Mt. Rainier NP - Indian Henry's - 7/31-8/2/2015

[mitchystan]

Mt. Rainier from the meadows around Mirror Lakes and Pyramid Peak

We took off early Friday afternoon for Mt. Rainier, hoping to score permits for some popular backcountry sites when we got there. Although this is the peak of the season, and we didn't get our first-choice sites, it's hard to go anywhere in Rainier NP and not have an amazing experience. The rangers have always been helpful.

We got permits for Friday night at Pyramid Creek and Saturday night in the cross-country zone east of Mirror Lakes. The route would take us through Indian Henry's Hunting Ground--all very scenic destinations we were looking forward to enjoying.

We started from Longmire around 5pm Friday and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the woods at Pyramid Creek.

The next morning, we needed to refill our water, knowing that several creeks along the trail would be dry. The creek near the campsite that's probably usually the source of choice was dry. We had a lot of trouble with the next source along the trail, Pearl Creek, because it's basically straight off Pyramid Glacier and super silty. We didn't realize that Fishers Hornpipe Creek had plenty of clear, fresh water just a mile further up the trail. We dumped our gritty water at Fishers Hornpipe and refilled.




Squaw Lake and Iron Mountain


Pyramid Peak on the right

We scouted around the cross-country area beyond Mirror Lakes and found an awesome campsite on a giant granite outcropping. The area we chose was big enough for both our tents, flat, and shady. It also had 360-degree views of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and meadows galore. We could hear the glaciers rumbling and see dust from rock slides up on the mountain. I probably couldn't have imagined a better campsite.


Mt. Rainier behind Pyramid Peak, from our campsite


Mt. Adams, from our campsite

We noticed bear tracks around the tarns in one of the meadows, and a deer passed through our campsite while we were eating dinner. There were also lots of birds, especially humming birds that liked to buzz through every now and then.


Lots of dry tarns in the area. The campsite happened to be near the source of Fishers Hornpipe Creek, so we refilled from that.

The next morning, we packed up and headed back to the car. The return trip was much easier. Total climbing on Friday and Saturday was 3,777 feet. The climbing on Sunday's return trip was only 925 feet, with lighter packs thanks to all the feasting we'd done. The route one-way between Longmire and our Saturday night campsite was 9 miles.

There was some minor drama at Longmire. A giant RV was stopped in the middle of the road, an ambulance drove off with lights flashing, and some rangers had detained the RV owner. Everyone looked pretty upset. I have no idea what happened, I'm just glad none of us were involved. That's one thing about Rainier I've experienced a few times. Returning to your car often means walking out of the backcountry into "tourist central". I have nothing against throngs of tourists (I happen to frequently participate in them!), but it's a jarring contrast at the end of a wilderness experience.

This was one of our most scenic backcountry experiences, and certainly one of the most fun. The mileages and climbing were just challenging enough, without needing to rush at any time. I can't wait to get back to Mt. Rainier again soon, especially with these folks!

[-Q-]

Awesome trip report.
Hornpipe meadows above mirror lakes is one of my most favorite places on rainier.

[drm]

I notice the big "beach" around the lake in your photo. I saw these all around Indian Heaven last week too. Shallow lakes are at risk for drying up this year and deeper ones have big beaches around them.

Still, never been to Indian Henry's and something like your route is on my list. Hadn't considered an XC camping zone though. Nice since there is no designated sites up there.

[mitchystan]

Yeah the beaches made it easy to see animal tracks. It was pretty interesting to walk around the lakes and see a record of all the animals that had come by for a drink. In addition to bear, there were hoof marks and at least one track we weren't sure about.

The cross-country site was nice. There are a lot more rules to follow, and of course no bear hangs or toilets. But we would be camping without those amenities anywhere else, anyway. As long as the site isn't hard to reach, it seems like a great way to camp near popular areas that are full.

The rangers have a map of the park partitioned into cross-country zones, and each zone has a limited number of permits that can be issued each night for backcountry camping. I didn't know about it, but someone in our party had heard about it from someone else. It seems you have to specifically ask the rangers, and they need to know you are experienced enough to be safe and not damage the park.

We had originally wanted to try and get a site near Indian Bar, but that site was full, as was the cross-country Cowlitz Park zone. Another zone nearby was open, but it looked like a steep access on our topo map, so we declined that option and went with this area. Seems like it might be possible to get in over your head if you don't know what you're doing, but the rangers seemed knowledgeable and cautious enough to try and prevent that from happening. We had a great experience.

[OneMoreMile]

Great report and fantastic pictures!