High Rock

We'd attempted to find the High Rock trailhead once before, relying on Garmin & map coordinates to get us there. After three separate tries - each taking us on an impassable road - we bailed. This time, using the Day Hike book directions, we easily found it (the road FR-84 & FR-8440) is in FINE shape.

The day was spectacularly beautiful. NO clouds, and a mild haze (very light for this time of year), and temperature in the low 80's made for a great hike.

We encountered few on the trail (five couples and one family - complete with three loud, out-of-control young teens - heard throughout the hike by all; parents - WHY?! - - exuberant teens are fine, but the loud silliness you let them impose on the mountain was ridiculous). Three of the couples had dogs with them - this would be an excellent hike for the canines. We'll likely bring ours next time.

The hike stays almost exclusively in the forest, except for brief ridge-top clearings about 2/3 of the way up and for the final 200 yards or so. The hike is fairly strenuous - it was a good workout to reach the top; 1.6 miles of nearly constant climbing. The grade is steady and the trail is nearly all hard-packed dirt. Tree roots are plentiful, but rarely exposed more than 2 or 3 inches. We hiked Pinnacle Saddle several weeks ago, and this was a steeper grade, but a MUCH smoother trail.

The final 200 yards is up a granite prominence - one of the couples did not climb the final grade, fearful their footing would give way. There clearly has been a cable installed here to aid hikers to the lookout cabin, but only a few standards remain. Nonetheless, the easiest path up the fairly steep rocky face is along the path of these standards. Walking/hiking sticks help, and lug-soled boots are strongly encouraged.

The granite prominence is impressive. And the drop-off is as well (600' + straight down). There are several deep cracks in the prominence that make for dramatic views. The lookout tower was open, and is in pretty good shape. From it you have tremendous 360 degree views of Rainier, the Tatoosh and Tatoosh Wilderness all the way down to St. Helens & Adams. Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor were not visible today, the haze seemingly thickening significantly after Adams and St. Helens.

Bugs were nearly unbearable at the top. Deerflies, yellow jackets, and several hornets, and masses of other flying insects formed a cloud over the highest part of High Rock - while we were not bitten (thanks DEET), we could only manage to sit on the upper rock for a few moments before stepping down into the relatively bug-free sanctuary of the lookout tower (photos of this perch in several earlier posts by early summer hikers).

The scramble down the rock is, as you'd expect, more unsettling than the trip up. Sure, careful footing is required - although I may well be exaggerating the severity of the incline. I know my wife and I were a bit surprised by how unsettled it made us feel - we'd not expected this from our review of earlier posts.

The rest of the trip down was a breeze. We stopped several times to pick the ripe and plentiful Huckleberries, and still made it down in 40 minutes. Total time for the hike (including 25 minutes at the top): 2 hours and 10 minutes.

We put this hike in our top 5 of the Rainier area hikes. We found the views to be awe-inspiring, but NOT superior to the views of similar topography/geography you get from the Pinnacle Saddle. Only that hike (Pinnacle Saddle), Upper Skyline, and Burroughs Mountains are superior in our opinion.