High Rock Lookout

After already hiking to Shriner Peak and to Grove of the Patriarchs I thought I'd get to one more summit before I headed back to the city.

On my way up I missed a key turnoff on the road and went about 5 miles out of my way.....

Finally at the trailhead I found a beat up sign that stated only a 1.5 mile hike to the lookout.

The trail mostly follows up the ridge passing through Beargrass patches, thick lush forest and open sections with views of surrounding mountains.

Just below the lookout I passed by a fallen structure that I presume was a supply shelter that housed wood, paint and other needed supplies to keep the lookout in top condition.

I reached the lookout and found it to be in rough shape after only a few years without regular maintenance. This lookout is precariously positioned high atop a rock precipice that drops over 1,000'!

The views are exceptional with many volcanoes within views.

There also views of Mt Adams and Mt Hood.

Hopefully soon there will be a restoration effort assembled and this lookout will be preserved for years to come!

Grove of the Patriarchs

After my hike up to Shriner Peak I decided to visit the southeast corner of MRNP and see the giant trees I've heard about in the Grove of the Patriarchs.

The nearest trailhead is located just inside of the Stevens Canyon Entrance into the park, but that costs money and I didn't want to pay the $15 daily fee for such a short hike. Instead I drove a short ways down the road (maybe .5 miles) and parked along the road where one can access the trail to Silver Falls. The trail to the falls is wide, well used and not far from these beautiful falls.

There were only a handful of people around and I enjoyed the solitude that I got. I walked along the Ohanapecosh River upstream and took lots of photos of the different sections of falls along the way.

Soon I crossed the road near the Patriarchs Trailhead and there were many more people. 

Another .4 mile down the trail and I came to the suspension bridge that connects to the island where the Grove is located. 

I crossed and soon I was surrounded by some trees that rival some Redwoods in California.

There was an old fallen tree that has turned into a nurse log that had several mature trees growing on and around it.

Soon more people showed up and the sounds of kids swirled through the trees and I took that as my cue to head back......

In all I hiked about 2.5 miles and I was truly amazed by the size of those trees. Normally I find myself hiking to a mountain top and just passing through the forest on my way up, but this time I'm glad I took the time to enjoy the forest and to soak in the fresh air these giants trees create.

Shriner Peak Lookout

Here's a the video I made for this trip

This morning I headed to Mt Rainier National Park with the intent to reach the lookout that sits 5864' above sea level and offers great views of the east side of Mt Rainier.

I left the trailhead at 6:30 and plunged into the dense lush forest.

There was plenty of dew to cover the plant life and to saturate my pant legs as I made my way up the trail.

Reminders of logging days flanked the trail as back in those days they would make notches in the trees for their springboards so they could fell big trees.

I passed through fields of Beargrass that were in full bloom.

I made my way over some snow patches and before long, the lookout was in sight.

All 4 of the lookouts in Mt Rainier National Park are a 2 story cab design with a catwalk that is open to the public all the time. 

From up here I could see Mt Adams, Mt Hood and even Mt St Helens.

The hike and time and the lookout was just over 4 hours but worth the drive for sure. After this hike I drove down to Ohanapecosh for a trip to Grove of the Patriarchs. More on the later :-)

Copper Mt and Cub Peak

We started our day at the Staircase Ranger Station up the very steep trail up to Wagonwheel Lake.

The trail starts put steep and keeps it up all the way to the lake. From the lake we headed west and quickly the trail faded into nothing. From there it was off trail and finding our own route.

We made good time getting through and found ourselves in a basin with some snow cover.

With views of the mountain we made our way to the western edge and scrambled along the ridge, through notches and under overhangs. We found the summit with good views around.

With our desire to pack multiple peaks into a trip, we followed the ridge to the east to verify elevations and check out the views over there.

Satisfied that then first summit was higher we took a snack break and discussed our next course of action.

We traversed east a bit more then dropped down into the basin and back to the lake. Our next stop would be Cub Peak. This peak had a boot path all the way up to the cruddy choss section that lay between us and the summit.

We each took our own path through the loose stuff and soon we were safely on the summit.

More snacks were enjoyed and so were the views. At this point the sky started to clear up, but not completely. 

Being surrounded by such beautiful mountains is an amazing experience that I enjoy every time I reach the top of a summit. It's hard to think that I'll soon be moving away from this as I prepare to get married and join my fiancé in Ohio next month. 

We descended the summit with ginger steps over the chossy junk and rejoined the trail back to the lake. From the lake is was another painstaking 3200' of descent over 2.9 miles. My quads were sore by the time we reached the car, but it was a rewarding pain.