Bottom Line:
Hike up to Pinnacle Saddle on the maintained trail, and then a scramble up the shoulder of Pinnacle Peak to a perch we called "The Keyhole" (the spot for the first picture). The scramble was challenging with a lot of loose rock and holds that would break under pressure. Otherwise, the trail was really mellow, and was very quiet for sunset with just a handful of other folks coming down (can be exceedingly busy during the day). NOTE: Dogs are not permitted on this trail.
Stats:
- Distance: ~ 3-1/2 miles with scramble
- Vertical: 1300 ft
- Duration: 2-1/2 hours
- Road/Parking: Parking at the Reflection Lakes Trailhead on Stevens Canyon Rd can be a challenge, but the daytime crowds had thinned out for our sunset hike, so no issues. The lot was pretty much empty on our return. Toilets available with a walk. SR 123 construction is paused on weekends, so no delays, but looks like an extended closure coming in early September to complete the repaving project. Stevens Canyon gate was not staffed in the evening, but hike is inside the Mt Rainier NP fee area (NOTE: Reservations not required in 2025 due to construction).
- Weather: Sunny, warm (70-80Fs) with a light breeze; some smoke haze from the Olympic NP fire. Bugs were a nuisance once the sun went down - a hoody to cover up worked well! A few folks heading up for some ridge hiking under a nearly full moon - sounds just about perfect to me!
- Water: There was water available on the trail for filtering, although with the high traffic it might be best to carry water. There is some lingering snow in the shady north-facing gullies below the ridgeline.
- Flowers: I did not expect the flowers to be so lovely on this trail - lots of dense meadows, with just some flowers past peak, all the way up to the saddle. The heather is especially thick and healthy despite our dry summer.
- Trail: The short trail up to the saddle is exceedingly well-maintained and short - 1.3 miles each way with 1K ft vertical. The trail starts in the woods with areas of flowery meadows, and eventually ascends via a set of switchbacks on a talus slope below the shoulder of Pinnacle Peak. The views of the southside of Mt Rainier, right above Paradise, are outstanding. Lots of curious marmots and pika that seemed used to people (!) The (north) view from the saddle itself is more limited (the saddle being essentially a cut in the ridgeline) so we took the unmaintained trail east, looking for a way to scramble up Pinnacle Peak. We scrambled to a cut in the ridgeline we called "The Keyhole" - L3 with quite a bit of butt action on the descent. There was very little room at our chosen perch - just enough for two of us and our backpacks - and I was not convinced it was not going to crumble into the abyss on the other side! (we thought we were scrambling up to a flat top, but it was more like a knife-edge ridge). Great views of Mt Adams and Mt St Helens to the south as well. We scrambled down in the fading twilight, and then used our headlamps to get back to the trailhead, as the moon did not rise until we were almost down. NOTE: Trail is inside Mt Rainier NP so dogs are not permitted. Also, you can see "The Keyhole" from the switchbacks on the ascent - it is an obvious small gap in the rocky headwall.
- Takeaway: The sunset perch here has a (somewhat) southeast view of the mountain, so perhaps not as optimal as say nearby High Rock. Heading west at the saddle, there is a ridge one can climb on a boot path that might have offered better west views. Will try as a sunrise spot, the added bonus of that being easy parking at the trailhead, and a higher likelihood of calm waters on Reflection Lake. The original plan was to hike to the saddle and do a ridge walk out to Foss Peak on the unmaintained trail, but we ran out of time. Next time, now that we have an idea about the roughness of the unmaintained trail ;)
The attached YouTube short (pivot phone) captures this hike, as well as part of another scramble the following morning also in the Tatoosh Range that will go unnamed here.
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