Sourdough Ridge — Friday, Jul. 3, 2015

Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River

My wife and I drove down to Sunrise at Mt. Rainier to take advantage of the near full moon and watch the sunrise. I have wanted to do this for close to a year now and it did not disappoint. We left Seattle around 12:30am and made it up to the Sunrise Visitor Center lot around 3:15. I took some extra time on the drive down SR-410 due to the darkness (even with a bright moon) and the amount of wildlife we encountered trotting along or across the road. We saw 3 elk and double digit deer - thankfully none of them jumped out at inopportune times - so definitely be cautious if you head down there at night. We hopped on the trail a little after 4:00 and made it to the view point just beyond Frozen Lake where we decided to stop. The trail is completely snow free but did have several jagged rocks sticking out in several spots on the way out. We used headlamps for the first part of the hike but didn't need them once we got out of the treeline and out along the rocks. One other couple passed us not far from the start of the trail but those were the only other hikers we saw until we got back near the visitor center. If you want a national park to yourself for a while (especially considering how busy this trail usually is) I absolutely recommend doing this. The transition from moonlight to sunlight on the snow on the summit was spectacular. We got back to the car around 6:30 and several other cars had pulled into the lot. Made it back to Seattle at 9:30 and slept the rest of the day. When we do this again we'll consider driving down the night before and either camping or sleeping in the car.