Palisades, Little Ranger Peak via Ranger Creek — Tuesday, Apr. 19, 2016

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

With it being very hot in the low lands we decided to give the Ranger Loop in try. The hike was almost snow free, but we did encounter a lot of blow-downs and a couple times had trouble finding the trail. For this description, the hike will be broken into 4 sections, since each was different. Section 1 starts at the Palisades trail head (trail #1198) on 410 and continues on to the third viewpoint, which is also referred to as South Snoquera View Point. The hike to Lower Dalles Falls crosses the stream and poses a little difficulty in crossing, but not too bad. Just before and just after the turn to the falls, is a downed tree which will have to be crossed. A few other downed trees do exist on the trail but they are not problems. The trail is in very good shape to the third view point. Of the 3 viewpoints, the third one is the best. There was a small patch of snow around the crossing of Snoquera Creek. Section 2 covers the Palisades trail between South Snoquera View Point to the Shelter (Junction with Ranger Creek Trail, #1197. The main route follows the ridge line. It does veer away some times from the ridge but then returns. Throughout this section of the hike are many fantastic views. Soon after leaving the South Snoquera View Point we started encountering blow-downs across the trail. We cut some smaller branches to help other hikers hike this section, as well as the next. We had to climb over trees, go under some, and find a way around others. About a half mile or so after leaving the Snoquera view point the trail disappeared. Using Trimble Navigator app we figured we were at a switchback and a big blowdown had covered a hundred feet of trail. After 10 minutes of hiking around on the mountain side, we found the trail and continued up the trail and over the ridge line. At another point in this section we encountered a couple hundred yards of snow on the trail. There was one switchback during this section, which my hiking navigator helped us to know about. In a week or two this snow should be gone. Most of this section of the hike could be followed okay without a nav aid, but we suggest having one. We were glad that the map used by the navigator for this hike included an old trail. At the end of this section we came upon a very nice shelter. Section 3 goes down the Ranger Creek Trail from the Shelter to Little Ranger Peak Viewpoint. For the first quarter mile going down this trail is very steep with quite a few switchbacks. The worst part is the much of the trail is gone due to slides and trees blown down. The navigator app did help some but it did crash in the section and we found the trail the old fashion way with a paper map. The ground did have some soft dirt that we could scramble or slide down for some sections. Investigating the ground, my wife spotted a log that indicated a trail was under us at one point. Once we hit the trail again, we encountered several more blowdowns to get around. In section 2, the ground was fairly level, so it was not too hard getting around the blowdowns, but in the section the terrain was step; hence we may have to climb uphill and then back down to the trail. We found the sign giving the direction the Little Ranger Peak, but did not see a clear trail that the sign was pointing to. It was running late so we did not take the very short hike to the viewpoint. Section 4 is from the Little Ranger Peak Viewpoint down the Ranger Creek Trail (#1197) to Trail (#1199), which parallels highway 410 and then back to the start. Near the viewpoint there are still a couple blow downs, but after these most all of the other blowdowns have been cut and cleared. It appears work is being currently being done to clear the blow downs, so those we encountered in the section will be removed soon.