Tahoma Creek Suspension Bridge - Emerald Ridge Loop, Wonderland Trail — Friday, Jul. 3, 2009

Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise

~ We decided to get out of Tacoma for the 4th of July weekend (the week long illegal explosive fest, courtesy of our local reservations gets old) and “get back to nature”. So we decided to head up to Tahoma (Rainier's real name) for some backpacking and quiet (and maybe a view of the fireworks from above) We got a late start on Friday which as it turns out, was not such a good idea. The line to get into the Longmire entrance to the park was insane, a couple of miles long at least. (this is why I normally avoid national parks like the plague on a holiday weekend) So there we sat, it a hot car in the blazing sun (it was pushing 90 degrees) with no air conditioning. I was on the sunny side of the car and was starting to get sick from it. On an interesting note, while we sat there not moving, I noticed a totem pole that I'd never seen driving past over the years. It's very neglected with moss growing over the eagle's head. Someone should really give it some love. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2463/3692266112_5847570179.jpg Once we got into the park it wasn't difficult to get up to Longmire (we got very lucky parking) to get our Wilderness permit. We headed up the West Side Road as far as we could drive and parked in the shade. The only time we saw other people was in this parking area. As I mentioned previously, it was pushing 90 degrees, and a 3:30 PM start walking up hill on a hot dirt road when I was already on the verge of heat sickness from sitting in the car in the sun made for a difficult first day. We walked up the closed, partially washed out road for a little over a mile before finding a flagged area that took us out into the middle of the riverbed (why they call a raging glacial fed river like Tahoma Creek a creek I just don't get) and followed flagging over boulders and under logs to the junction with the Tahoma Trail. This trail is no longer maintained, as is evidenced by several bridges in various states of disrepair, so it pays to be careful and watch one's step. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2423/3691480883_d8330b28c2.jpg There were several steep pitches up and down that ran along the river bed which made the trip challenging in the heat. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/3692524695_0a7d9908d7.jpg At the junction of the Tahoma Trail and the Wonderland Trail, we wandered out to check out the suspension bridge above Tahoma “creek” which although not on our route, was well worth checking out (this is no wussy bridge, it's one of those “one person at a time” bridges that sway wildly) and then headed back up the trail towards Emerald Ridge. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2635/3691718407_e96f4a5d9f.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3691729229_d73b7c894a.jpg Once we climbed up off of the Tahoma Trail we were treated to shade, water and beautiful display of trillium & other flowers and waterfalls. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3692461801_a1e37cc382.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2441/3691713867_e91f4682f3.jpg Our first night's camp was in the Glacier Island area By the time we got there, I was quite literally staggering from heat sickness, but felt better once the sun went down (which is thankfully early on the East side of a ridge) We had climbed 4,262 feet up and 1,830 feet down, so it was a good working on a hot day. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3691784225_cd072d431d.jpg The next morning, we were up bright and early (mostly because it was scorching hot) and headed out and around to the West side of Emerald Ridge. Some of the trail in the 5,000 foot zone was still covered in snow, but it was melting fast. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2658/3693214876_8c651a4d20.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3692392565_40bbaca1e9.jpg At this point, it was time to leave the trail and get at least ¼ mile away to be legally in the wilderness camping area. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3692579619_78993e7ba0.jpg We climbed up to a wonderful area up on the ridge which was bursting with wildflowers (in the areas that weren't still covered in snow). *of course, when the wildflowers return to the mountain, so do the bugs; they weren't out in full force (at least not those nasty little black flies that consider bug repellent as relish) but we were getting bit; don't forget your bug spray. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2466/3691868395_bcd558cefb.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2676/3692368269_83639344ee.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/3692680398_b28560f1d6.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3692131487_4ae338d83f.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2529/3692856504_60188e5c07.jpg We minimized our impact by pitching our tent in the snow rather than tromping on vegetation (added bonus, not only was it easy to make comfortable “butt divots” but we could melt snow for water instead of hiking down for it. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3149/3693135026_a0f5a90370.jpg Of course, we had a lovely view from the “front door”. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3563/3692328303_628f69643c.jpg Since I'd been sick the day before (and sadly, triathlon training really doesn't work the same muscles as backpacking) and it was still brutally hot, we spent a good portion of the day napping in the shade of a tree on the ridge line and watching climber on the glacier approach. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3693119168_561dce81c7.jpg We weren't high enough to see far enough into the sound to watch the fireworks, but the Tahoma Glacier was plenty spectacular. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/3693387354_c95be09b9f.jpg The rest of the pictures are available in a slide show here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildcelticrose/sets/72157620887973115/show/ Or as individual photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildcelticrose/sets/72157620887973115/ This is our basic route, I left our camp sites off... http://wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/emeraldridge09.jpg Thankfully, it was much cooler when we hiked out on Sunday, but we were still plenty hot by the time we got back to the car (which thankfully was parked in the shade) I'm tired, sunburned and covered in bug bites, but it was a wonderful get-a-way. ~L