A beautiful day to be out at Mt Rainier, clear views all the way to the Olympics! I hiked a loop from the Paul Peak trailhead to the intersection with the Wonderland trail, to Mowich Lake, up to the Tolmie Lookout, and back out via the Grindstone Trail and Mowich Lake Road. It's a great loop this time of year, I saw no one all day and the trail conditions were quite good, snow easily passable, with the exception of deeper sections at and above Eunice Lake.
Road: I was happy to see that the road is open all the way to the Paul Peak Trailhead, the gate for winter closure is shortly past that. The road is very rough on the drive in, a car that can manage lots of potholes is a must. No snow at all to the trailhead (3,800').
Snow: Paul Peak trail is snow free. Intermittent snow as you approach Mowich lake starting at about 4,500' and consistent above 4,700'. On the trail before Mowich it's only 3-4" max, some slushy and some icy, and then 6-8" in the open areas at the campground and road at the lake. The hike up to Ipsut Pass is mostly snow covered, but once you climb above the lakeshore it's only a few inches on trail. Would be icy in colder temperatures, but I didn't need any traction today. So it ended up being a pretty easy going all the way up to Eunice Lake (5,400') where things changed and the snow got significantly deeper. Variable, but consistently 18-24" deep and constant postholing. So it was a slog up to the lookout for that last mile, and snowshoes would have made things a lot easier. But the trail was easy to follow and level enough that it wasn't risky, just a significant workout. Glad I had gaiters. Snow on the Mowich Lake Road started at about 4,200'. There were ski tracks up at Mowich Lake, but at the moment you'd need to carry them the first couple miles from the closure point before being able to use them.
Trail: Paul Peak Trail in excellent condition. Besides the snow described above, it was quite wet for sections above Ipsut Pass. And the Grindstone Trail is very mucky in sections right now. But I did fine with waterproof trail runners and gaiters for the snowy sections, plus poles.
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