Summit Lake — Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich

What a lovely day for a hike! We lucked out with a dry afternoon, and the sun peaking through the trees as we hiked. Trail is in good shape, a bit wet at lower elevations as the sun melts during the afternoon. About halfway to the lake the snow begins in earnest, up to 6" at times on the trail. We brought snowshoes and microspikes but decided to leave them in the car and see how we fared with just poles. I wouldn't want to be without poles, but we did not miss additional traction devices at any point. Had a lovely lakeside lunch and headed back to the trailhead. All in all, hike was about three hours at a leisurely pace and relaxing lunch break. The road to the trailhead is a bit rough at the beginning, with large trenches on the roadway, but gets better after about a mile.