Comet Falls — Monday, Jul. 4, 2011

Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise

Planned on just a short stop at Christine Falls, but we ended up on the Comet Falls trail, so we decided to see how far we could go. Answer: about a mile before you need an ice ax (we didn't have one). There are plenty of clear section on the trail above Christine Falls, and plenty of snow. After a while, the snow starts taking over patches of the trail, but as long as you're on switchbacks, it's not a big deal to follow the tracks of other people and pick up the trail when the snow ends. But soon enough, the switchbacks run out, and the trail follows a ledge. After traversing a couple of snowy spots, we came across a place with a big pile of snow on a ledge where continuing would be foolhardy, so we turned around. Judging from the tracks, everyone else did, as well. We did get overtaken on the way down by a couple of guys who apparently went over that patch, but they had ice axes and were much better equipped. Wait a few more weeks for this one; the snow is melting fast.