Labor Day Backpacking is becoming a tradition in our family, but this Labor Day I was wavering, but my wife held fast despite the marginal forecast. We'd be hiking with our eight year old son carrying a full (kid-sized) pack for the second time. We scouted the maps for scenic, but mellow hikes. We found this little corner of Mt. Rainier National Park and it was wonderful.

Starting a bit late we motored down to the Sunrise Ranger station. It was raining in Seattle. I was nervous, but as we got to Auburn, the Mountain peeked out. The weather only got better as we approached. At Sunrise, we got the last campsite reservation. We went back down to Sunrise Point and got on the trail. This is a "reverse hike" meaning that you drop elevation from the trailhead.

This is a great backpack for kids. The elevation gain is small, but the scenery is surprisingly varied for such a short (3.5 mile) and relatively flat trail. It passes through park lands, forest, and by lakes. Near the end of the trail, a shallow pond held hundreds of tadpoles, a couple of frogs, and a salamander. Our son and two friends of his who day hiked out with us spent almost an hour here.

The tadpole pond was right in the middle of a large meadow with the Palisades as a backdrop. Despite the forecast, the weather was mostly sunny. Once we got the kids away from the pond, we completed the short walk to Upper Palisade Lake. There we discovered we were the only campers! Our friends spend an hour with us before heading back to their car.

Our campsite was open, but had some trees to block the wind. A rock slide backed up on the site. The kids had a great time exploring it. The Park Service has put up very easy to use bear poles.

As the first night approached, I realized how stressed I was. I had to slow down to the pace of this beautiful basin. I found myself inventing little tasks and fussing with gear. The wind came up. You could here the gusts coming as they rustled the silver firs. Between gusts the only sounds were ours and we poked around the campsite. The constrast of wind and silence punctuated by only our voices, brought home the scope of our solitude. We were the only people for miles.

That night I woke up and heard elk bugling. It was the first time I had ever heard them. It is an eerie, beautiful sound. You feel the life happening out in the darkness. The next day we explored the talus basin below the Palisades. It seems that much of this area was a snowfield until recently. Many rocks were bare and free of lichen. This may explain why the Upper Palisades Lake is shrinking.

The next night the elk were quiet, but the Milky Way made a surprise appearance before a cold rain moved in. Thankfully, all three days were dry. Straggling flowers dotted the meadows. Some are drying out. Berries were few, but we found some on the short side trail to Hidden Lake (the most beautiful in my opinion).

The hike out passed quickly. We saw tons of elk tracks on the upper part of the trail, includes one massive paths they blazed down the upper basins to Dick's Lake. The hardest part was the last .4 mile which gains 400'. Our son was amazing. He carried his weight cheerfully the whole weekend and can't wait to get back on the trail. You won't see Mt. Rainier, but you will reduce the crowds and see some wonderful scenery.