I try to visit Mount Rainier as least once a year, typically towards the end of the summer or the beginning of the fall. This year due to increased traffic, Rainier required a timed entry for the peak weeks of the summer. I had zero desire to get a timed ticket, and I knew if I wanted to visit I would have to arrive before 0700 when a ticket was not required.
A perk of living in the same state I suppose, more flexibility.
In order to arrive by 0700, my gal pal Caitlin and I left at 0345 on Sept 2, which happened to be the last day of needing a timed entry. It also happened to be Labor Day, and we were hoping the end of the holiday weekend meant fewer people. Thankfully we were right, and overall we did not encounter too many other humans. We didn’t encounter too many non humans either.
We started our hike around 0630, and the dark sky gave the mountain a beautiful blue hue.
We chose to do a trail we had both done before, but I had not done this hike since 2015. The Burroughs Mountain Trail was my very first hike at Mount Rainier, and how fitting that in 2015 I did it on a holiday as well. This time we did the looped trail which took us along the opposite side we came up providing different views I hadn’t seen before.
The hike up starts moderate, but begins to climb as you head towards Second Burroughs. A lot of people choose to stop here because the view is stunning no matter how far you go. We sat here just long enough to refuel our stomachs and enjoy the view, but our plan was to continue on towards Third Burroughs. If you have enough gas in the tank when doing this trail, continuing on is a must.
We encountered a few other hikers, one of which we played leap frog with to Second Burroughs, but overall it was a quiet hike. This is one of the many perks of starting before the sun is fully awake. We made it to Third Burroughs and momentarily had the entire area to ourselves. The climb up is a bit steeper than the climb to Second Burroughs, but the views are significantly more magnificent.
The view from Third Burroughs feels like you’re sitting right on top of the mountain. Being this close gives me a false sense of distance, and it seems like the summit isn’t all that far away. In reality I would probably cry attempting to summit Mount Rainier. I do not like snowy crevasses. Or heights. Or snow covered heights.
Basically what I’m saying is that I’m a wimp, and I wear it with pride.
We sat at Third Burroughs for a while to refuel again, and if you clicked the above link to see my first visit to this trail you will see I ate a Larabar on that adventure (you will also see poor photo quality and me with a bob haircut vs a pixie cut.) I seem to have started a tradition of taking photos with my Larabars in beautiful locations, and this trip was no different.
Food just tastes better when you are in nature looking at epic mountains.
After enjoying the view we made our way back towards the trail before splitting off onto the loop. From here the trail became lush and green, and the day grew much warmer than either of us anticipated. We are officially in the season of constantly changing temps throughout the day.
This took us 5 hours and 36 minutes including our breaks at each Burrough, putting us back at my car around noon. We clocked in at 9.47 miles, and the last mile I was powered exclusively by visions of vanilla ice cream. One of my favorite reasons to go to Rainier is the ice cream spot we stop at after we are done. This local shop has amazing ice cream, and I look forward to it the day before we leave.
I brought some butter toffee cashews from Costco to go on my ice cream, and I made the right choice.
I’m not sure if I will make the trek to Rainier again this season, but maybe I can drag Duncan just for another excuse to get this ice cream. He too is motivated by treats, and there are so many trails to explore. I used to drive three hours to Portland and back in one day just to eat, so I don’t see how this is any different.
Just one week after this adventure Caitlin and I packed up her CRV and took a road trip to Banff, AB. We arrived home this past Saturday, and I cannot wait to share the photos and stories from our short week hiking in the Canadian Rockies. It feels so good to have a pal to road trip with for an exhausting yet exhilarating adventure of non stop hiking.
Q: Would you rather fight for a timed slot, or arrive before the sun to avoid the crowds?
Blissfulbritt 