Crystal Lakes

Because of the late snow, it has been difficult to find snow-free hikes even in early August. The only snow-free, full-day hikes at Mount Rainier today were Rampart Ridge and Crystal Lakes. By the time we started our hike, it was warm on the trail, ameliorated by the initial two miles of shade. There was no snow, except for one very small patch, on the trail. Anemones, lupines, Sitka valerian, phlox, and two colors of paintbrush were blooming in the meadow between the two lakes and there were several hummingbirds. At the upper lake, we ran into several feet of very wet trail as we circled around the left (north) side of the lake to find a lunch spot. There were no mosquitoes or other biting insects on this hike. It looked like there was not much snow above the lakes on the alternate trail, but we didn't see anyone coming from that way so we couldn't ask. We saw very few people at the lake.