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Trip Report

Glacier Basin — Friday, Jun. 20, 2025

Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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I arrived at White River Campground a little before 7 AM. There were just a few vehicles parked at that time. When I came back about 1 PM the lot was mostly full, but with some turnover in progress.

Flush toilets at the White River campground are still closed for the season. The outdoor "throne" toilets at Glacier Basin Camp are available and in good condition.

The trail from White River Campground to Glacier Basin Camp is great, with moderate grade, well-maintained, and with numerous pretty waterfalls crossing under. All the bridges are in good shape. Starting about 2.5 miles in, at 5400 feet elevation, snow becomes intermittently unavoidable, sometimes in steep mounds that require careful stepping. On my way up, early in the morning, the snow was firm and easily gripped by my boots. On the way down, around midday and after some light rain, it was a little slushy and more slippery. I got along without extra traction, but was grateful to have poles.

The big meadow at the camp is beautiful, with huge numbers of glacier lilies in bloom, but many more getting ready to bloom later. Many other wildflower varieties are blooming in small quantities. And I saw 4(!) marmots foraging in and around the meadow, plus two near the trail on the way up.

I continued past the "end of trail maintenance" sign at the edge of the camp, about a mile further and up to about 6850 feet elevation. That's not on the glacier, but right now the seasonal snow is still continuous there. I avoided walking over one obvious snow bridge with a stream running under it.

While I saw nobody on the trail during my ascent, on the way down I passed about 2 dozen in various groups. Many seemed headed for the Emmons Moraine trail.

A small selection of what's blooming
Furry friends
Looking down the basin from about 6800 feet
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Comments

robgirl on Glacier Basin

The furry friends are so dang cute!

Posted by:


robgirl on Jun 21, 2025 08:18 AM

DRDana on Glacier Basin

Aren't they? Your comment reminded me I forgot to mention the marmots in my report, so I just revised it. I've never seen so many (6) on one hike. And for once I managed to get the long lens on my camera before they skittered away.

Posted by:


DRDana on Jun 21, 2025 09:52 AM