Arch Rock — Saturday, Jul. 16, 2016

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

This is really an addendum to the other Arch Rock trip reports in the last month. The most difficult of the downed trees are between Rod's Gap and Louisiana Saddle on a fairly steep side hill. The view points on the trail are at the switchback before Rod's Gap, at the top of the erosion gullies south of Louisiana Saddle and on the hillside just beyond the boot trail to Arch Rock Spring and Arch Rock. The best views are from Arch Rock. Arch Rock does exist and it is not an arch. It is a rocky high point on a secondary ridge to the west of the spring (about 0.3 miles line-of-sight and 250ft higher). A 0.6 mile boot trail takes off from the PCT at the point where the PCT turns away from Arch Rock Spring, at the informal sign nailed onto a tree for the spring. Follow the boot trail to the north for about 0.1 mile, passing the spring, and reach a junction just above a major campsite. Take the left branch at the junction and follow the boot trail on a short traverse and then a direct climb up to the ridge crest. The boot trail follows the ridge crest, sometimes very close to the nearly vertical drop off the north side. It drops to cross a secondary gully and then climbs through steep grass and dirt to the rocky summit. From the summit there are about 270 degrees of views, from the SE around to Mt. Rainier in the SW all the way to the NE. Unfortunately, on this day the 8000ft overcast precluded the distant views.