Burroughs Mountain — Thursday, Jul. 28, 2022

Bottom Line:

The hike to 3rd Burroughs has some extensive snowfields, but is now easily doable without specialized gear; the trail is very quiet beyond the Frozen Lake/Burroughs junction, perhaps due to a Park Service sign indicating dangerous snow conditions beyond that point, and suggesting ice axes; I brought yaks but did not use them; sunscreen and sunglasses are a must for the bright snowfields; still the one hike I would take a tourist on at Rainier if I had to pick only one... amazing in-your-face fields of Tahoma, and Winthrop, Emmons and Fryingpan glaciers... stunning :) Carbon Glacier is piled pretty high to the west and clearly visible from 3rd Burrough; mountain looks very "clean" with still ample snow cover on the glaciers themselves

Stats:

• Distance: 9-3/4 miles
• Duration: 5-1/4 hours (one cannot help but linger at the stunning 3rd Burrough perch... amazing)
• Vertical: 2640 ft (up-and-down mainly between 2nd and 3rd Burrough where one drops into a saddle where the trail down to Glacier Basin has a junction with the trail up to 3rd Burrough; save some gas for the 2nd Burrough ascent on the return)
• Weather: sunny, hazy (high altitude smoke), HOT with temps in the high 80s in the Sunrise parking lot around noon, cooling a bit from the summit of 1st Burroughs onwards and quite comfortable on 3rd Burrough; many casual walker/hikers seeking shade in the few trees along Sourdough Ridge, and many seemed to be turning around; mountain was very quiet with few people beyond the Frozen Lake junction up to 1st Burrough, and an almost empty parking lot on my return (very unusual for this time of year)
• Trail: Sourdough Ridge and 1st Burrough ascent are snow free; there are two snowfields on the ascent to 2nd Burroughs, the second of which has probably the most runout exposure of the entire hike; boot-step path but punched through in the late afternoon a couple of times, and a small morning snow bridge had become dangerous with daytime melting (CAUTION); I brought yaks but did not need them; significant snowfields on the 3rd Burrough ascent but if you follow the well-traveled bootpath you stay roughly on the summer trail (and avoid damage to the fragile tundra off trail); these snowfields are large, but not that steep and there is minimal exposure; for those that like to glissade, there is a nice steep and extended snowfield off the top of 3rd Burrough (you will see the glissade paths on ascent, and briefly worry about whether that is actually the way up - it isn't), although the snow was very soft and wet yesterday so it would be a sloppy slide; overall the snow conditions and route finding were easier than my "1st snow" hike last year; there are MANY new signs asking hikers to stay on the trail, particularly on 1st Burrough, to protect the fragile tundra (and presumably leave the goats alone)
• Flora/Fauna: Lots of goats; a herd of ~30 hung out on the top of 1st Burrough all day (they know to stay away from the hiking trails evidently, so easier to see from the ascent up 2nd Burrough than when actually on 1st Burrough (see video); also a number of goats roaming the snowfields and ridges on the ascent to 3rd Burrough; Berkeley Park and Glacier Basin are very green, but the other slopes are just starting to green up, and with the quick transition from snow cover to heat, wondering if that will happen if the heat persists; great if not profuse flowers, most notably (white, mauve) phlox, (red, magenta - my fav!) paintbrush, lupine, lilies (tiger, corn), (white, pink) heather, (purple, pink) penstemon, parsnip, buttercups, etc. Lots of buds, so flowers are just getting going :) Bear roaming the meadows above Glacier Basin below the 2nd/3rd Burrough saddle; butterflies; did not see marmots as it typical on 1st Burrough, likely due to the heat
• Takeaway: A stunner... cannot think of a casual day-hike at Rainier with more gob smacking views than this one :)

The parking lot had many spaces and was relatively quiet for a Thursday at noon. There is a concession here if you want a cold drink after hiking in the heat but note that they require cash.

Frozen Lake has a nice big snowfield that will calve into the lake for weeks to come and is very pretty. The perch from 3rd Burrough is really worth the hike from 2nd Burrough, but few made this trip yesterday. You hike to a fin that looks down directly on the Winthrop glacier, and across to Emmons, where the split between the two is clearly visible above Steamboat Prow. Willis Wall still has snow, unlike last year at this time where the June heatwave caused a lot of premature melting and the mountain already looked quite bare/dirty. From 3rd Burrough north, you have excellent views of Mt Baker, Glacier Peak and Mt Stewart, and within the park, Skyscraper, Berkeley Park, Grand Park and Fremont Lookout. This is really a bird's-eye perch! :)