Took my buddy Jeff to Summerland and Panhandle Gap today, his first hike at Mt Rainier and it was a good one. We were at the trailhead a little before 8:00 and on the trail making good time to Summerland. After hanging around there for 15-20 minutes we started up the trail to Panhandle Gap. The trail is in good shape and easy to follow. Nearing the Gap there are 3 snow patches to cross. The first one was in the sun and melting a bit, the latter two were still shaded and frozen but I had no problems with just boots and trekking poles.

The weather at the Gap and for the whole hike was perfect, sunshine, a slight breeze and NO BUGS! After hanging around the Gap for a while we went back down to Summerland to eat lunch and dodge the hordes of hikers who were making a later start than us. We estimated we passed 100 people after lunch on our way back to the trailhead. Cars were parked down both sides of the road from the parking area when we got back to my truck around 2:00. A great day on the trail and a great first hike at Rainier for my friend Jeff.

See you on the trail.

SR

I wanted to show my husband some of my Top 10 Favorite hikes. After Snowgrass-Goat Ridge paid off in spades last week, I was worried Summerland-Panhandle Gap would pale in comparison. Not to fear; it was as epically spectacular as I remembered. A first for me starting from the White River side, and I think a very enjoyable way to do the hike.

The trail to Summerland is in fantastic condition, no issues. Past Summerland partway into the talus field, there is snow over the trail. The first bit is kind of hinky as there are melt-out holes and the sound of water rushing beneath to the waterfall. Keeps you alert, that’s for sure. We did great with snow traction thingies on our boots, and others were ok with trekking poles. Even in snowy sections the trail is well defined by cairns and boot-tracks.
At least 95% of the trail is melted out except the last climb to the Gap. We stopped at the base of Panhandle Gap, and I dipped my toes in the lake there, just melting out. The wind coming off the snowfields was constant and gusting at about 20 mph and COLD – bring a jacket even on a nice day. We hiked 11.5 miles total, about 2,650’ gain, an incredible day!!!

The flowers are still great – lilies mostly gone but lupine, paintbrush, lousewort (white and pink), heather, arnica, aster, pasque, yarrow, false hellebore, and pussy toes at peak. We saw marmots, pika, lots of birds, chipmunks & squirrels. Though not deserted by any means on this sunny Monday, we had miles of this trail to ourselves. Pics of flowers, spectacular mountain views, and trail/snow condition at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

My sister and I decided to make our first hike to Panhandle Gap today, and it turned out to be a glorious day for it. Arrived at the Fryingpan Creek trailhead at 8AM and the small parking lot was already full, but a few spots were still available on the side of the road. It was chilly to start (layers recommended) as the first couple of easy miles were in deep forest that the sun hadn't reached yet. We warmed up once we started to climb and when we came out into the avalanche chutes where there was more sunshine. The trail is in great shape all the way up to Summerland, where there were wildflowers in abundance and a crystal clear view of Mt. Rainier. We continuing on up through the rock gardens towards Panhandle Gap, and encountered a few snowfields to cross, but navigation was not too difficult. Just take it slow and easy on the last steep traverse to the gap. Outstanding view from the gap and our lunch rock. It was pretty breezy up there, so light jackets came in handy to keep the chill off. The view out to Mt Adams was very clear, but Mt. Hood was just a ghost of a mountain in the distant haze. On the way down, we heard a report of mountain goats, so we took the short side trail just before the gap and saw a herd of more than 30 goats sunning themselves on a snowfield. The hike down was a breeze and we were back at the car by 3PM. I would definitely put this hike in my top five.

Fires in Idaho canceled my big backpacking trip of the year. An overnight trip was canceled when my car died in the Denny Creek trailhead parking lot. Still time for one day hike this weekend. Gary suggested Banshee Peak. I had done it twice. The first time was in 2009 and then again in 2010. Much to my surprise, John had done it once. It is a great trip and reports of peaking wildflowers at Summerland convinced me. After several 90 degree days the morning was cloudy and cool. We had light misty rain much of the way from Auburn to Greenwater. Nearing Mt. Rainier National Park the clouds grew lighter. We found half the small Fryingpan Creek parking lot empty when we arrived at 7:40 am. Ten minutes later we were on the trail. Six weeks earlier we hiked the first part of this trail on our way to Goat Island Mountain. There is a lot less snow now.

We set a good pace to warm up then slowed down a bit. We hoped that the sky might be clearing by the time we left the forest. We passed one group of around the mountain backpackers and two day hikers. That was it until Summerland. At 3.4 miles we reached the bridge over Fryingpan Creek. There was a lot of monkeyflower blooming by the creek. We saw a lot of both the yellow and pink variety along the route. The flower show began soon after the creek crossing. Blue sky also occurred. It was getting warm at 9:15 am. Many flowers in bloom and a few past their peak. Columbine, lupine, paintbrush, monkeyflower, and asters were in abundance. Our pace slowed down much more.

Just where the switchbacks up to Summerland start we saw a few avalanche lilies. Most are already finished. There were a few more patches on the switchbacks but not many. The hillside up and down the slope was ablaze. Red, white, yellow, and blue in all directions. We were right about the peak for most of the wildflowers. That alone would have made the trip very worthwhile. We still had much more to see.

While the sky was getting clearer Rainier was still lost in white. We could see Little Tahoma. Looking back to the slopes of Goat Island Mountain, we saw a sea of blue lupine. It was clearly visible from a mile away. We crested the hill and entered the main Summerland meadows. The smell was overpowering. The sweet smell of wildflowers. Lupine, paintbrush, and so much more. A field of solid yellow was all cinquefoil. We stopped to apply a lot of sunscreen. We would not see any shade for another 5 1/2 hours. Thanks to our early start it was only 10:00 am when we had covered 4.4 miles to Summerland. We dropped down, crossed the creek, and began to climb once again.

Gary was last in line and alerted us. A big rock next to the trail had an inquisitive marmot looking over to us. I guess he had been sunning himself. He agreed to hold the pose until we all had taken enough photos. The trail was snow free most of the way up to the log bridge. Just a few places where snow lay across the trail. The recent hot weather must have really cleared the trail over the last week. Ahead of us we saw a large group just across the bridge. As we neared we saw why. A small creek was lined with flowers. Bright colors on the rocky terrain. Heading up the moraine we saw a number of small flowers. Nothing grows far above the ground. After near solitude earlier we now saw a number of folks. Most had large backpacking packs. One tarn was melted out and the other one mostly still snow covered.

There is more dirt trail than I was expecting. The snow was soft enough to allow good traction. I had steep hard snow on my August trip in 2010 so we chose to bring ice axes. They never left our packs. The last part to the gap was comparatively wide and smooth. No problem at all. That may change as snow melts or if it was icy but we had no trouble. That was the last snow we crossed on the way to Banshee Peak. We took the boot path as it rounded the hill to the left and dropped down heading due east. A few big patches of orange paintbrush along here. The slog over to easy enough. The hard part is that it is six miles to Panhandle Gap. Add another 1 1/2 miles to get to Banshee. A long 12 mile hike to the gap becomes 15 miles to Banshee round trip.

Lupine grew in some big patches. A veritable sea of blue.We saw some more shaggy headed western anemone too. One surprise was a patch of gentian. The snow has probably only been gone for weeks and a fall flower is in bloom. Heading up we saw four hikers coming down. They were the only others we saw beyond Panhandle Gap. We reached the ridge top to see Mt. Rainier was clearing up behind us. It was well past noon and I stopped for a food and water break. We reached the summit at 1:00 pm. All the photography added a lot of time to our hike. To the south Mt. Adams was in haze and low clouds covered the valleys. A hazy Mt. St. Helens was visible too. Rainier had a cloud cap. It was clear in most other directions. There was a steady cool breeze to offset the heat. It was almost perfect. We stayed for nearly 1 1/2 hours. At around 2:30 we headed down.

Easy walking down to the flats and a short climb back to Panhandle Gap. Not many folks at the gap. I managed to get in a couple glissades on the way down. There was a steady stream of folks heading down but less than on my other visits. We stopped to treat water at Summerland. The lighting was different and we took time for more photos. Once across Fryingpan Creek and back into forest we sped up. We were back at the car by 5:30 pm. This was my third visit to Banshee in the past four years. Each one was fantastic. Great flowers,Great views, not very crowded, and great weather. A good way to end a really lousy week.

I have posted 60 annotated photos on my website located at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips - 2012" on the left margin.