High Rock — Monday, Jun. 2, 2025

Bottom Line:

Tried to catch the aurora borealis from this perch southwest of Mt Rainier. The challenge is the light pollution from Seattle - all that light essentially over the same horizon where the aurora should appear. There was also moonlight - enough to cast a shadow on the lookout platform. It got cold and gusty so descended about 1am before the moon set. The sunset was beautiful nevertheless, and I think I captured a tiny bit of color on the horizon. The trail is just in OK condition - lots of down trees and patches of mud and snow that froze over for the descent in the dark. Microspikes suggested if staying late.

Stats:

• Distance: 6-3/4 miles 
• Vertical:  1710 ft
• Duration: ~6 hours (hey, I am nothing if not patient)
• Road/Parking: NF-8440 is in OK condition. Lots of potholes the length of the road, some of which might cause a low riding car to bottom out - just take it slow. Otherwise, long stretches of descent road as well. There is snow on the road ~1 mile from the trailhead. Only one stretch where the snow is quite deep - I think my Outback could have made it, but I parked ~1 mile away. Only a couple trucks ventured up to the trailhead. This added to the vertical and distance. No toilets. From the lookout, we could see strings of headlamps walking down the road after dark - really nice. CAUTION: Evidence of break-in activity with broken glass at the trailhead.
• Weather: Clear with horizon clouds to the west, 40-60Fs, gusty (especially on the ridges). The snow patches on the trail iced over after dark making for a slippery descent (in the dark). After the full-on summer experience of packrafting at Lake Serene the other day, the cold/wind was especially bracing! I had layers and a puffy but left my long underwear in the car for the legs!
• Water: There is no filterable water on the trail; carry water
• Flowers: With the lingering snow, the flowers are just getting going on this trail. Among the early-season flowers seen: pacific trillium, glacier lily, queen's cup and phlox.
• Trail: Extended the hike to the last ~1 mile of road before the trailhead. It has patches of snow, but it mainly clear, making you wish you had tried to push through that deep patch on the corner! The trail is in OK condition with quite a number of down trees (all but one easy to get around) and increasing patches of mud and snow as one ascends. There is also some snow on the rocky exposed face up to the lookout, but easy enough to avoid. The snow frozen over after dark - microspikes and poles suggested. LOTS of folks for sunset, but maybe only a dozen waiting into the wee hours for the aurora. A sleeping bag would be good for the lookout platform if sticking it out, although there are lots of mice that come out after dark. The milky way started to come out at the moon got lower on the horizon. Constant shooting stars and a fireball. There are SO MANY satellites now - hard to get a picture that is not full of them. Spotty cell service to confirm that the aurora was fading before it got dark in Seattle. CAUTION: Take it slow navigating in the dark down the rocky face around the lookout to avoid a fall; cliff area with huge exposure.
• Takeaway: An excellent perch for Mt Rainier sunset - highly recommended before Mt Rainier melts out too much. Maybe a little challenging for the aurora, but on a moonless night with a stronger aurora that extended overhead, it would be ideal. 

You can find higher resolution images at the Instagram link (they are highly compressed for trip report attachment).

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.instagram.com/wta_alpinewanderer/
• https://wildflowersearch.org/search?oldstate=gms%3A4%3Bgmc%3A46.70622,-121.66459%3Bbloom%3AIgnore%3Blocation%3ATatoosh%20Peak,+WA