Indian Bar - Cowlitz Divide — Saturday, Jul. 24, 2021

Started at Box Canyon on a Saturday morning around 8:30am with a parking lot only about half full. The first three miles of the trail is pleasant and shady among the trees, consistently climbing but never too steeply. All downed trees mentioned in the previous trip report have been removed and the trail in good condition and free of any obstacles, with the exception of one destroyed crossing over a small stream. A few blueberry bushes starting to have ripe berries.
The trail starts to wander through meadows shortly after the junction with the Cowlitz Divide trail. Lots of wildflowers blooming in purples, whites, and yellows. Bugs are worst in the mile or so after the junction and were much more tolerable near the highest point. It’s another 1.5 or 2 miles before the views of Mt. Rainier become more than just peeks through the trees, but boy oh boy it is worth the wait! There are several magnificent vistas leading up to and immediately after the highest point as you traverse the ridge line. Almost all snow is gone, with only a few small patches that are at most a few yards long. There is an excellent rocky ledge with in your face views across the valley about a quarter of a mile before the highest point that is a perfect lunch spot.
I did the first part of the drop to Indian Bar to the vista before turning back. Round trip, this made for just over a 12 mile trip. I saw very few groups on the way up and only slightly more on the way down, mostly overnight hikers. Highly recommend for day hikers in good shape looking for solitude and the quintessential Mt Rainier environments!