Burroughs Mountain — Saturday, Jul. 30, 2011

Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River

We got to the Sunrise parking lot at 9:15 AM and were surprised by how few cars were in the parking lot. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, warm and no wind. We started out of the parking lot on the Frozen Lake trail up the meadow to the ridge. There was a little snow at the top of the ridge but other than that it was an easy walk to Frozen Lake. Once at the lake we decided to attempt Firsr Burroughs. The trail on the shady side was mostly snow covered and is currently a steep snow slope up the hill. They have posted a sign saying that ice axes are reccomended. We started up the hill, with one ice axe, I improved upon the kicked steps with my boots and my partner followed up in my footsteps, all went well. Once at the top it was like a goatpalooza, goats all over the place, the first time I have ever actually caught them on First Burroughs. They kindly stepped out of the way as we approached and moved back once we left. The trail from First to Second Burroughs has a little bit of snow on it in places, but pretty minor compared to the Frozen Lake to First Burroughs segment. We spent about an hour on top with only two other hikers, very quiet for a beautiful Saturday. On the way out from Frozen Lake to Sunrise I counted over 125 people coming up the trail; the tennis shoe and shorts crowd had arrived.