Louise Lake — Saturday, Jul. 12, 2014

Mount Rainier Area > SE - Cayuse Pass/Stevens Canyon

This is a great hike for people who are mainly sight-seers and want a hike that pays off with gorgeous views without too much effort. We parked on the road and took the little steps that lead to the section of Wonderland Trail and took that down to the lake. After kicking around there for a bit (it was a bit swampy on the shore but we didn't have any issues with bugs) we took the trail up toward Faraway Rock. It's a little bit "Hmmm" at first as it's close to the road, so, road sounds (hard to maintain the illusion you're in nature, heh) but that quickly faded out. The hike was lovely and the views are spectacular. It was a CRAZY busy day at Paradise -- so many cars we didn't even bother to try to hit the visitor center -- yet this trail was just about deserted, even though it was so easy. A note that there is no log to walk across the creek that connects the trail to the portion that gets you to Faraway Rock -- they were washed out, a bit down the rocks. On our visit, the creek was running very fast and it wasn't very warm out, so we decided to skip it because we are wimps and didn't feel like walking around the rest of the day in wet shoes. I'm sure it's perfectly do-able to step from rock to rock with care. Also a note that one of the wooden sections of the trail was partially collapsed. There is not a big drop underneath it or anything, but just a note that you want to cross with care. Wildflowers were STUNNING.