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.