Suntop Lookout — Sunday, Oct. 29, 2000

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

The ""trail"" is only a tiny piece left that starts just below the mountain top. If you hike up the road you will eventually see the sign. The trail starts near a Forest Service sign about a Noble Fir planting area. Less than a mile in length, the trail switchbacks through open forest to the top of Sun Top. The view of Mt. Rainier is spectacular, and one can also see Mt. Stuart on a clear day. Looking to the northwest, in the foreground one can see a strange bare mountain shaped more like a hill in the English Lake Country. It has a broad, flat top and the sides and top are bare of trees. It sticks up from a ridge that is forested. I wonder what geological event created this particular oddity. No rocky spires or snow gullies or meadows here, just a big lump of rock and dirt. The road is in good shape and can be driven to within one mile of the top, assuming it is snow-free. Better though is to drive part way up and hike the rest. This will make a great early/late season hike and even with a few inches of snow on the road would be easily doable.