We were able to snag a parking space along Sunrise Park Road around 8am on Sunday, saving us the extra 2.3 miles from parking at White River Trailhead. The backpacking camping permits were gone for the day (go figure, Labor Day Weekend) for Summerland Meadows and Indian Bar, so we made it a Day Hike. This was just manageable for us. Temperature was golden - not too hot, not to cold.
The Summerland trail is awesome -it's never too steep except for those last switchbacks up to the meadows. At that point, you're getting glimpses of Rainier. Saw some orange Oyster mushrooms on that stretch. Couldn't make out any mountain goats on Goat Island Mountain. We did see some sort of river otter bounding on the trail. Plenty of flowers, but they are beginning to fade, fall foliage should soon arrive!
We soaked our feet in the shallow glacial fed pond just before the climb to Panhandle Gap. There are a couple of snow patches here and there. Other hikers were light that day, we mostly saw groups coming into camp towards late afternoon. Trail is in great shape!
Total time: 9 hrs. Total distance: 12 miles.
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