Burroughs Mountain, Fremont Lookout — Monday, Aug. 16, 2021

Stats

• Distance: 7.9 miles
• Duration: 4-1/2 hours
• Vertical: 1650 feet
• Weather: sun/cloud, pleasantly cool, haze, light to moderate winds with gusts at the lookout, wildfire plumes to the east (glowing after dark!), no bugs
• Takeaway: I had never done the trail to Fremont Lookout and was surprised by its beauty, crossing some really interesting landscape; good sunset spot with lots of space for people to spread out; that fire lookout seem rickety - surprised it withstands the winters!; magical descent in the moonlight, despite the breezy conditions

Headed up for a shorter evening hike in the Sunrise area.

No trouble parking, as lots of folks were leaving for the day. As usual, Sourdough Ridge was busy, but once we hit the Fremont Lookout/Burroughs junction there were few people about. Flowers are fading fast, with a noticeable change from my Skyscraper Mountain hike just the other day (fewer flowers, and more fall color).

I like the trail up 1st Burroughs. The trail near the top is like an infinity pool with Rainier's glaciers as a backdrop. One can imagine they are approaching Everest basecamp with this view. The trail is moderate, and the view from the top stunning. Looking down the backside of the Burroughs, you can see Berkeley Park, and in this instance, a couple dozen goats. We actually were hoping to see them atop 1st Burroughs, a common evening spot, but were happy with the distant view into Berkeley Park. This side trail was a great diversion while we waited for sunset before heading up to Fremont. I recommend the trail out to 3rd Burroughs, but not really in the dark :)

We quickly descended and headed up the opposite Fremont Lookout trail. This is a rocky trail that runs parallel to the Burroughs for a bit, and then turns north above the descent into lower Berkeley Park. It is more moderate than it might look from Frozen Lake, although I heard a few groans when the trail turned the corner to head north, and my group realized we were only half way there. I really liked this next section of trail with beautiful rock formations and expansive views. The Lookout itself has lots of room for people to spread out, and you can ascend the lookout itself (although the railings are not that high, and with the wind and my backpack I was briefly conscious of the exposure). 

We stayed until the stars came out and headed back mainly by moonlight, but using our headlamps as we reached Sourdough Ridge and trees began to obscure the moonlight. I love hiking in the dark, especially above treeline. It feels like a completely different experience from during the day, with a mix of liberation and a tingle of excitement. Fun! The birds that were circling the talus fields up hill on our ascent were much lower on the descent, dive bombing directly above our heads. The night was still fairly warm, and we listened to crickets the whole way down. The two fires to the East were glowing in the distance, adding to the already surreal moonlit landscape.