An extended weekend on the oft-overlooked Westside! Cooler August weather, a meteor shower, and abundant berries.
Wildfire smoke wasn't too bad, trails in decent condition, water sources dwindling down.
The lush river valleys of the Westside are typical Mt. Rainier scenery, easily accessed by the Glacier View trailheads (USFS) outside the park boundary. Unfortunately, FS-59 washed out in 2021 and there's no estimate on repairs. The road is blockaded at the entrance with Hwy 706.
A late start meant waiting in the long queue of cars entering at the Longmire gate. The shoulder was lined with folks without entry timeslots, waiting for 3pm, reminiscent of SeaTac airport arrivals in the evening. After dropping by the Longmire WIC to active my backcountry permit, I returned to Westside Road, the junction ignored as cars streamed up towards Paradise. Although gravel, the road is fine for any vehicle.
After starting the road hike, you'll cross over a bridge with a creek underneath. Although you'll hike by Tahoma Creek, pull water here to avoid clogging filters with that thick glacial silt.
The road is lined with tons of berries, from black raspberry, red huckleberry, thimbleberry, the occasional wood strawberry, and my favorite, trailing blackberry.
Lake George / Gobblers Knob
For day one, we turned left onto the Lake George trail, setting up camp for the night. All sites were occupied, but the spacious wooden shelter (raised platform, no bunks) remained open. The lakeshore isn't the best, with muddy grasses, but worked fine as a water source.
After pouring hot water into our MREs, we took a small pack up towards Gobblers Knob for sunset. If the east is called Sunrise, this should be called Sunset - with the hues of orange and gold cast across the glaciers of Mt Rainier. As the sun fell, mosquitoes quickly built up, and an owl swooped down to do loops around the lookout.
We returned two mornings later for sunrise, watching the clouds part and the sun crest over the ridge illuminating the chilly air. A large, solitary male elk stood in the path, often turning around to stare at us until it finally exited into a meadow.
Some folks at the lookout for the Perseid meteor shower, said at 2am they also saw auroras dancing over the horizon, and a lightning cluster illuminating a distant ridge.
South Puyallup / St Andrews Lake
As a dayhike, we dropped back to Westside Road and entered the South Puyallup Trail. This valley is usually abundant with mushrooms, but we're probably a month too early. A washout that previously created a tiny trail ledge has been fully rerouted.
At The Colonnade, we paused to look at the unique basalt formations identical to Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, and Devils Tower in Wyoming.
The South Puyallup Camp has a creek that runs through, but it was completely dried up. There are some tiny trickles west of the camp you can try pulling from.
Climbing up towards St Andrews, the south-facing slope is often exposed to scorching sun, but as a result is exploding with salmonberries. We took longer than reasonable eating handfuls of these delicious snacks. There's almost no water sources on the trail beyond tiny trickles close to the bridge at South Puyallup Camp.
Cresting into the alpine meadows, wildflower blooms swept the slopes, a diverse mix of colors. Pika 'meeps' echoed throughout the valley.
St Andrews Lake was surprisingly warm, and multiple folks took dips in the shallow water. The clouds often obscured Mt Rainier, but if you linger long enough, they eventually move for a momentary glimpse. High above the cloud line, you can often get clear views of the peak here, while the 'mountain isn't out' back in lowland Puget Sound.
Continuing to Klapatche Camp, the retreating pond called Aurora Lake was brackish with an exposed muddy floor.
Turning into the St Andrews Creek trail, we ran down the soft, switchbacked trail, descending gently during our trail run. At the base, be sure to do the short loop at the stone bridge to peek at Denman Falls, and maybe take a quick hop into the frigid creek. There's easy water access on the south side of the bridge.
Following the Westside Road, we returned back to our camp, having an early dinner for our sunrise breakfast at Gobblers Knob the morning after.
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