At the end of July Duncan and I took a trip to Mount Rainier, with the expectation of hiking one of the many lovely trails on the Sunrise side of the park. The park has two main “areas” and most of the popular trails start on either the Sunrise side, or the Paradise side. Last September we went for a hike on the Paradise side which is significantly larger as far as parking and accommodations, and when deciding what time we should leave to arrive for our hike this year we based everything off of those aforementioned facts: September, Paradise.
Duncan likes to sleep in, while I am content leaving the house at 0500 to ensure we beat the crowds. In order to find a middle ground we left around 0700 with the intent of arriving around 0930. This is what we did last time, so it should have worked well, right? Turns out July is not September (duh, July is far busier), and the Sunrise side is not Paradise. The Sunrise side has significantly limited parking meaning we arrived to find ourselves in a line of other cars, waiting to get past the gate.
NO, no, no, noooo.
After waiting for 30 minutes or so, I asked a passing park ranger how long we could expect to wait, and the words that came out of his mouth put me into a tunnel of darkness – “three hours.” Absolutely the heck not. Thankfully I was next to a pull out, and with no plan B we turned around and started driving. We had no cell service, no idea of where else to hike, and I was starting to have a melt down.
I don’t handle changes of plans very well, especially when I have no way of finding an alternative.
I ended up driving the ENTIRE PARK over to the Paradise side which was MADNESS, before settling on a random trail off the side of the road. We walked through the woods passing a few small waterfalls, with the goal of finding Narada Falls. Ironically Narada Falls in accessible just off the road, but something about hiking to it make it all the more awe-worthy once we arrived. We hiked from Carter Falls to Narada Falls clocking about 6 miles with 1300 ft of elevation gain.
The trail overall was so-so, would not do again, but the day was beautiful and I had a good sport of a passenger. If only he could say the same about me. I was admittedly a pill the majority of the afternoon, but once we were able to get out and start walking I think I turned it around. I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Duncan.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. It is now September (good time of year), I have two willing humans wanting to leave at 0500, and there is rain on the forecast. A recipe for success. My friend Caitlin and her sister Christina met me at my house for an early departure to hike once again on the Sunrise side of the park. This days adventure was a walk to the Berkeley Park Campground, with an offshoot to the Fremont lookout on the way back.
All three of us were a bit trepidatious due to the weather forecast, but we decided to go anyway. We arrived at the parking lot by 0730, and the entire lot was swallowed by a thick cloud. There was plenty of parking, but the air was chilled and I quickly discovered I did not dress warmly enough. I was certain we wouldn’t have any views that day, but karma was on our side. As soon as we started hiking the sky opened up.
The Berkeley Park trail took us through open meadows and away from the mountain for a unique view of this park. We hiked 4 miles to the campground area, had a snack, and headed back towards the Fremont Lookout. I originally wanted to do the Fremont Lookout Trail as a sunrise hike, but we would have to wake up around 0100 for this, and honestly I don’t think I care enough to watch a sunrise. The views from the lookout were just as lovely during the normal hours of the day.
We savored the view for all of five minutes before the wind took most of our warmth and I could no longer feel my fingers. We made our way back towards the parking lot, making this hike a total of 10.75 miles and around 2300 ft of elevation. This take two of recent visits to Mount Rainier went much better than the first, and a large part of why was because I lowered my expectations.
These two hikes might have been different in all ways – different weather, different company, different attitude, but there was one commonality between the two. There is a local shop 30 min outside of the park that sells ice cream, and it is well worth the splurge. This recent hike my hands were too cold to eat one of my snacks, so I got vanilla ice cream to top with my snack. Absolute win.
The perk of being an adult is that you can reward yourself whether your attitude is positive or negative, and I rewarded myself after both hikes.
Q: Do you like arriving early places before the crowds, or would you rather sleep in and arrive when you arrive?
Blissfulbritt 
26 thoughts on “Mount Rainier – Take Two”
Sheree
Wonderful scenery and falls
Brittany
It’s a beautiful area!
Sheree
Clearly Brittany
Grace @ Cultural Life
Gorgeous scenery! The 3-hour wait is astonishing, I would have turned around too.
I’m like you. I absolutely prefer getting to places before the crowds and going at a quieter time of the year if possible. My partner and I recently hiked the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge (25 miles and three mountains in a day) and we chose to do it in mid-September on a Tuesday, starting at 6:30 am. The trail is hugely popular, especially in the summer, but we only saw three or four other hikers on the day we did it. Timing is everything!
Brittany
You guys went at the perfect time! How cool, and I’m now going to add that challenge to my list! I’d love to get back to that area of the world again and I am always looking for excuses.
Grace @ Cultural Life
I know Yorkshire very well so if you do end up coming here, let me know and I’ll share recommendations 🙂
Brittany
That sounds great, thank you!
hdsalmon
I love your blogs. I definitely like to arrive early to adventures. We have left the house at 3am several times to go on adventures. I have to psych myself up for it and take nausea med to keep from getting motion sick that early in the morning.
Brittany
Thank you! I’m with you, I prefer leaving early. I’m usually a 430-5am departure kind of gal, but I would leave earlier if I had to. I’m sorry you get nausea though! That’s rough.
Amy
What memorable adventures!! I always love your nature photos. You find some of the most beautiful scenery during your hikes, and you capture it so well! ♡ I’m sure it’s not exactly a coincidence… But my hometown is about 20-25 minutes from the cities of Berkeley and Fremont. Somehow, I’m guessing the cities, the trail, and the lookout were named after the same people!
Brittany
Oooohhh fun history thought! I’ll have to look into the names of the trail areas. I would have never even thought about it.
Amy
Now I’m super curious. I’ll have to look it up too!
niall
That great thing about living where I do is the absolute solitude in the mountains. No crowds, in fact most days I meet nobody at all. I’m planning an overnight trip tomorrow, just 30min from my home, and I fully expect to spend the full walk and camp totally alone. I can’t wait 😊
Brittany
I do love the areas you are able to access. There are areas like that here too, but there are too many wild animals for my liking. If I lived in Ireland I’d likely get lost in those mountains any chance I had. So long as sheep and cows were my only concern. 🤣
I hope your walk went well!
joeabbott
Just got back last night from hiking around the Mowich Lake side of the mountain: it’s in the NW corner of the Park by the Carbon Glacier. Highly recommend RIGHT NOW: the fall colors are mad, the weather has a couple more days of “nice” before rain hits, and you can let Duncan sleep in the car when you LEAVE EARLY for the area.
A good (but popular) destination hike here is Tolmie Peak Trail; 6.6 mile RT that leaves from Mowich Lake lot. The road in is a bit rough but the trails are highly maintained/used … easy hiking.
Brittany
I’m so glad you were able to get out this weekend! Caitlin and I just got back yesterday from the North Cascades, we hiked up to the Sahale Arm! That post will be so fun to write, the fall colors there were also insane.
I hiked Tolmie Peak last summer and I loved it, but I do remember the road being one I wouldn’t want to drive my car on (I rode with someone who had a Subaru.) I’ll add Mowich Lake to my list, thanks for sharing! I’ll let Duncan stay home for that one. 🤣
joeabbott
OK … seriously jealous. Not of all the switchbacks up Sahale Arm, but that’s gotta be peak color just now. You’re ripping up the PNW trails right now … good on ya!!
Brittany
The colors were AMAZING. My legs are sore though. 🤣 Worth it.
Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud
Amazing! I only see Rainier from the plane as I fly to see my grandkids. My son’s done hiking there but so far, I haven’t. I’ve camped/hiked with them in the Olympics, maybe one day I’ll get to experience Rainer. Gorgeous pics!
Brittany
Rainier from the sky is something awe worthy on its own. I love seeing it when I’m flying back home. I hope you get a chance to visit the park someday.
Virtuousvikki
Very beautiful pictures!
Brittany
Thank you!
Belladonna
What a beautiful picture!
Brittany
Thank you! That area is so easy to photograph, beauty is everywhere. 😍
Kyle Brown
You see, I’m both ways. I love to sleep in, but I also love arriving on time (and/or when the crowd is small). As I have two small children the former is not an option, but the two little troublemakers sometimes make the latter challenging as well.
Brittany
I think when kids are in the mix, flexibility is a must. 🤣 You do what you can! But on those occasions you may be alone, you get to choose! Yahooo.