Northern loop Mount Rainier Aug 7-9

[anchovy]

My 16 year old nephew flew up from Texas to go on his first backpacking trip. He's a pretty fit kid so I thought we should try something a little more ambitious and we were rewarded in spades.

We made it to the Carbon River ranger station by 10am but there weren't many campsites on our route available. So we had to take Dick Creek our first day which was only 5 miles in. That made it 17 miles the next day to Fire Creek and then 14 miles to exit.

I'm glad we biked in to Ipsut Creek trailhead. It was a steady climb which was somewhat tiring on the way in but on our return it was a blast to coast downhill the 5 miles back to our car.

The Dick Creek campsite was really nice, perched on a bluff above the Carbon glacier. We shared it with a couple of grad students from Seattle, very nice people.

The next day was pretty tough. These are some seriously steep trails! But we were rewarded with amazing views of Rainier. At one point we saw a huge rockslide down the Willis Wall. Even from miles away it was loud. The dust cloud took probably 30 minutes to dissipate.

We took a lunch break at the pass below Skyscraper mountain. Not long after stopping we starting hearing marmots from every direction whistling. After a few minutes I saw what had them worked up. Not too far away on the slopes of Skyscraper was a coyote. Wait a minute, that's bigger than any coyote I've seen before. And it's body looks different too, it's much longer. And it's gait is different too, kind of a loping stride. Holy #$%@, that's a wolf!

Amazed, we watched it as it slowly walked around the area for 2 or 3 more minutes before going back into the trees. As soon as it was out of sight the marmots stopped whistling. Wow, I've never seen that before!

After a long day we made it to Fire Creek. In all honesty it was the the least attractive campsite we saw on the loop but it was serviceable and we had it to ourselves.

The highlight of the next leg was Windy Gap, a stunning alpine section where we got to watch a bear on the slope above us while we took a break. After the Yellowstone cliffs was the never ending downhill to the Carbon river. My knees did ok but my feet took a beating. The trail was so steep it was hard to walk without running. I almost preferred going uphill, almost.

All in all it was a great trip. My nephew was a trooper and never complained. I look forward to when my toddler is old enough to take on his first trip too!

[weathercrazy]

Nice shots!

I guess they have two fires up there now. This is from their FB page:

Two lightning fires ignited overnight (Monday night) are burning in Mount Rainier National Park’s backcountry. The Shadow Lake fire is located near Sunrise and the Scarface West Fire near Grand Park. At this time no structures are threatened.

The Shadow Lake fire is a half-acre in size including several small spot fires. A fire crew is actively suppressing the fire. The Wonderland Trail between White River Campground and Sunrise is closed as a safety precaution. An alternate route is recommended via Glacier Basin and Second Burroughs. Sunrise Camp, White River Campground, and Sunrise remain open.

The Scarface West Fire is approximately one tenth of an ace in size. The park is currently monitoring this fire which was discovered by a Puget Sound Incident Coordination Center initiated fire patrol flight. There are no closures in place in the vicinity of this fire.

Resources assigned to the fires include a helitack crew and a park fire crew.

[drm]

After a long day we made it to Fire Creek. In all honesty it was the the least attractive campsite we saw on the loop but it was serviceable and we had it to ourselves.

Which is why it is more likely to have available spots. Sometimes I've heard that it can be a dry camp as well, having to carry water up from near the bottom (if coming up from the river).

Glad it all worked out for you, and sounds like your earlier worries that the loop would be too crowded didn't come to pass.