Grove of the Patriarchs Loop, Tamanos Mountain, Summerland - Panhandle Gap, Indian Bar - Cowlitz Divide & Ohanapecosh Hot Springs — Friday, Jul. 10, 2015

Mount Rainier Area > SE - Cayuse Pass/Stevens Canyon

Did a loop hike starting and finishing at Ohanapecosh campground. We took our time on this 40 mile hike, taking 5 days to do it. Day One- Hiking from Ohanapecosh, headed north past Silver Falls and connected with the loop trail. This was near the Grove of the Patriarchs trailhead. From there we made our way to Deer Creek Campground for night one. Two sites of which we were the only ones that night. The trail is easy and quiet, we only ran into a trail runner the entire portion of this hike. Water was accessible adjacent to camp. Day Two - We hiked to Tamanos Creek campground and didn't encounter any hikers. The trail was well maintained with a few area to stop and take in views of waterfalls. The blueberries we in season and were a nice treat as we made our way to Tamanos Creek campground. Two other hikers hiking together (coming from the opposite direction) made it to camp later that day. Water was nearby in Tamanos Creek. Day Three - We continued north to the Tamanos Creek Trailhead on the road that leads up to the Sunrise Visitor's Center. From there walked about 1/2 mile crossing the White River bridge, to the Summerland trailhead. Now heading south, we hiked to Summerland. This portion of the hike had some nice elevation gain and views of the the river and the Chimneys. This trail was quite busy and included a group of WTA volunteers doing some trail maintenance. The area around the campground was busy with many day hikers. It appeared as if most campsites filled up later in the day with overnight hikers as well. Water was nearby. Day Four - We hiked our way south over the Panhandle Gap to Indian Bar campground. While on this portion of the hike we enjoyed the vistas and watching mountain goats. We only had to small stretches of snow covered trail that was easy to cross. Indian Bar filled up this evening. Again water was available at this camp. Day Five - We finished our loop with a 10 mile 4,000 feet decent. Ran into one hiker coming from the other direction. The knees started "talking" a bit near the end of this day. Had wonderful views of both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams in the first half of this day's hike. Made it to Ohanapecosh in time to drive into Packwood for a tasty burger and a beer.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://picasaweb.google.com/115962984759328440076/MtRainierNationalParkHike710To714