Trip Reports

Hiked in from Glacier view on the hottest day of the year. Lots of bugs so bring the juice! Trail is in great shape with a few logs to over/under after leaving Goat Lake. Trail is (as always) a bit over grown up to Gobblers Knob but the views never fail to impress.

12.5 miles round trip, 2700 gain. 6 hours.

A few friends walked out the Westside road with me for a brisk fall hike to the old lookout on Gobblers Knob. As we started out shreds of mist were blowing through the trees though patches of blue sky were showing. It looked very iffy for views of Mt. Rainier.

I had not been out the Westside Road since last years' storms. Things have really changed starting about a mile out. Where the road used to ford Tahoma Creek is a completely different landscape. What used to be the road is now the river. Boulders and bent culverts line the stream bed along with soft glacial silt pocked with boot marks, bike prints, and blue-flagged survey lath leading up the raw river cut. Trail crews outlined a temporary trail along the river bottom. It is so raw and so different I had to pull out my map to make sure we were in the right place. The temporary trail alternates between the stream and the forest for another mile until the road begins to climb out of the tahoma creek valley.

The road wanders pleasantly pas old rock walls, tourist view points, and picnic areas. The forest is slowly taking over in a gentle planet-of-the-apes sort of way. Occasional glimpses of Rainier from the old view points were tantalizinf. But clouds still shrouded most of the peak.

We arrived at Round Pass after 3.2 miles and found the Lake George trail. This trail is in great shape, like any well maintained, often visited park trail. Ironic since it's so far from cars!

The trail switch backs up a hill and over a small forested ridge to Lake George about 1.5 miles from Round Pass. There was sun and nice blue-green water rippled by a cool fall breeze. we enjoyed the lake for a bit and headed up the trail.

Soon we met a hiker coming down who said he saw a mother bear and cub on the trail about ten minutes up. We continued up, making plenty of noise to alert the bears. We never saw them nor signs of prints or scat. The trail got steeper and views began to show through the trees. Above 4300 feet we found patchy snow and a frozen tarn. The trail came to a junction signed left to Goat Lake 1.1 mi. and right Gobblers Knob .2 miles. Soon we were at the base of the rock out crop. The trail got rougher and narrow. We could see the lookout building from the switch backs. We round the west side of the knob with a view of Beljica, Glacier View, and Goat Lake.

A few more steps and we were on the ridge with a great view of Mt. Rainer, Puyallup Cleaver, Tahoma Glacier and Pyramid Peak. We ate and stared as the wind stretched a cloud cap over the summit.

Clouds blowing from Beljica blocked the sun and cooled our perch on the ridge. The chill inspired us to hoist our packs and head back. In just a few minutes fog blocked the views.

We took another break at Lake George but the breeze was colder. So we hurried down. We were back to the cars by 4.

My first time to the Westside road. I was the first one to park at where the road ends. Followed the well marked trail with blue markers through the river beds and washed away road. I almost made it to round pass. I just bought new boots and had two blisters after 3 miles so I headed back down. Total bummer, but I will be back and get to the Knob next time. It wasn't a clear day anyway. I saw only 2 others heading up on my way down. I did get some great shots of a frog on the way out. So it wasn't a total loss. I was really shocked at all the damage in this area and hoping one day we can drive up a bit further.

Many years ago I rode my bike to Round Pass from the end of the Westside road. I then parked my bike at the pass and hiked to Gobblers Knob, via Lake George. Back then it was a short crossing of the Tahoma Creek washout and then a fun ride (about 3 1/2 miles up hill) to Round pass. Today it is a much different situation. We had to carry our bikes accross Tahoma Creek and then walk/push them in sand for at least a mile to reach a part of the road that we were able to ride on. It took us so long to push the bikes through the sand that a solo hiker (who started at the same time we did) passed us and beat us to the lookout at Gobblers Knob. Bottom line is, I wouldn't recommend taking a bike on this route.

After finally arriving at Round Pass we easily hiked to Lake George and Gobblers Knob. The trail is in excellent condition thanks to a youth group work crew who had spent the last two weeks camped at Round Pass. It was a beautiful warm day and the bugs were out in force. Small black flies and huge horse flies were the main culprits. Deet worked but they still hovered in mass around us and would briefly make touch and goes. Unfortunately the lookout is in sad condition. It no longer has a roof and apparently has been that way for some time. The Park Service has blocked off the stairs to the deck. The views of South West Rainier from the Knob are spectactular though and well worth the effort.

Lake George has a shelter and five very nice camp sites, all empty at the time. The lake is beautiful and quite large but currently the bugs would be too much for me.

To our delight we were able to coast our bikes from Round Pass all the way to Tahoma Creek, passing the solo hiker on the way. Making the trip out much quicker then going in.

We set out on a foggy day that we THOUGHT would clear by the time we reached the old fire look-out...not so much! The first two miles of ""trail"" on the West Side Road must have had 30-40 trees across it at one point, but the trail crews had them all cleared! It did look like a war zone, however. The crews were working on a very small section of side trail at about 1 1/2 miles in. Once off the road at Round Pass (take a look at the Marine Memorial before you head up to Lake George) the trail is in great shape. Not many wild flowers left - a few lupine, paintbrush, and columbine were all we saw. The bugs were non-existent (probably because they were cold also) and so were other hikers. We saw a lot of cougar and bear poo, but none of the pooers. 12 miles managed in 5 1/2 hours. Happy Trails! Big Pig and Shark Bite

Trail to Goat Lake has 10 trees across the trail and one that has fallen parallel with lots of branches crossing the trail (between the Lake Christine trail junction and Goat Lake). The trail around Goat Lake is decent except for a severe blow-down at the southeastern corner.

The trail is muddy in places and you do have to cross some snowfields, but it is in a lot better condition than one would think.

Once you pass Goat Lake, there is one spot just outside the national park boundary where two large trees are blocking the trail. Some hikers have begun to hike around this by venturing south and veering around the trees. Aside from this blockage, the rest of the trail is free of anything major until you cross the saddle.

Once over the saddle, there are still about 5 different sections where snow is covering the trail. The snow is unstable in places and poles and/or an ice ax might be helpful if you are carrying a big pack. At the Gobbler's Knob spur, there is a lot of snow. Once you pass this though, the trail is clear to the top of the lookout. However, the lookout is in extremely bad shape with lots of broken glass from the windows shattering and tree limbs crashing through the structure.

Lake George Trail has 2 major blowdowns. Beyond Lake George, trail is ~80% clear of snow, but snowfields in places are extensive and the trail is easily lost. Also, snowfields are steep in places; ice axe recommended. We were able to make it w/o ice axes, but temps were warm and could get some footing into the snow. Perhaps 8-12 blowdowns on the Gobblers Knob Tr above Lake George.

Still a bit bitter since my rainy visit to the Rainer area two weeks ago, I chose to return on a much nicer day and take in some of the views I had missed. Instead of one long trip, I had made a plan to climb several smaller mountains, giving me the option climb until dark or until too tired, whichever came first. The drive S was very foggy in the AM but started to burn off just after getting on Hwy 706.

Stop #1 was Highrock Lookout. Skate Creek Rd (FSR 52) was well marked and easy to find. It’s paved for a few miles then at another marked turn turns to gravel. Just follow the signs and after about 13 total miles from Hwy 706 you’ll arrive at Towhead Gap and have a view of the lookout. From here it’s an easy 1.5 mile jaunt to the top. For the most part the trail stays in the woods and only at the very end do things open up. At one point I jogged past a group of Boyscouts and they thought I was some kind of superhero. One even asked how long I had been a “professional”. Haha, thanks kids ;)

Once on top, I had great views of Rainer and Adams. The lookout is in decent shape and I went inside for a minute to get out of the October winds. Outside the lookout are some impressively sharp drop-offs, an old hand-cable and an old supply shed just below the summit.. This has to be one of the more unique lookout positions in the state. I jogged back to the TH eager to get started on the next peak.

3 miles RT, 1420’ gain, 1:10 car-to-car.



This next trip taught me a lot about attention to detail. After a long 13 miles of forest road, I got back on 706 and headed E towards the Nisqually entrance to MRNP. Just a few cars in line and while paying for my day-pass, I noticed on the update board that Sunrise Rd was closed. I verified with the ranger and realized that some other peaks I had planned on would no longer be part of today’s itinerary. Turns out Sunrise Rd closes October 10th of every year, so those peaks will have to wait until next year. Anyway, I got my map and began driving into the park. Stop # 2 was Gobblers Knob Lookout.

I knew that the road I wanted to turn onto would be on the L side, and very soon after entering the park. But what was the name? I pulled out the park map and caught a glimpse; Oh yeah, Westside Road. Soon I was there and immediately after turning onto the road I noticed a sign stating that the end of the road was in 3 miles, and Round Pass was 7 miles away. Since I hadn’t given this hike much planning, I just figured the TH was at the end of the road and Round Pass was some other destination. Assuming I was in for an easy 5 mile RT and 1800’ gain, I was bummed to see that, after a real look at the map, Round Pass was actually the “new” TH. So basically 4 miles of road and 1500’ separated me from my 5 mile, 1800’ hike. Pausing shortly, I decided that I might as well do it now as it was unlikely the road would ever be repaired. A study of my Green Trails map showed me the road has been washed out since 1990.

So there at 2800’, I saddled up and crossed the gate. A couple hundred feet of good road and I saw what all the commotion was about. The washout was pretty impressive. Logs, boulders and crushed culverts littered the area and made it obvious that the creek has decided where it wants to go, road or not. This washout is actually a culmination of a creek coming down Mt Wow’s E side, Fish Creek and Tahoma Creek. The first mile or so involves crossing several different frothing channels, via foot-logs, boulder-hopping and large jumps from one side to another. In the middle of all this, a faint remnant of the old road can be seen, riddled with 6 foot deep trenches and rushing, milky water. After crossing the last channel, I reconnected with the road, which from here on up, was in great condition. If one could manage to bring a bike to this point, it would certainly be to their advantage. I had seen two bikes in the woods; The owners must have given up on the idea prior to seeing the better stretch of road.

The road walk was long and lonely, but offered distractions along the way. The first thing I noticed was a trail heading off into the woods. I briefly entertained the idea of this trail offering a more direct route to Round Pass, but I believe this trail only connects with the Wonderland Trail. Next thing up was Tahoma Vista. The road here was nice with rock shoring and an old parking area. I walked out to the vista but since 1990 a good deal of growth has done well at limiting the view. An old stone staircase led to an abandoned log-style restroom. The entire hike offered a kind of ghost town appeal that I find pretty entertaining.

Finally, I reached Round Pass. A brief hike to the other side led to the Marine Memorial, which was dedicated to the 32 Marines who died on December 10th, 1946, when their plane crashed high on the South Tahoma Glacier. The plane and their bodies still remain on the mountain. It was a cool memorial with a now overgrown view of the mountain and the glacier where the plane lies. I had wanted to see this site for some years now so it felt good to finally make it.

Another incentive for bringing a bike; Round Pass has it’s own bike rack.

So, after 4 miles of road, I was now on trail. Nice trail at that. Seems like it is still maintained; Not brushy, functional bridges and water-bars. Not even any standing water after our recent bout of rain. A raking of the trail bench to clear the thick layer of pine needles and this trail is in A+ condition. In a few minutes I was at Lake George, which is home to a neat Patrol Cabin as well as an overnight shelter. The trails are still well marked and I continued on towards the lookout. Having not seen a single soul this entire time, I was starting to wonder if I would see anyone at all today. Then, just a couple hundred feet below the top, I ran into two groups one their way down. Another group was up on the lookout and I enjoyed a seat on the porch as the windows and door had been boarded up for the winter. A group of birds dive-bombed me and then waited patiently for a hand-out as I enjoyed my lunch. Great views from this lookout. Although the extra mileage of the road cost me another trip or two for the day, I was happy I had done it and got a chance to see the memorial and the lookout.

Not much to report on the way back. I passed another soloist and a group of two heading up, and helped some guys ferry their bikes over foot-logs on the last washout crossing.

13 miles RT, 3180’ gain, 6 hours car-to car

Total for the day: 16 miles, 4600’ gain and 7.25 hours

A trip to Gobbler’s Knob would complete my goal of visiting each of the four fire lookout towers within the park. This was my first time driving the Westside Road. It was not too bad. Gravel and dusty, but no major potholes or wash-boarding. Quite smooth actually. The road is closed 3 miles in. You can see immediately why, as the Tahoma Creek has destroyed it. To get to the Lake George/Gobblers Knob trailhead, you must hike (or bike) 3.5 miles of what is left of the road up to Round Pass. The first 150 yards or so of the trail takes you along the creek. Eventually you have to find a place to cross, but there are a few options (rocks, logs) that make it fairly easy. You will make it back to a more solid and defined path after the second crossing.

It felt strange hiking on what was once a well-traveled road. Many of the old road signs are still standing. Vegetation is slowly taking over. I reached Round Pass an hour and 30 minutes after leaving the parking lot. There is a bike stand available that riders can lock and secure their bikes to (no bikes are allowed on the trail). From here you leave the Westside Road and begin the actual trail to Lake George, which is just less than a mile away. The trail starts flat, then slowly starts going up, and levels off just before the lake. I arrived at Lake George 20 minutes after starting the trail. It, like all Mt. Rainier lakes, was beautiful. There is a camping area, large wooden shelter, and patrol cabin (presently unoccupied) near the water. There is a path along the lake that allows for more photo-ops. Take your pictures now, as there are no viewpoints further up the trail.

From Lake George, the trail heads northwest and slowly begins a 1.6 mile ascent to the tower. After a few switchbacks, the trail briefly levels off, then another series of switchbacks begin. I encountered a couple patches of snow which were no problem to cross. Finally, an hour after leaving the lake (3 hours after leaving the car), I arrived at Gobbler’s Knob. The view is almost overwhelming. To the south, I could see (a very distant) Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Of course Mt. Rainier was totally unobscured. Van Trump Park, the mountain's west-side glaciers, and all nearby peaks were all easily in view. The tower was unoccupied.

Three hours back to the car, and very tired feet. Total of six hours and 12 miles round-trip. 2569' of elevation gain. A very nice day-hike. Only seen a couple other groups along the Westside Road, encountered nobody on the trail. The mosquitos were out in force. This is not an easy hike, but well worth it in the end.

Began Gobblers Knob hike at Glacier View trailhead. Only one other car in lot. Most of hike this route is on Puyallup trail #248. Slight downgrade to Beljica Meadows. Nice area with running streams. At 2.5 miles is Goat Lake. From Goat Lake if you look up to the east you can see the lookout on Gobblers Knob. From the lake the trail gets steeper. Another .5 mile or so you enter Mt. Rainier NP. Lots of old growth trees there. Also crossed a few bare hillsides with wildflowers still in bloom. Eventually a crest is reached. Then a short downhill to the juntion with Gobblers Knob trail. Uphill another .4 mile to the summit lookout. Passed one couple coming down not far from top. Nobody at the lookout while I was there. Spectacular view of the western face of Rainier. Similar to Glacier View but a little bit closer. Not long after beginning descent saw young fawn on trail. It looked at me curiously and allowed me to get to within 10 feet or so. Didn't see any parent deer around. Passed Goat Lake and saw the couple that I had seen earlier. They hadn't seen any deer on the hike. We also swapped some bear and other wildlife stories from hikes past. Not long after bidding them adieu, I was approaching Beljica Meadows and saw a small bear lumbering just off trail, going the opposite way I was. I don't think it saw me and I didn't stop to saw hi. Like Cookdoggie (see writeup from 8/20/05) I also didn't bring a camera. But hiking solo I probably didn't want to linger there too long anyway. I had thought about attempting Mt. Beljica but will leave that for another day. Next time I will enter via Lake Christine trailhead #249. Some flies on trail but no mosquitoes. If your looking for a hike with good potential for wildlife sightings and great views of Mt. Rainier, etc, this is for you!

A beautiful forest trail to a lookout with a front row view of Mt Rainier and hardly anyone using it. Huckleberries are out and abundant on this trail! Started at Glacier View trailhead at the end of FS59, it's an easy up and down 2.5 miles to Goat Lake, then another 1.5 miles and 1000' climb up to the knob. Go slightly past the ridge summit and down the other side to find the junction to the knob. The fire lookout was empty and we had it to ourselves on a beautiful August Saturday - I wonder if Paradise was equally quiet...on the way back had a good swim at the lake and just 1/4 mile from the trailhead, passing through Beljica meadows, we saw a bear 50 yards away grazing on huckleberries! First bear I've ever seen while hiking, not a bad way to end a great day on the trail. Of course this was the day I forgot to bring my camera!

Hiked to Gobblers Knob via Goat Lake. Started at the West Glacier trail head - remembered fantastic Shootingstar and carpets of Glacier Lily on this route in mid-July several years back and heard flowers were early this year, but alas, they were very early. Nice flowers,but everthing was a bit past its prime. Was surprised, on a holiday weekend, to have Goat Lakes to ourselves (remembered crowds from that same trip). Pitched tents and did sunset trip to lookout. Weather moved in, but was still a lovely little jaunt to the lookout. Turnoff to the route to the summit are a bit past, and down from the pass. Save mosquito friends, trip was very, very nice. Mosquitos were particularly voracious near the beautiful meadows about a quarter of the way in - and a few by the lake too. Nice echos off the lake from campsites on the east side. And thanks for the trip report from about June 12th - saved us some time that we would probably have spent searching for the road.

Parked 1.5 miles from Glacier View trilhead due to compact snow and ice on the road. 4x4's had made it, we chose not to try. The trail was in pretty good shape, a couple of blow down right at the start and a few patches of snow here and there, not too bad - we stayed clean and dry. Trail meanders up and down to Goat lake then a steady climb (1100 ft) up to the lookout at Gobblers Knob. Great views of Mt. Rainier, Mt St.Helens, Tatoosh range, and the Goat Rocks. We could even see/hear activity on the Nisqually glacier. Round trip 10.2 miles with the road walk, we spent 6 hours with breaks, lunch and some time initializing a new GPS.

Our midweek group of 10 headed out early for Mt Beljica & Gobblers Knob hike via Lake Christine. From Highway 706 past Ashford, left on FR 59 near 11 mile marker ( FR 59 sign is hidden 50 yards up this road) Continue about 4 miles then right on FR 5920 for 2 miles to Lake Christine trail # 249. Hike begins with a brief steep climb then skirts around tiny Lake Christine. About 1/2 mile further watch for a signpost marked ""trail"" with arrow pointing right. Continue straight ahead for climbers path up Mt Beljica with splendid views of Mt Rainier, Mt Adams and the puffing Mt Saint Helens. We also had fun spotting the nearby Copper Creek and High Huts of Mt Tahoma Trails Assoc. We then rejoined the trail & continued towards Goat Lake, soon called trail # 248, with snow here & there and a few blow-downs easy to step over. We lunched at the Lake, our destination of Gobblers Knob lookout being clearly visible above. We hiked up to the lookout, more great views, then with an eye on the clock due early sunsets we returned to our cars, tired but happy after this very enjoyable day. Stats... about 3100 ft elevation gain, about 10.5 miles round trip.

Luckily I had been cruising the WTA trip reports and discovered that the Westside Road was washed out again. I actually don't remember its ever being open since I moved here in 1987, though I know it has been. The Geriatric Hikers had decided to do the entire Wonderland Trail in small pieces (we're not counting the 19 times we've already done e.g. Summerland or Spray/Seattle Park - it must be done de novo), and this was to be our first piece along part of the west side of Rainier, utilizing the Westside Road. We made a quick change of plans after learning of the washout (ranger said no no no you can't ford the washout- although we later learned they are driving a truck CAREFULLY across the mud slide.....), neglecting to check the new resulting mileage and elevation gain, but no matter. We hiked in from FS road 59 (Glacier View) and camped at Lake George. Empty, dark, and rather spooky on this cloudy, misty day. Wonderful owl call at dusk. We moved camp to South Puyallup, then hiked up to Indian Henry's across that fabulous suspension bridge over Tahoma Creek, always under the threat of rain, never warmer than mid-50's, clouds, mist, you know. The west side. A cold, damp night at South Puyallup, then a glorious sunny day of wandering up to St. Andrews Lake, Aurora Lake (a great big bear!) and Klapatche Camp. Now that is one fine camping spot, with the lake reflecting Mt. Rainier and a gorgeous, unobstructed view of the mountain from the ringside seats by the lake. Fun to sit and talk to hikers ""doing"" the Trail. Back at camp, we decided to move the backpacks out 3 miles to Lake George to make the final day a bit easier. There sure is a lot of up and down in here. Alone again at the lake, but the sun transformed everything and alpenglow was visible on Mom through the trees. The Mountain, Hood, Adams, St. Helens, the Olympics were all visible from Gobbler's Knob the next day. What a day. Blackberry pie, ice cream and coffee at Copper Creek. 37 miles and 11,000+ feet elevation gain to cover about 11 miles of the Wonderland Trail. Need to rethink how we do this project, but a glorious weekend in this magical place. It's easy to get complacent about our unbelievable mountains until you go to a place like this. Right here in our backyard.

We left Renton around 4:00 pm to catch evening sunset on the west side of The Mountain, arriving at the Dry Creek parking area at 6:00. The bike ride to Round Pass was about an hour, which got us started on the trail by around 7:15.

Lake George is attained rather quickly, being less than a mile in. One small family was camped there.

The trail from the lake up to Gobblers Knob is in excellent condition. The few snow patches that still exist really are not worth mentioning, and are all around the upper tarn above Lake George. The flags that the park service put in serve more to humor you as walk the trail now, with several of them stuck in dry trail. I suspect the snow has been melting quickly. From the tarn to the lookout the trail is bare.

Avalanche Lillies are intense all along the trail, begining at about 4,600' and continueing to about 4,900'.

The trail up to the knob was steeper than anticipated, but the views make you forget any hardship. We arrived at the lookout at 8:30 (hey, the lillies distracted us!) The marine layer forecast to move in over night was a bit early in it's arrival. Though Rainier was fairly crisp in detail, its lower flanks were quite hazy due to fog rolling in. To the west a strong cloud layer prevented the sun's final rays from ever touching the mountain.

We descended the trail in the dark without headlamps, though it was only stubborness that kept them off for the last half mile or so. The ride back down the West Side Road was made more interesting in the dark with fog having set in. We learned early on to go slow due to poor visibility. Dang! And everyone knows the fast ride back down the road is supposed to be the best part!

The road is in good condition again. The park service has supported the previous washout and undercutting of the road at Tahoma Creek with rocks and fill to its west side. The only sign that this is a washout area is the fact that the creek still zips over the roadway at a mighty fast rate.

Don Geyer

To get to this trail, drive from near Ashford to the end of road no. 59 (about 9 miles). This trail is in great condition and not crowded, like in MRNP. Beljica Meadows is at its peak right now with Avalanche Lilies and other flowers. We walked from there to Goat Lake and on up to Gobblers Knob lookout, about 7 miles round trip. There were a few mosquitoes but not too bad. There were only a couple of small snow patches near Gobblers Knob.

Spent a beautiful Sunday scouting the Glacier View Wilderness for an upcoming trip. Started at the trailhead for the 248 trail and made Goat Lake in an hour (2.4 miles). Trail is very passable with some snow fields still lingering in the more shaded areas. Route finding wasn't difficult at all (look for blazes). The lake is still 85% frozen over, but at least 3 good-sized campsites are available. After a brief rest, I trudged up the trail and entered the Park towards Gobbler's Knob and it's lookout. Trail had more substantial snow fields, but again, all passable. Trekking poles helped immensely. After a long 1 mile of some switchback, but mostly straight up, reached the knob and the lookout. What a glorious view of Rainier! Ate an early lunch and enjoyed the 360 degree view of St Helens, Rainier, and Mount Wow which shamefully hid Adams from view. After soaking in the sites, I regrettably left my perch and headed back. Can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning.

With the gorgeous weather continuing, I thought I would scout out a backdoor hike to Gobblers Knob. The Puyallup Trail is accessed from the Glacier View trailhead off FR 59 (Copper Creek Road)about 7 or 8 miles from Hwy 705. Start up the Glacier View Trail to a junction, hang a right and continue along a ridgeline, finally dipping gently down to golden Beljica meadows. On the far side of the meadows there is a junction with the Lake Christine Trail (#249). The trail climbs gently around the nose of a ridge and drops into a divide which holds Lake George. The lake apparently drains into the Nisqually River, while a nearby creek goes into the So. Fk. Puyallup. There are large campsites available at the lake, mostly on the eastern shore.

From the lake, the trail climbs almost 800 feet, passing the MRNP boundary (no dogs beyond this point!) up to a pass and then drops a couple hundred feet down to a junction with the Gobblers Knob Trail. The Knob is about another .4 miles up switchbacks. It's pretty exposed up top and there's not a lot of room, but the view is terrific. The entire west face of the Mountain was showing, in minute detail in the the clear air. Unfortunatly, so were the nearby clearcuts and logging roads that nearly come up to the western boundary of the Park.

This hike allowed a lot of variety and made a pleasant change from hiking up the closed West Side Road. The trip was about 4.5 hours hiking time at moderate pace, 7.6 miles, 1150 feet gain, 440 feet loss. The trail was in great shape, except some mildly brushy spots through steep meadows. There were also some huckleberries for eating and some late flowers including asters, meadow parsley, buckwheat, harsh paintbrush, valerian, harebells, arnica and groundsel. Great hike! Traffic on the trail was light for such a nice day. Apparently most folks go up to Glacier View, which is a much shorter hike.

The Mount Rainier National Park westside road parking area melted out two weeks ago, so went with a group of Mountaineers on an early season hike to Gobbler's Knob. The road is now snow-free all the way to Round Pass (and presumably on to Klapatche point). There were several large trees down on the road that were easy to navigate around (or over).

Once leaving the road at Round Pass (4000 ft), snow patches began to appear. A short way up from the pass was one small blowdown--the only one we encountered on the trail. At Lake George (4,320), there was deep but firm snow. The lake is about 2/3 fozen still. After some false starts, we picked up the trail again on a snow-free hillside west of the lake. After rising another few hundred feet, however, the snow was continuous and route finding became difficult on the steep tree-covered slope about 800 ft below the lookout. At that point, we called it a day and went to look for pie and ice cream.

We hiked up the closed Westside Road to Round Pass and then to Lake George. The road is in good condition, except for a collapsing bridge over Fish Creek and a couple of fallen logs. We encountered no snow on the road itself. Early spring flowers, including bear grass, arnica, wild strawberry, yellow violet, Oregon anemone, bluebells and salmonberry are blooming along the road, which makes an easy hike in itself. There were glacier lilies blooming in the forest. Views were limited due to cloud cover in the morning.

Upon reaching Round Pass we took off on the gently climbing Gobbler's Knob trail. There is a lot of fallen debris and some sizable logs across the trail. We also hit snow patches at about 4000 feet with continuous snow at about 4300 feet. We reached the lake without too much difficulty. The campground and lakeshore is under about 3 feet of snow and the lake is just beginning to shed its icy covering.

We could see the Knob above and attempted to follow the trail, but only made it to the basin below the Knob. From there the way was very steep, snow-covered and slippery. Wait a week or two before attempting. The snow cover was pretty firm in the morning and only softened in open areas. Per usual with snow travel, watch for weakening snow bridges and ice patches. Having ski poles or walking sticks is also a good idea (or an ice axe if you have the training).

In the afternoon, from the Marine Memorial, we were able to get a glimpse of the Tahoma Glacier. It was also interesting to view the destructive path of the Tahoma mudslide down Tahoma creek. It was a good outing with an amiable group.

Another note: This area doesn't seem to be heavily used. We only saw a couple of people the whole day on the road and no one else on the Gobbler's Knob Trail.

We drove through mist on the way to the Nisqually entrance of RNP, but the day turned out to be glorious. You can drive up the West Side road for about three miles before you hit the gate and a parking lot. Eleven Mountaineers started the easy walking up the road from there. The major washouts have been repaired, at least enough for official Park vehicles and bicycles to get through. After about three or four miles, you attain Round Pass, which is where the real trailhead is found. There is a nice bike rack right there, to accommodate those who would like to ride-n-hike. We later found the rack to be an excellent place to place you trekking poles when you take a little break. Four pair of poles fit in the bike rack nicely.

The trail is in excellent condition and in a mile reaches Lake George. It is a very pretty, long lake. Passing the lake, another mile and a half of switchbacks takes you to a lookout atop Gobblers Nob. We arrived just as the clouds were beginning to disperse and were rewarded with terrific views of the western face of Rainier.

The walk out, though long, was accomplished quite quickly. Fall colors were brilliant in the afternoon sun. Total distance was about 12 miles round-trip. On this pleasant Saturday in October, we hardly saw a soul on the way in, and only a few bikers and strollers on the road on the way out.

We drove toward the Longmire entrance of MRNP. East of Ashford, we looked for a left turn to FS road 59, but the sign was down, so we got all the way to the park and had to turn back to find the road, not marked from that side either, but there was a sign about 50 feet off the main road. Road 59 is gravel, in good condition. We drove 8 miles to trailhead and followed Trail 248 down and up, past Beljica bogs, to Goat Lake, and beyond to boundary of park. Many, many mosquitos in this leg of trip. Within the park, we came to steep open meadows with fabulous flowers; However, the trail was in terrible condition, narrow, overgrown, and crumbling at the downhill edge. (Two of our party fell when the edge gave way beneath their boots.) Once in the trees again, the trail was fine. The trail to the lookout is well-marked and in excellent condition, and lots fewer bugs over there. View was fantastic.

When we got back to our cars, we found official notes on the windshields thanking us for having permits. If the government can afford to send someone to check permits at a trailhead 8 miles from the main road, why can't they hire someone to put up signs marking that road'

Finally got the opportunity to hike to Gobblers Knob. My friend Rick and I drove the west side road to it's end and then rode, I walked, our mountain bikes up to the trail head. There were about a half dozen other mountain bikes locked up at the trail head when we arrived. It was about a three mile ride up the old west side road to the trailhead.

The trail was clear and dry. After about one mile we reached Lake George, we proceeded to Gobblers Knob which was another mile and a half. On the way we passed a small tarn after Lake George where we could see a salamander walking along the bottom.

The wildflowers were glorious. Great swatches of alavanche lillies. It was hot and dry with very little wind. The flies and mosquitos were constant companions during the hike. The views from the fire lookout were spectacular. Most of the morning haze had burned off by the time we reached the lookout.

This was my first hike off of the west side road and there were very few people for a Sunday in the summer. We really enjoyed the hike, now all I have to do is work on my mountain bike technique.

We drove to the Glacier View TH just west of MRNP on FS road 59 (Gifford Pinchot NF). Road was in excellant shape with no snow. Lost the trail twice because of snow but was able to relocate it without too much lost time. Many bugs but they didn't seem to be in the biting mode yet. LO was all shuttered up, but with the perfect view and weather, no one minded one bit. No flags.

Did Gobblers
Knob the easy way - via the Lk Christine trail. Spur road off Copper Creek is rough in places but the trail is great. Only had to share the lookout with one tired guy who had trudged up the West Side Road to Round Pass. Ran into the standard Sunday-PM-easy-hike-hoards on Mt Beljica (sp') on the way back. Still had some pep so I drove up to Paradise about 6PM expecting the tourists to be thinned out some (bad assumption) and did a loop up to Pan Pt. returning to parking lot in darkness, forgetting I was wearing sunglasses. Got stopped for ""speeding"" (warning) just below visitor center. Then almost hit big owl standing in middle of road near Van Trump Park trailhead. Long day.

Running low on provisions, we
decided to skip Mt. Ararat and just do Mt. Beljica, just outside of the park. Roads 59 and 5920 were a bit rough, and nearly impossible to drive one handed with an open cup of coffee in a car! After spraying the ceiling with java, my girlfriend made me finish the cup. We ran into Dan from Illinois, who we hiked with to our junction. He convinced us to press on to Gobblers Knob, and between us we had enough inaccurate maps to pull it off, although we did not have a topo for post-Goat Lake. Dismayed at the elevation loss on the trail and the horrendous bugs at the Lake, we figured the Knob must just be through the trees. Wrong! Another 1500 ft straight up. Flowers are still raging on the last climb, the usual paintbrush, lupine, columbine, cow parsnip, tiger lilies... We finally made the Knob, but Dan said he would have done Beljica if he knew so much elevation was involved. Two parties at the peak- the first was fully armed with knives and guns (in the NPS' What's up with that'), the others were camped at the Lake, and had spent most of the day on the peak avoiding the bloodsucking fest below. They finally descended after the mosquitos started biting through clothing... Good views of Rainier Glaciers, although clouds at 1200 ft. Decided I will have to do Wonderland some day. Passed said campers looking miserable and packing as fast as insects would allow. The 600 ft elevation gain on way out was a mean trick, but the shady open woods kept it interesting. Dan pointed out shell casings in the parking lot, and we found empty beer cans and dolls used for target practice. Probably NOT a good place to park overnight, esp. on a weekend!

This was our first trip on
the west side road. The park info suggested four miles of road walking to trail head. We made it in about 90 minutes. It would make an excellent bike trip, in fact there is a bike rack at the trail head to lock your wheels up. The trail is in excellent condition with only one or two minor snow patches high up in shaded areas. The shelter at Lake George appears to be in good condition. Park vehicles were seen driving the road beyond closure all the way to Round pass. The look out is locked but excellent views are had from the ( porch ' )