time. This road is no joke. It's very rough with large grooves, potholes and rocks. I was thankful I was in my 4 wheel drive truck otherwise, I may have considered turning around. On my down, I passed several small economy size cars i.e. Honda Accord, Prius type. There is no way I would drive something like that up there. I would only recommend high clearance vehicles. So I arrived at the trailhead at about 0800. I was only the second vehicle there. The sun was already shining bright and the Mount Rainier in all her glory looking marvelous. Right from the get go you hit compact snow and ice. I did not bring yak tracks or crampons and wished I had. Everything was frozen solid. I was slipping and sliding and trying to keep my footing. The worst I would have to say was the first mile after that it wasn't as bad. There were some areas free of snow and ice but not many. Once I passed Twin Lake which was frozen solid and snow covered (beautiful) and began heading up hill through the forest, again it was icy and had compact snow but once the forest started opening up a bit the snow was more slushy because the sun was hitting it more. Just before Summit Lake there is a hillside that is almost snow free and has all this new lush grassy shoots. Also, as previous posters have mentioned you can hear and see snow falling from the trees. Bart and I arrived at Summit Lake and took the trail to the right and headed up towards the ridgeline catching amazing views in both directions. It was just absolutely beautiful. I hate to say it, but I didn't make it all the way up to the top of the ridge where I'm sure the views are even better because well I didn't have crampons and I'm also a little bit afraid of heights. So I got to just below where the trail makes it's final push up and turned around. I don't regret it because, I still had amazing views. On the way out there were some young knuckle heads out on the lake running around, yelling and ruining the peacefulness of this magnificent place. I figured it was a good time to leave. I really was waiting for one of them to fall through the ice. As I headed down I passed countless people heading up. I'm glad I hiked early and beat the crowds. On the way down in many places the snow had turned to slush. It was much easier to walk on than it was earlier. When I reached Twin Lake, it was really slushy and melting quick. All I could think was how those people were out on the frozen lake that could easily become just like this one. The last mile or so there were still several really slick spots that are shaded enough they were still nothing but compact ice. Overall, this was a wonderful hike. I cant wait to do it again maybe in the Summer. Complaints: Keep your dogs on a leash. Not everyone enjoys your dogs running up to their dog off leash and not under control. Rough Road - Recommend 4wd vehicle with high clearance. You shouldn't be doing this trail in it's current condition in tennis shoes. Saw several doing this. All it takes is one slip on that ice and going down splitting your shin open. If you have crampons bring them. I didn't and that made this hike a lot harder than it needed to be. Don't walk on frozen lakes. It's a life threatening accident waiting to happen.