We were committed to hiking at Mount Rainier as I had reserved an entry permit months ago. Not something I would have done if I'd known it was going to be a heat advisory/red flag day, but we were still all in adjusting plans as we went. Fortunately the threat of smoke from the north west did not materialize and we had a grand day. Arriving at 10:00 I think that was the first day I've ever gotten out of the car at Sunrise without needing to layer up. I did take my wind jacket and didn't even need that. Sun and bug protection are a must right now. Parking in the main lot was around three quarters full which surprised me as were only the second shift of the day, perhaps lots of people are coming in before 7:00.
Not wanting a busy hike we took the trail to Dege Peak; once you turn right at the first intersection you leave the crowds behind. The ridge hike offers a breeze which came and went as we passed the gaps between the ridge outcroppings. Flowers are close to peak, still lots of green stems but most of those are for the late season asters. Butterflies were everywhere. Early flowers are done with Pasque flowers at the fluffy seed head stage. I don't really think of the meadows above Sunrise as class A mountain meadows it is just too exposed and the pumice soil too demanding there but right now everything the meadow has you get to enjoy. The trail to Dege Peak is a mellow one with just a bump up to moderate in the last quarter mile right before the peak. Very few humans, very many bugs at the peak but the views are amazing.
Coming back down we made the decision to return to the parking lot for lunch at the picnic tables before continuing down to Shadow Lake to make a loop, that did not work. The pic-nic area is nice, lots of hidden tables and with a bit of spray we had an insect-uninterrupted lunch. After eating we hiked around to the start of the service road (you have to go around the front of the visitors center to get there - no secret back trails), only to find it closed and staffed. It's an official, but temporary, closure as endangered wildlife are raising babies there right now. Not wanting to hike down and then back up on the Shadow Lake trail we opted to extend our hiking day on the Silver Forest trail instead. The flowers here are also at peak and the views down to the Emmons moraine vast and deep. It was hotter and busier and the narrow trail makes passing a bit of a chore but it is summer in a national park. All in our mileage was around seven and we still had time left to drive over to take a spin up to Tipsoo Lake as well.
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