Anxious to get near Rainier, if not actually in The Park, we decided to give Little Ranger Peak a try. It's a pretty good early season bet, as it's south facing and tends to melt out decently in early spring. Since today was the first day of spring, that counts!
Logistics: we parked at the Camp Sheppard lot, which is large and equipped with two passably clean, stocked outhouses. Arrived at 10:30 a.m., when it was 36 degrees. The lot has some ice, but negligible--a non-issue for any car. We hiked about five hours today, we also but explored beyond the trail and took our time .When we left at 4:30 p.m., it was a balmy 46 degrees.
Our route: We took the White River Trail from the parking area, and followed it till we hooked up with the Little Ranger Peak/Dalles/Palisades trail. Mileage today: 10.5, but we took a few detours . . . If you just go to the Little Ranger viewpoint and back, it's about 9 mi RT.
Trail conditions: the White River trail is dandy--dry, and only a couple easily navigable blowdowns (well, one is a sit-and-spin if you're short). Little Ranger has about 8 blowdowns, 3 of which require hoofing it around or sit-and-spin (see pic). 10 blowdowns total on the two trails. While there is little snow, there is some compact, slippery ice starting about a mile before the Little Ranger Peak viewpoint. We were mindful of our foot placement on the way up, and used poles on the way down. If The Melt continues, this should be a non-issue in about ten days. If it snows again and the nights are freezing--well, grab yourself a groundhog and give him a good talking-to. We brought spikes, but they're no use; the ice is too sporadic.
Features of the route: big, beautiful old growth trees right out the Camp Sheppard parking lot. More tremendous trees all along the way--I'd wager 200 years old, many of them. The ones near Sheppard look truly ancient. . . Like, 500 years. The view from Little Ranger is quite nice, and there's a great promontory for snacking (see pic). Also, there are yew trees here and there along the trail, if you know what to look for. We saw not a soul today. Happy and safe hiking, Everyone!
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