Rampart Ridge Snowshoe, Rampart Ridge Loop — Friday, Feb. 19, 2021

This is actually a report for two separate hikes on Rampart Ridge in Mt. Rainier. 

On Wednesday, I snowshoed the Rampart Ridge loop clockwise from Longmire.  With NWAC posting avalanche danger as "considerable" for this area, I hiked out and back as far as the part of the trail above the Kautz Creek valley where you need to cross an open, steep slope.  The trail was snow-covered the entire way. Once I got past the overlook, I was breaking trail through wonderful fluffy snow. Snowshoes were definitely needed on this outing.  I saw five small groups over the course of the hike.

Today, with the avalanche danger remaining at "considerable", I snowshoed the loop trail from Longmire counterclockwise, stopping a few hundred feet before my stopping spot from Wednesday (see the linked video). I hiked through new snow the entire time, but the trail was easy to follow.  While snowshoes weren't essential, they sure made the day a lot easier and a lot more fun.  There were two trees down crossing the trail, both of which were fairly easy to navigate.  I took a short side trip out to the area where there is a snow-covered pond for a quick lunch stop. As the afternoon warmed up, more and more big clumps of snow dropped from trees. I saw only two people on the trail today.

With the road to Paradise closed for most of a week, this was a great way to play in the park, while remaining careful.  If I was asked which of the two hikes I preferred, I wouldn't be able to answer because both are awesome!