Trip Reports

Labor weekend snow at Sunrise !

Sunday morning we hiked towards Frozen Lake, soon experiencing increasing winds with near horizontal snowfall & mini ice pellets in exposed spots (felt like 20-25 gusts). Golly !!

Many of those visitors deciding on a morning hike were in jeans and tennis shoes, and opted to take the loop trail back to the Visitors Centre to warm up at their welcoming fireplace. We dug out our warmer gloves and hats and hiked up to Second Burroughs; with two inches of snow accumulation on the trail and little visibility we turned around at this point.

A man in a T shirt waved cheerfully to us as he scurried back to the parking lot; no hat, gloves or socks; his cotton shorts were stuck to his legs and his head plastered with snow.

By mid afternoon the flowers had shaken themselves off as temps increased and the clouds lifted; we ended this enjoyable day with steaming hot chocolate at Sunrise cafe before heading down to the White River Campground.

Map… Mount Rainier East GT 270

the day started out cloudy but cleared up beautifully by the time we got to the mountain around 11:30. Skies where totally clear and it was hot out. I had the whole family me my wife and our two girls....the youngest on my back. we hiked to first burroughs mountain and came back another route through a valley headed back towards sunrise. there was a 75ft long snow patch blocking the path on a steep slope. I probably shouldn't have crossed it with my family but we did. I had one on my back and held my oldest, 4, in my right arm while i walked across the steps in the steep bank. I had to drop them off on the other side and get my wife half way since she was freaking out...it was probably a little dangerous and i don't think i will make that choice again, my advice is avoid it, if you slip you are going all the way down. TONS OF mosquitoes! don't stop walking and bring sunscreen

Hiked to Frozen Lake, up the Burroughs Mountain Trail to the middle Burroughs, and then on to the farthest Burroughs and glacier views. Blooming flowers are rampant in the meadows along the road just before Sunrise, and colors line the shoulder of the road from below Sunrise Point all the way to Sunrise Lodge. The most surprising flower show was atop Burroughs - the middle peak had some blooms but the farthest summit showed what a tundra in bloom can look like. I bypassed the Sunrise Rim Trail that led up the nearest Burroughs Mtn because of posted warnings of deep snow on a steep incline; previous hikers say it's safe enough if you have poles or ice axe but I carried neither. There was one small snow patch on the way up the middle Burroughs en route to the stone shelter, and there were a few minor patches halfway up the farthest Burroughs with one major and steep patch near the summit of the third Burroughs. The major snow patch is not dangerous, just tedious to ascend - but oh so sweet to glissade down. Left Sunrise at 7:20 AM and saw no one until I was on my way back down. As left the summit of the third Burroughs, five hikers hurried up to claim my spot. Then except for a lone hiker at the stone shelter I saw no one else until I was back at Frozen Lake where there was trail traffic congestion. I have never seen so many bus-loads and van-loads of hikers on Sunrise trails on a weekday. With the flower showings and the clear sunny weather the congested rush to Sunrise was well understood.

In two long, gentle traverses the trail from Burroughs #2 descends across treeless, delicate volcanic terrain to the saddel that joins B#2 and B#3, and in the process loses 500'of elevation. Near the saddel is a junction with the trail the descends into Glacier Basin, however the NPS sign reads Burroughs Mountain Trail and points down to Glacier Basin. This could be confusing in poor visibility. Take the right fork that winds upward toward B#3. This trail does not appear on the Green Trails map #270. This is beautiful but fragile landscape so stay on the trail and resist the urge to wander around; it will be strong. Near the summit ridge the trail seems to disappear in the jumble of rocks. Head north along the ridge crest and in 100 yards the trail to the rounded summit (elev. 7428')reappears.

My wife (Hikes With Small Steps)and I made an early departure from the Sunrise parking lot on a cloudless mid-week day, and had the privlage to be on B#3 all by ourselves. Only the sounds of rock falls from mountain, the cool wind rustling our clothes, some small birds and an occasional airplane came to us. How lucky we were to be there in perfect conditions. We soak it up, just the two of us, so glad not to be forced to listen to the mindless chatter that people often bring to places like this. When the breeze quits, the quiet holds our attention. There's still a sizeable patch of snow just below the summit on the east side; interesting that it is still here in mid-September



There's 360 degrees of nature's beauty before us. It's late in the season and the stunning Winthrop Glacier below shows us fine examples of everthing glaciers do. The steep wall of the Interglacier is right before us and beyond Streamboat Prow and the west side of the Emmons Glacier. To the west great views of the Russell Glacier and below is Mystic lake and the Wonderland trail. To the east are Burroughs Mtn #2 and #1 and beyond Frozen lake and way down, the White River.

Opportunities exist to follow the easy ridge from B#3 south for views down into Glacier Basin

Smoke from a forest fire in eastern WA gradually increased, masking our views in a yellow veil got us moving down in the afternoon -- reluctant as we were to leave this magnificent place. Starting down we took in the thin line of the trail as it winds gently into the distance through a series of smooth benches. The gray-brown volcanic soil was dotted with brilliant red patches of stunted Sorrel, individual clumps 4-6 inches in diameter and close to the ground. It looked like the ground had a case of chicken pox.

The distance to B#2 and beyond back to Sunrise appeared farther than it really was, perhaps because there are no trees to use as a reference. Almost like looking across the Great Plains.

This is a unique place and we are grateful for the opportunity to have experienced it!

Trail Notes:

Time from Sunrise to B#3: 2 1/2 hours

Distance from Sunrise to B#3: approx. 4.5 miles

Elevation gain from Sunrise to B#3: 2400'

Elevation gain from B#3 to Sunrise : approx. 700'

We did a nice afternoon hike up to Third Burroughs Mountain. The trail is now almost completely snow free. Two small spots of snow (one of which will probably be gone within a few days) on Second Burroughs. The larger snow field on Third Burroughs is melting rapidly and a (slightly muddy) trail now leads through it. We returned via Emmons Overlook and the spot of snow mentioned in a previous trip report is now easily crossed.

We spotted a large group of Mountain Goats far out on First Burroughs, and Second Burroughs is alive with lots of chipmunks! Wildflowers seem at their peak in the valley between Emmons Overlook, past Shadow Lake and back up to Sunrise. We had no problems with bugs today :)

Wow, what a stunning hike! As you hike, you face the Mountain and it gets bigger and more beautiful with every step of the way! We hiked up the trail via Sourdough Ridge and Frozen Lake at a moderate pace and reached the first Burrough after about 1 hour and the second 45 minutes later. A pretty clear trail to the third Burrough exists, though it is not marked in the maps and isn't written about in most books. Just follow the trail as it continues past the second Burrough and take a right as you dip down in the little valley. But be warned, its a good hour beyond the second burrough, or, as we estimated, 1-1.5 additional miles each way. You will be rewarded by the fine vistas at the end, gazing at a mountain almost close enough to touch.

Most of the snow fields have melted. To get to the first burroughs the trail is totally dry, to get to the second there are two small and easily traversible fields, 15 feet or so wide, and not near any dangerous crevasses. To get to the thrid burrough you will have to cross a larger snow field, but again it is not dangerous or near any place you could fall off. Go slow and use good boots and a hiking stick, and you should be fine.

As you come back, the trail forks to the right just as you reach the first burrough. You can, at this point, follow the right hand fork along Sunrise Rim and through Sunrise walk-in campground. But, a small and trecherous snowfield remains along a sheer rocky field. I didn't think this was a very safe crossing and would not advise people to take it. If you do, you will enjoy alpine meadows and also be followed by mosquitos and flies. Otherwise, the rest of the trail has a good breeze blowing most of the time, which keeps bug bites from being an issue.

Perfect day for a family hike. Made it to First Burroughs - wanted to get to Second Burroughs but I had already pushed my kids (ages 7, 5, and 3) to their limit. Bugs were worse in the parking lot than on the trail.

No snow on the trail, saw some patches if we had pushed on. Did see a hoary marmot, though! Had a few scares the last 7/10 of a mile before First B. - loose rock caused the kids to slip. Other than that, a great trip.

Took a whole pack of Bazooka gum to get my 3-year-old back to Sunrise - thank the Lord for bubble gum.

Beautiful day at Mount Rainier. The trail to Burroughs 1 was good and the two snow patches on the trail to Burroughs 2 were not a problem for anyone with cleated soles. There were some flies but I didn't think they were particularly bad. Saw and heard two large avalanches near Winthrop Glacier around noon. Returned via the southern loop which was also in good shape save one snow patch that was a little tricky and required careful footing.

We had a beautiful day at Sunrise. The flowers are coming on strong, although not quite peak. The views were amazing, all the way to Mt. Baker. Nice way to spend a midweek day.

Enjoy!

Trail to frozen lake is clear and clear from the lake to near top of 2nd burroughs. Snow patch at that point and we did not go on but everyone else did and did not seem to be having any problem getting to 2nd Burroughs. Snow patch on side of 1st is gone. Talked to several people who had gone up to 3rd but as it was fogged in we elected to go down. Alpine wildflowers in this area are stupendous. Highly recommened to any hobbyist botanists. Lots of goat hair and sleeping hollowson top of 1st. Obviously lots of current visitation by goats on 1st.

Got up to Sunrise around 8:45AM and there were about 4 cars in the lot. Trail was great. We went up to 1st and 2nd Burroughs and then came down to do the rest of the loop. At the top of 1st Burroughs there were some serious mosquitoes, but didnt see any the rest of the trip. There was some weather that came and went near the top of Rainier but opened up for some great pictures. The snow fields going up to 2nd Burroughs were not a problem at all and will be gone from the trail in the next couple of weeks anyway. We got back to Sunrise at about 12:15 and the lot was packed. If you are looking for some solitude up here I would recommend starting early.

The heat is melting the snow fast! The small patches on the way to 1 and 2 will probably be gone by the time you read this. Lot's of snow on the way to 3, didn't quite make it. I think it's safe to say you can ignore the giant orange sign that says ""ice axe recommended"" at the junction with sourdough ridge.

Unexpectedly, made it all the way to 3rd Burroughs. After descending from 2nd and ascending a bit toward 3rd, we hit a lot of snow, but it was fairly simple to cross the bottom of the snowfields, where it wasn't steep, and find the trail again to the left of the uppermost snowfields. In fact, crossing the snow patches on the way to 1st was much scarier. 5-6 mountain goats between 2nd & 3rd, and, of course, stunning glacier views. And a nice slide through the snow on the way down! Perfect weather...but I have a number of mosquito bites.

The best way to enjoy a sunny 4th of July is to head to The Mountain.

I had no destination in mind until I got to Sunrise, where I decided to head up to Burroughs mountain. Right off the bat, as I headed west along the Sourdough Mountains ridge, I had to cross some snow patches. However, in the hot weather the snow was nice and soft (not icy at all), and enough people had been along this way for the creation of a well tamped down path.

Pretty soon however, the way was snow free, and it was easy going to Frozen Lake, which lived up to its name by sporting some floating ice. The whole area was full of flowers (with phlox being predominant).

From Frozen Lake, I continued on to first Burroughs. Some steep patchy snow slopes had to be crossed; again the conditions were not icy and a well trodden path existed. The views were quite spectacular: Mount Baker, Glacier Peak and Mount Stuart were all visible to the north. The broad summit of Burroughs was dotted with flowers.

From Burroughs 1, it was down a bit and then up to Burroughs 2. More expansive views, including stunning views of Mount Rainier's glaciers.

Stats:

* Round trip: 7mi

* Elevation gain (cumulative): 1,100ft, High Point: 7,400ft

* Time: 2hrs 15min.

We grabbed a gorgeous day while we could to make my trip up Burroughs for this year, and my other half's first visit. We did the basic loop past Shadow Lake and Emmons Overlook up to Second Burroughs, then back to Sunrise via Frozen Lake and Sourdough Ridge.

All the trails are as expected for the time of year - dry, dusty, busy at the weekends, and pleasantly free of all bugs. Despite the constant stream of people, the marmots and pikas obligingly put themselves on display for us. As did the mountain goats. After two years without seeing any until less than two weeks ago, they were out in force - a herd of over 25 visible from Sourdough Ridge on the slopes to the northwest.

Not a lot to say about Burroughs beyond the obvious and much-stated - the views are stunning, the hike a joy in golden weather. The colours are really starting to hit the meadows, the perfect mix of seeded flowerheads and dying reds. I'm not convinced Rainier NP ever looks better, even at the height of flower season.

I know this report was recently given, but I have my own take on it after doing the 1st and 2nd Burroughs for the 3rd time now on Sunday during the labor day weekend. Surprisingly, it wasn't crowded, but many tourist don't make it up that far, only the real hikers do.

I hoped I'd see the goats on the plateau on the first Burrough as I had on previous trips and once they had babies too. I heard there was a herd of 25 goats wondering around from hikers on their way down, but they wondered out of sight, but I did see 2 huge ones laying on their sides next to each other, maybe sunning themselves, so that's always an unexpected treat.

It was about 85 that day, but the breeze as you hiked upwards took the edge right off of that making it a perfect day. That snow patch that lingers through August on the side of the 1st Burroughs was gone. The trail was dry and dusty.

It was great to get to sit on that stone bench on the top of the 2 Burroughs to enjoy a drink and snack and chat with other hikers. The trail is rated a 4 in difficulty on a scale of 1-5 in my hiking book, but I'd say it was a 3. Maybe it's because you get some long flatter expanses to hike and catch your breath along the way which doesn't happen on other WA trails. Because there is no shrubbery going uphill if you go to the right, I think some people are daunted by the sight of the trail going uphill and how long and steep it seems, but it's not that steep.

If you do a loop, the trail going downhill has pleasant aromas of pine trees and a nice view of a small green lake against the black mountain w/a large crater in it. It's makes a great picture.

Had a great hike to 1st, 2nd, and unnamed (3rd?) Burroughs with many others on this fine Saturday. Started around 11am at about 75 degrees. Not much bugs and a nice calm breeze on exposed areas. Only 1 snow patch left on the climb to 3rd burrows. Views were great from the last ledge. We were wondering why the part service does not name the last leg of the trail. It seems that they are not officially recognizing its existance. It was definately the best day hike I have done around Rainier.

Ethan Schrank & I decided to beat the Yakima heat (103) with a hike to 3rd Burroughs where it wasn't supposed to break 80. Just as we planned, the day was mostly cloudy & warm (not hot!). There was no snow on the Sunrise rim trail to 1st Burroughs & only one small very passable patch on the way to 2nd Burroughs. A couple of longer patches on the way to 3rd Burroughs, but the trail is clear & the snow is soft. Lots of flowers at Chinook Pass, Sunrise, & up to 2nd Burroughs, but no too many on 3rd Burroughs. The views from 3rd Burroughs were awesome, as usual. We returned via the trail to Frozen Lake. The snowfields here are still quite large, but once again the trail is clear & the snow soft. Most folks were crossing easily without ice axes. There were a few pesky flies & mosquitos, but not enough to bring out the repellant.

What a day for a vacation day and hike. SIE, SIE-Mom and I decided the last reports of melting snow for Burroughs (give it a week, half a week ago) meant it was doable for three determined women.

Knowing the south side would be freer of snow than the north, and having gone to Frozen Lake when we did Mt. Fremont LO two weeks ago, we headed up the Sunrise Rim trail. Just past the old drive in campground we had to stop to watch two marmots ""wrastling."" Was it mom and kid, or two males? Regardless, the smaller one evaded a head lock and knocked the larger one on its back. Quite entertaining.

The only remaining snow on First is easily passable on the outside of the tread, and is perhaps 10-12 feet in length.

The flowers were gorgeous and I was glad to have brought the 35mm as as the digicam. Two easy snow patches were crossed on the way to Second where we lunched watching 9 climbers descend the mountain. It looks like a recent ice/snow fall wiped out part of the trail and they had two crevasses to get across.

We had some mosquitoes, flies and bees, but nothing too bad this day.

The clouds started bunching up about 12:30 when we left, so we hit it just right. Temperatures were fine, not too hot or cold, and there weren't many folks on the trail this Wednesday.

Arrived at Sunrise around noon. It wasn't very crowded and there was plenty of parking space. We headed out on the Burroughs Mountain trail at 12:20 pm. The trail was very good and well-signed up to Frozen Lake. There were steep snow fields on the north side. We did fine with hard-soled hiking boots and hiking poles. I wouldn't want to do the snow fields (snow across the trail in several different areas)in soft-soled shoes or without poles. The snow fields were steep, the snow was soft and slippery, a sliding fall would have sent you quite a ways and into rocks. The tundra plants were in flower and were beautiful! We saw alpine lupine, magenta paintbrush, and more. The weather was quite changeable, ranging from quite cold and windy out on Second Burroughs, to quite warm close to Sunrise. The cloud watching was spectacular, as though watching time-lapse photography films. The hike took us exactly 4 hours, just like the guide book predicts. We came back to find that we had accidentally left the car unlocked. Nothing was harmed or showed in any way that anyone had taken advantage of that situation.

The trails up both sides of First Burroughs still have steep snowfields, although the south side snowfield should be gone in another week. There are 4 large, steep snowfields to cross on the north side. A path is well-booted but one slip and you hit the rocks 100 yards below at top speed. We felt happy to have trekking poles and to not meet any hikers heading the other direction.

We saw a hen Ptarmigan with chicks on top of First Burroughs and a Goshawk soaring over Glacier Basin. Another great day at ""The Mountain.""

Left the relatively empty parking lot at 1030 and headed up toward Burroughs 1 and 2. So nice to be back here again on the Sunrise side! A fair amount of snow on the trail especially going up towards #1 though trekking poles worked great. Saw a nice fat marmot in the rocks. Progressing along toward Burroughs #2 saw a single mountain goat walking below on the snowfield. Had lunch on top of #2 and checked out all the climbers making their way up the flanks of Rainier through binocluars, and also boarders crusing down Burroughs #3. Returned via the Sunrise Rim trail. Tundra wildflowers are spectacular between #1 and #2. Others are barely out of the snow and just beginning to show. The parking lot was full to overflowing at 230 when we returned. TONS of people.

A stunning day at Rainier National Park, much better than the coast where the clouds failed to clear. Burroughs is entirely snow-free, and while the flowers in the park are now on the wane, the alpines right up top are still trying hard. With the lack of recent rain, the whole trail is on the dusty side (we did the loop, via Sunrise Camp on the way up and Frozen Lake back in).

The views were as fantastic as ever, and the day was better still for the lack of bugs, with enough welcome cool breeze to keep them all away.

I hiked up to Burroughs Mtn #3 from Sunrise in Mt Rainier National Park on Monday. I went up via Sourdough mtn trail and Frozen lake, some nice views from the trail of Huckleberry basin. Then it was up Burroughs #1, some interesting tundra habitat, and then down a bit and up to Burroughs #2, the end of the line for tourists doing the loop from Sunrise. Up to this point it felt more like a walk than a hike.

The views were pretty good from #2, and I wanted to get closer to the mountain and look down on some glaciers. There is a considerable drop to a saddle, then an 800 ft climb to the top of Burroughs #3. Good views of Berkely park, Skyscraper Mtn, Vernal park, Winthrop glacier, Emmons glacier, Goat Island mtn, and of course Rainier, are to be had from there. But move down a bit towards the south along the ridge that drops from the summit, and the views get better even, opening up vistas of Glacier basin and closer views of the three main glaciers, Winthrop, Emmons and the Inter glacier. There were climbers visisble on the Inter glacier and the Emmons almost continuously, little dots filing up to the summit, or down.

I returned via the Sunrise rim trail, Shadow lake, and a short section of the Wonderland trail.

With a few side explorations thrown in, I figure it was about ten miles and 2,800 vertical feet round trip. I spent a luxurious 12 hours on the hike, starting at 8:30 am. This is a good time to do this hike, as there are lots of flowers still going strong in the Shadow lake area.

Had the wild hair to head up to Mt. Rainier to see the sunset at Sunrise. Arrived at around 8:30 PM, and started chasing the pink glow. Scrambled up to Burroughs mountain just as dusk was coming in. Saw a whole herd of mountain goats! Incredible sunset lighting up the glaciers and deepening to a blood red behind the surrounding mountains. Lost my keys somewhere in the frenzy to snap pictures, but luckily we found them about 5 minutes later. Walked briskly out to savor what little light we had left.

If you're looking for a reasonably easy hike to show-off Mt. Rainier to some out of town guests, especially if they're flatlanders, you can't do much better than Burroughs Mountain. This is the view from one of the many lunch spots on top of Second Burroughs.

Drove to Sunrise on Wednesday and marched all three kids (4,8,10) the 1.5 miles to Sunrise walk-in campground. We had been here six years ago and knew the positives -- easy hike in, lake, lots of animals, flowers, easy day hikes to spectacular views and the negatives -- noise from the diesel generator, lots of people.

On this trip we had unbelievably warm weather (never put on our pile!), another great family in the camp next to us and bigger kids who could hike on their own. We were disappointed, however, to find out that Shadow Lake is now closed to swimming due to overuse. Thursday early morning I did the Burroughs Mtn. loop and saw a herd of about 20 mountain goats browsing. The tundra landscape up there really calls out for large ungulates and you'd almost expect to see musk ox until you turn around and see Rainier staring you in the face. The kids' big outing was a hike up to Frozen Lake and then down the trail toward Grand Park about half a mile to play in one of the last patches of snow. Back at the junction at Frozen Lake, Leska and Ruby hiked up First and Second Burroughs while I took the younger kids back to camp.

Bugs and Flowers -- Bugs? There are bugs in the NW? Not on this trip. And the flowers were mostly gone as well. We saw plenty of bog gentian, a few lupine, some asters and pearly everlasting but that was about it.

Since I had not been up to Sunrise is many years, decided to do a hike up to the Second Burroughs Mountain. Hiked the trail past the picnic area down to a service road and out to the junction with the WLT. Then uphill to the junction with the Mt. Freemont Lookout, Burroughs Mtn., WLT and old WLT by Frozen Lake (water supply for Sunrise). A friendly Douglas Squire was waiting for handouts as I stopped for a drink of water. It didn't get any. From there I hiked up through the tundra area of Burroughs Mtn. Not much growing on this ridge.

Nice views of the ""Mountain"" and the surrounding area, as well as up to Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak and Mt. Stuart. One big rock slide high on Rainier slid down in a big cloud of dust. I could also see the smoke from the forest fire over by Thorp. It wasn't to hot, about 67 degrees, a breeze blowing part of the time and only a couple of horse flys. Even saw two friendly marmonts out enjoying the day. I'll have to go back and do some of the other hikes in the Sunrise area.

What a beautiful late afternoon hike out of Sunrise. On our way back down from Second Burroughs we looked down upon First Burroughs and saw a nice group of 20 Mountain Goats standing there playing and grazing on the flats there on top. We also ran into several frisky Marmots too. Beautiful delicate flowers were bountiful. A blessing of a day.

The tundra-like environment of the three Burroughs Mountains is one of our favorite areas around Mt.Rainier, not only if it comes to splendid views but also to interesting bird-and wildlife encounters. Today was no exception. First, trekking poles were enough to safely cross all the remaining snow fields up to the third Burrough. On our way up to the third Burrough a flock of Gray-crowned Rosy Finches was scouring the margins of melting snowbanks for insects. A White-tailed Ptarmigan Hen in her summer plumage was trying to gather her chicks searching for food, seemingly unperturbed by our presence. The weather: upper sixties to mid-seventies, always a breeze, and yes,no bugs!

Family reunion at Sunrise - or close. 10 people in our party, but no Seamus the Mountain Terrier. National Park, you know. He kept hopping in the car back at the house & tailwagging expectantly. Heartbreaking.

Anyway, the trail to burroughs is a joy, excepting the snowfields. There are about 4 left, and a slip & fall would not be a happy time. I ushered my dad across them gingerly, and we made second burroughs just in time for a light rain to start. My neices freaked & packed up just as i was settling in for a long medidative gazing session. There just isn't any place that can compare to this spot for easily accessable alpine sublimity. Maybe Coleman Pinnacle.

So we left and chugged back, whereupon the sun quickly returned & it was gorgeous. We took the neices 1st-time boot skiing on a snowfield & instantly a ranger set on us about leaving the trail. Another reminder of why i hike in the wildernesses, not the national parks. No lectures.

If you want to avoid the snowfields, the lower wonderland trail will link back up at the summit of 1st burroughs. Bugs weren't bad, surprisingly.

Quick trip to enjoy the sun and we weren't the only ones with that plan. Sunrise was as busy as any ""at capacity"" weekend in July or August. Unfortunately for all the tourists, the NPS closed up shop early and the interpretive area was closed.

The trail was busy but in normally good condition. We do not recall ever seeing Frozen Lake without its trademark snow patch.

Lots! of pesky yellow jackets at Second Burroughs. Saw 4-6 goats in the green slopes mid-way between Third Burroughs and Glacier Basin. Heard a large ice-fall somewhere on the mountain also.

Nice hike back with temps in the high 70's and great color developing in many areas including just above Shadow Lake. A great Fall ? day...Worth the trip if you can get a nice day off this week!

Donald Larkin Trail Team (2/3's)

Beautiful late summer weather day on this trip to Third Burroughs Mtn. Chilly at a potty break at White R. ranger station but once up in the sunshine at Sunrise at 7:15am just after sunrise it was shorts & t-shirt temp. Just a handful of cars in the lot, and I was the only one on the trail until encountering a woman coming down from Third Burroughs summit as I was ascending it. Must have spent the night or run up there that morning in the dark! Fantastic views abound as I followed the Sourdough Ridge to Burroughs Mtn. trail, climaxing with an in-your-face view of Rainier and the Winthrop Glacier atop 3rd Burroughs. Trail is in great shape as it undulates up and over Burroughs 1 & 2 to 3. Lots of tiny squirrels everywhere and grasshoppers/crickets and their accompanying chirping. Occasional thunderous noises coming from the slopes of Rainier, I suspect rock or ice falls. Noticed plaque(s) missing from the Meany memorial seat(throne!) atop 2nd Burroughs- hopefully just being repaired, etc. On sunny weekends get to the trailhead early to at least have the first half of the hike to yourself- I encountered LONG strings of folks on the return trip. No bugs, no water available except at Sunrise. Mileage: Approx. 7 mi.RT, Elev gain. 1600'. Drive time from Bellevue to Sunrise parking lot: approx. 1 hr 45 min.

A hot and sunny day; a dry and dusty trail; large crowds. The view to Mt. Rainier is still fantastic, but it has become too familiar. We hiked to second Burroughs and had lunch there. A couple of bugs but didn't bother us too much. We took the loop down to go near the lakes and forest a bit. Lots of wild flowers.

Friday, Aug 1st was a great day for hiking, not only was the mountain dramatically dominating the scene, but a steady 10 mph breeze blew away any bugs! We ate lunch on Burroughs 2 and with binoculars watched 3 different climbing parties inch up Inter Glacier towards Camp Shurman. Meadows have some flowers down near Shadow Lake.

Wonderful hike to Third Burroughs Mountin. Saw a flock of goats on first Burroughs. Successfully fended of the aggressive ground squirrels on 2nd Burroughs. Third Burroughs we had to ourselves. Still some patches of snow on trail, fairly easy to cross. Didnt feel the need for ice-axes.

No mosquitos on this trail. Quite a few horse flies, and some deer flies, but not seriously annoying.

View to effort ratio on this hike is one of the highest available.

At this time poles or an ice ax are still needed on this trail, although the great majority of the trail is now snow free. Still another week or two to go before it all melts out. No bugs today.

Drove up to Sunrise on opening weekend -- a big lineup of cars to get in at about 2 pm!! Still lots of snow just outside the parking lot at Sunrise. We did the Burroughs Mountain Loop, from the parking lot to Shadow Lake, up to Burroughs, and back via Frozen Lake and Sourdough Ridge. Lots of snow in many places. The trail from Burroughs down to Frozen Lake is still under a lot of snow, it is a steep and icy face. A few very steep and snowy sections on the backside as well. Good steps in soft snow, but poles were a big help and an ice axe would be highly recommended due to steep snow slopes with poor runout - a slip could result in a trip over a cliff in some parts. Gorgeous sunshine and views, and very few people past Frozen Lake and Shadow Lake. No bugs either!

Great day for a hike. Not a cloud to be seen. Except when looking North toward Seattle. Looking toward Seattle the sky had a brown tinge like Los Angeles smog. I think there was a fire near the Carbon River entrance to the Park and the smoke was the cause. Made it to 2nd Burroughs. Would have liked to have gone to 3rd Burroughs but got started too late. That's better than my usual excuse of being 60 lbs. overweight. It has been about 6 years since I made this hike in the fall season. I liked to go up in the late afternoon when there was a full moon. I would watch the sunset over the mountain and hike back by the light of the moon. Can't do that anymore since the Park locks the gate at the White River campground junction. I was told they lock it to prevent vandalism. There is a sign at the gate saying the gate will be locked at 5 PM. I came through at 5:45 and it was still open. Don't know how much longer they will keep the road open. If you can get up soon I'll bet it would be worth it. There wasn't a bit of snow anywhere on the trail.

With this weeks outstanding weather, three of us decided to try a new hike, for us, at Mt.Rainier. We used a book called ""Best Hikes with Children"", Western Washington and the Cascades,V1. We did not have children with us, but we did not want too difficult a hike, and one of the hikers is a disabled young adult who has some difficulty walking. Well, the entry for this hike in that book is incorrect. The mileage is wrong, and it is more difficult than it indicates. In cross referrencing when I returned home, no other book agreed with the children's book. All that aside, it is a fantastic hike with wonderful vistas and Mt. Rainier is right in your face. There was a little snow on the trail, but not a problem, the weather was aroung 60 degrees with a breeze. As we continued, the wind grew stonger and we put our jackets on as we were cold. Once we crossed over to the other side of the ridge, we lost the wind and removed our jackets. There are two different ways to this hike, we took the path that leads to Frozen Lake, then up the side of Burroughs Mt.which is scary and climbs about a mile. At the flat table area, we descended on the other side that goes to the Sunrise camp area. We think the hike was between 5 and 5.5 miles. We loved the hike, it took us 5 hours, we're slow, but included a stop for our sack lunch, chatting with others on the hike, and resting occassionally. There were no children on this trail past Frozen Lake. Its a 10+

Easy loop trail out of Sunrise with outstanding views of mighty Rainier, Little Tahoma, and Emmons Glacier. The best ""in your face"" views of Rainier are from 2nd Borroughs. The trail is in good condition with only one small easy snow patch to cross. Bugs were minimal on this sunny breezy day. Never expect solitude here in the summer but weekdays are way better than weekends for the crowds.

As usual, get an early start to beat the crowds. Took the low route past Shadow Lake to ascend First Burroughs. It's a lot of road and noise. (Some diesel generator in an NPS building) Wandered up to Second Burroughs, admiring marmots and minibars. Could not sit down to eat, with too many mozzies and flies. Walked back via Frozen Lake, which is pretty, but not picturesque, since it's fenced off, and plenty of 'stay on trail' signs. Here come the masses. Don't forget to have a big bowl of steaming chili at the snack bar before heading off to stab the trail with your trekking poles. Gorgeous day, 5 mile loop, plenty of flowers and people. Family style.

Warning flags: Tourists on trail!

Flowers around Sunrise are at or in some cases just past their prime. Magenta paintbrush and showy Jacob’s ladder steal the show, but there are dozens of others. We were most excited by bracted lousewort and birdsbeak lousewort, and spent a long time stopping at every new cluster of unusual flowers. Also fun to watch marmots chasing one another over the snow. Black flies and mosquitoes were pretty bad at Shadow Lake, and also annoying on the top of First Burroughs except those welcome moments when the wind was blowing. This was a very hot day, in the upper 80s even above Sunrise.

Only a few patches of snow on the trail direct from Sunrise, and each has a well-worn rut that many people followed safely in tennis shoes. No snow at all on the south side of the ridge, and the views of Rainier are fabulous. The masses of climbers on the way up to or down from Camp Schurman looked like busy ants.

No clouds, no bugs, no flowers, no snow and not very many people on the trail. A perfect day to get close to ""The Mountain"". I usually go to Third Burroughs but ran out of time today. Second Burroughs is still well worth the trip. I made a loop trip out of it today, going clockwise. This gives you a great view of ""The Mountain"" all the way up. The clear day made way for what I hope will be some great pictures. Another enjoyable day of hiking.

Looped around Burroughs Mountains. Started at 7 AM. Perfect shorts and mittens weather. Didn't see another hiker for 3 hours, then hordes. Animals: a few deer, society of mountain goats brunching on Burroughs #1, and two marmots that were duking it out. Flowers: few lupines in the meadows, higher quality lupines on the tundra - but - lots of flowers along road from White River to Sunrise Point. Insects: one fly on Burroughs #2. Overall, a great way to celebrate the eve of the return of the rains.

Hiked in Sunrise to Sunrise Camp, the north trail in is mostly converted road and no great shakes. However, it is in sunshine when the more scenic south route is cloud-swept, so it's a great choice if you want to warm up a bit.

Sunrise Camp is in good shape, less overrun than we expected so close to pavement (only 1.3 mi from Sunrise parking lot). Pit toilet stinks but is clean.

Rather than hike the Burroughs Loop down to White River Campground, we hiked out to Burroughs 2 and returned. Going up we took the south route, which was hot and sunny but free of bugs. On Burroughs 1, the cloud roll-up made for chilly breezy hiking and not a lot of long-range views to the north (to the South it was good viewing down to Emmons Glacier but no view up the mountain).

Trail to Burroughs 2 was in great shape also, a little higher up but clouds got worse and did not blow off.

Hiking back we took the north route off Burroughs 1, this trail is great for going down because it's almost like a jogging track and in great shape.

In all it was cooler than expected with threats of raindrops but no actual rain or even dampnes.

A large group of us hiked to the second & third Burroughs Mountain, above Sunrise. Despite being a Seattle native, I've only been to MRNP twice before, and the last time to Sunrise was in 1975. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it, although the crowds have really grown. The sun was out and the views of Emmons Glacier were stupendous. Also visible were smoke plumes from several Cascade fires way off in the distance. I had forgotten that the wildflowers would still be blooming this time of the year. The colors were brilliant. We saw several marmots, and one solitary mountain goat on the east side of second Burroughs. We saw a herd of 10-12 mountain goats slightly to the west of third Burroughs. The specifics: trail conditions were perfect, no snow, water, mud, or anything else on the trail. Upon returning to the parking lot I was amazed at the number of cars - it looked like the parking lot at Safeco Field.

We did the loop starting at the White River Campground and heading along the river before ascending to Burroughs 2. The meadows were full of all sorts of flowers. We encountered few others until reaching Burroughs and then it was a parade all the way until the decending trail back to the campground. This was my first time on this loop and I was very impressed. The only drawbacks were the heat and the crowds coming from sunrise. The views were the best and the variety of terrain made it a very interesting but difficult jaunt. The bugs were tolerable. Only a tiny patch of snow on the trail to shadow lake.

After a close call at the entrance gate (You can't pay your entrance fees or buy an annual pass with a credit card at the White River entrance) we arrived shortly before noon at Sunrise to a mix of blue skies, and clouds. Before we could lace our boots, the wave of fog was crashing over the ridge and filling the Sunrise valley.

While not yet in full glory, the wildflowers are very nice -- the magenta paintbrush stealing the show in the swirling summer fog. All the usual supects (deer, chipmunks and camprobbers are here too.) All at a comfortable 70 degrees!

We hiked in and out of the fog and clounds all the way to the second Burroughs where Meany's bench provided a great view of the inside of a cloud for lunch. The trail is in good shape with only two minor snow patches, both easily navigated without poles or ice axes and with much less than the 20% snow coverage reported by the NPS.

A few rain drops and claps of thunder signaled it was time to leave our ""moon in a cloud"" destination and return to Sunrise. Hit 410 just in time for a true NW downpour. All in all a great way to spend a Friday afternoon in Washington!

Had lunch in the Sunrise Parking lot, put on some warm clothes and headed out. The lodge at Sunrise is closed, but there was a small food service truck in the parking lot that was doing a huge business. The parking lot was full. People seemed to be dressed for the weather which was beautiful, clear and sunny, but with a cool wind blowing. The trail up to first Borroughs had some snow on it from a recent snowfall. Nothing difficult to navigate.

Lots of people on top of 2nd Borroughs and why groups have to sit one on top of another amazes me. Doesn't anyone just want to drink in the views and enjoy the serenity of it all'

Several people on the way to 3rd Borroughs. That is my goal for next year. I think the road to Sunrise closes in about two weeks'

Earlier trip reports accurately describe this great hike. It gets you to over 7,800 feet where there are tremendous close-up views of the Emmons and Winthrop glaciers. We'd never done this hike (or much of anything in MRNP) before for fear of the crowds and congested drive home, but we'd been in Yakima Saturday and decided to try it. We were “lucky” enough to be here on the only weekend for a couple of months that wasn’t clear, so all we saw were a couple of tantalizing glimpses of cascades of monstrous seracs on the Winthrop Glacier far below. The constant clouds and fog had the advantage of keeping the crowds away. (We are sure the many people who were at Frozen Lake and on the trail towards Berkeley Park at 3 in the afternoon were but a fraction of the normal Sunday afternoon crowd.) Ours was among the first couple dozen cars in the Sunrise lot when we hit the trail at 9:30 on this Sunday morning. Only one fellow had made it to the summit of Third Burroughs when we arrived at noon. He didn’t stick around and we saw no more hikers headed to the top when we descended an hour later. The walk is easy (if you are not bothered by the altitude) and the path well trodden. The flowers near Sunrise and (later in the day) in Berkeley Park are just past their prime: still densely colorful and wonderfully varied in many places, pretty much browned-out in others. The nighttime temps at Sunrise have been below freezing for a couple of nights, and the flowers show it. Our high temperature for the day was between 45 and 50 degrees. The lack of wind, however, made this not at all uncomfortable when we sat at the summit in our polypro and rain/wind gear tops and bottoms, and warm hats and gloves. The temperature also meant there were NO bugs all day! The trail is snowfree until almost the false summit of Third Burroughs, and even from there to the top the small (icy) patches could be walked around if one were so inclined. (Reports written in 1999 reflect the fact that 1999 was a very late summer season. This year seems to be much more normal as far as snow melt-out and flowers go.) Saturday night had left a thin layer of fresh snow on the old snow and in a few nooks and crannies alongside rocks. Fourteen mountain goats (including several gray kids) grazed near the summit of First Burroughs, and later in the day we saw a group of 4 adults ambling along and below the shoulder of Skyscraper Mountain near where the Wonderland trail goes over. Many fat marmots waddled along and across the trails with little apparent fear of the humans close by. Chipmunks and ground squirrels are in their prime, as the many kestrels hovering and hunting them seem to know. Pikas dashed across trails with mouths full of fresh grass to be set aside for drying. Horned larks picked along the edges of a snow patch at the summit of Third Burroughs, and a large flock of them fed in the grass at the summit of First. Had the day been sunny, we would certainly have been bowled over by the close-up views of Rainier. But the poor visibility meant relative solitude in alpine tundra, a hard commodity to come by this close to a paved road. And to our delight the drive home to North Seattle only took 2 1/4 hours. This is definitely a place we’ll take out-of-town visitors in the future.

This trail gives you an incredible close up view of the northeast side of Mt Rainier. The trailhead is at Sunrise (6400 ft). Burroughs Mt is a broad ridge between the Emmons and Winthrop glaciers with three progressively higher plateaus. Most hikers settle for the Second Burroughs and although the view there is outstanding it was a bit to crowded for my taste. Unfortunately to get to Third Borroughs you have to drop 400 ft and then gain 800 ft. Third Borroughs (7800 ft) gives you a birds eye view of the Winthrop glacier. The trail is in good condition and free of snow except for a large easy to traverse patch on Third Burroughs. The terrain is very barren, and the sparce vegetation is mostly brown now. The bugs are finally totally gone. Photos are best taken before 1 pm. By 3 pm the entire northeast face of Rainier is in shadows.

We hiked from Sunrise via Sunrise Ridge up to Second Burroughs. Fantastic views, no snow.

Came back via Sourdough Ridge Trail. Encountered 2 patches of snow. One about 30 feet long and one about 20 feet long. No problem crossing at 2:30PM. Might have been icy in the morning.

Great hike. Looking at Mt. Rainier all the way up. At Second Burroughs, view to Mt. Baker, Glacier Mt and the Olympics.

Easy drive. Easy trail. Practically snow free to Third Burroughs. Only residual snow remains. Breeze required fleece top at the crest and at some points on the trail; hiking in a lite thermal/shorts probably your best bet. Late morning start was an obstacle, slowing down the drive through Black Diamond, the entry into the park, and finding a parking spot at Sunrise.