Mount Tahoma day!  The weather guessers predicted clouds for most of the day. We started hike in a misty sprinkle at 9 am. 
Parked in the climber’s parking lot in the campground, trail is clearly marked at the far end of the campground. 
We hiked the Emmons moraine trail on our way out, also clearly marked. Crossed a small wooden bridge and up a sandy switchback to get over the ridge to lake, mountain and glacier views. If looking for a shorter hike, this could be a great 3 mile adventure. 
Clouds rolled back in for our hike to Glacier basin. The trail is in great condition. We saw many mushrooms, a marmot, a deer and an American dipper, one of my favorite birds. 
Clouds swam by to provide more views at the basin. Wonderful hike, not crowded, with surprisingly good weather, friendly hikers and a pristine trail. 

To the woman I incorrectly scolded about mushroom picking, I apologize. But the park still wants you at one of these areas according to their website: "While mushroom hunting, please strive to minimize your impact and always stay on trail in the following areas: Paradise, Sunrise, Tipsoo Lake meadows area, and Ohanapecosh hot springs area."

1.5mi up White River hardly counts as sunrise, and there were barely any mushrooms left for us to enjoy.

No bears at the basin but plenty of marmots.

Saturday of Labor Day Weekend we arrived at the White River ranger station after the 3pm cutoff for timed entry, hoping for a permit to camp that night. We learned Glacier Basin had walk-up sites available, so we snagged a permit for that and started up the trail at 4:40pm. Within 2 hours we were settling into site #5. Sites 2 (right next to the trail) and 4 remained unoccupied during our stay.

Water available at a stagnant tarn, or from the river, which was a bit silty and we had to clean up our pump after pumping river water.

The toilet at this camp has the longest approach I’ve ever experienced, possibly warranting its own trail guide. You can get there from the main trail (signed), but also from a narrow path that follows the shoreline of the tarn before contouring back towards the main trail. You can make a loop trip of your morning constitutional.

Bugs were not a problem at all. The campsites are tucked close to one another, not a lot of privacy. There are no views to speak of from camp. You have to step down the trail a little ways for views of Mt Ruth, the basin, and a peekaboo of Rainier upper mountain.

Not a lot of flowers, but there are still some asters blooming. And gentian where it’s moist, near the river.

Parked at Sunrise, walked to second Burroughs, down (steep!) to the Glacier Basin trail and up to the campsites, down to White River Campground (seemed like a long way! downhill), and up to Sunrise (seemed very long!). My device showed a total of 12.9 miles. The elevation gains and losses were cumulative on the body and this was a very, very strenuous hike for me. In contrast, hiking 12 miles from Longmire to Paradise round trip was not nearly as hard, nor was 12 miles round trip Kendall Katwalk hike from I-90 parking lot. Still, it was a gorgeous day. The mountain is so all-encompassing when seen from the Burroughs that the scene is always mind blowing.

Did the Glacier Basin Loop, with an added trip to 3rd Burroughs. I did it CW, but would definitely do it CCW next time (views are way better this direction!).

There was no line to get into Sunrise at 6:30 am. I arrived at the White River Campground TH and found plenty of parking. Glacier Basin Trail is very pleasant and in wonderful shape. You do gain a little elevation, but it is so gentle that you barely notice it. Once you turn onto Sunrise Trail, the climbing really starts. There is slight overgrowth along this part, and one tree down (looks like it's been there awhile). I saw no humans until I reached the junction with 3rd Burroughs. By then the wind was picking up a bit, but I still decided to go for it. Epic views from the top. So windy and cold. I was in multiple layers, winter hat, and gloves. Saw one pika who watched me very carefully as I ate my snack. 

I then continued on to the loop up 2nd Burroughs. The views are slightly different from this one. It was starting to get more populated as I made my way across the Burroughs Mountain Trail down towards Shadow Lake and Sunrise Camp. The views are really nice along the ridge during this part! It took awhile, since there were a lot of people coming up. Note: Rainier is to your back this entire time, thus, why I would do it the other direction. But you can see Grand Park, Berkely Park, Frozen Lake, and dozens of other destinations from the ridge. Plus, the views to the south are epic as well.

Sunrise Camp was pretty busy. Shadow Lake less so. I was happy to hop on the Wonderland Trail down to WR Campground and get back that solitude! The descent is quite gentle here. Saw only a couple of backpackers. It was almost 80 degrees when I got back to the car....it was crazy to think that just a couple hours ago, I was freezing in full winter gear! Just a reminder that mountain weather can be a beast! 

No bugs!