Sheep Lake to Sourdough Gap — Sunday, Jul. 3, 2016

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

This hike has everything from lakes to mountain views. With several possible destinations and many extra trails that can lead to more adventures and distance, this trip is perfect for hikers of all ability levels. It's also less busy than Paradise or Sunrise, which is a major plus. In honor of the 4th of July weekend, some old cross-country friends and I made the trek up to Mt. Rainier National Park to hike Sheep Lake and Sourdough Gap. The big trip was justified by the fact that one of them had never been to Rainier before (!!!) and obviously, this extremely huge problem needed to be addressed ASAP. The day started off with ominously cloudy skies and some fat raindrops, so we prayed for it to clear up so that a) we could see Mt. Rainier, and b) because neither of my teammates brought their raincoats. It looked like our prayers had been answered as the sky began to clear up, but as soon as we entered the park and began to climb the mountain roads, we entered literally the thickest fog any of us had ever seen. Visibility was so poor that we could barely see 25 yards ahead of us, and we were terrified that we were going to drive off a cliff. We eventually made our way to the parking lot after driving at a snail's pace for safety reasons, only to find that the parking lot was surrounded by snow. However, do not let this scare you away. The trail is located on the right-hand side of the parking lot, and by some interesting natural mechanism, is completely snow-free up to the lake. Unfortunately, this did not mean that the trail was fog-free. Big views that are usually visible on the right side of the trail were obscured by a giant cloud, and we made our way to the lake without seeing the surrounding mountains. The trail to the lake is very gently graded, and very nice to walk on; this makes it a great trail for kids or those who don't want a difficult hike. Sheep Lake is a very pretty shade of green, and the tall meadowy mountains surrounding it are classic Rainier. We saw a bunch of people walking around the lake and camping out for the weekend. If this is your final destination, you'll end up with a nice 4 mile hike. After looking out of the lake, we continued on the trail up to Sourdough Gap. This is where the hike gains all its elevation, and it does so pretty steeply. However, it isn't super difficult, and the great views below kept us distracted from sore legs. At this point, the fog began to clear up and we were able to see more of our surroundings. By the time we reached the gap, the fog was pretty much gone. The views from the gap are astounding, to say the least. Looking back from where we came, we saw the lake below, and looking forward, there was a large valley / snow bowl with another lake and a multitude of rolling mountains stretching off into the distance. We turned to the left and followed a long trail along a steep slope, coming to an intersection with the PCT (very cool!). The PCT trail switchbacks down the mountain to the lake below, but we decided to continue on our current trail instead of heading downwards. We continued across the slope and eventually crossed over the ridge again after passing under a towering spire of rock. From here, we were able to see some cool, more exposed slopes and another valley. We walked down a small path to a little hummock, where we were floored by the view of Upper Crystal Lake below with the summit of Mt. Rainier peaking out from the clouds. We sat down to eat our snack, only to hear what sounded like a couple falling rocks. We turned around, and spotted two mountain goats chasing each other down the slope! They passed underneath us and we watched them gambol around on the snow below. This was pretty exciting, as they were the first wildlife I've seen while hiking this summer. After finishing our snack, we climbed back up to the trail and descended into the valley to the shore of upper Crystal Lake. There were a couple of patches of snow that we had to cross, but we had no difficulties doing so in just our boots. The descent was steep and the bottom very marshy. After poking around a bit, we headed back up the mountain, over the ridge, and back to Sourdough Gap. Along the way, we spotted a hoary marmot among the rocks below the trail. At the gap, we followed a rough trail along the ridge to find a spot to eat our lunch. Along the way, we discovered a geocache which was super cool! After examining its contents and eating our food, we took in the views and made good use of the amazing picture opportunities that the ridge had to offer. The view from our lunch spot of Sheep Lake was even better than the one from the Gap! After we finished, we headed back down to the car. On the way, we found an injured hummingbird on the trial that seemed to have dislocated its wing. There wasn't much we could do for the poor thing, but we moved it off the trail (without touching it to avoid germ transmission) so that it wouldn't be bothered or squished by anyone. This was a very nice hike, and probably would be pretty good to do with children! It's a great taste of what Rainier has to offer without the crowds you find at Paradise or Sunrise. If you're interested, check out my blog @ www.mountainridgereviews.com or on instagram @mountainridgereviews for trails and gear reviews, as well as more pictures! Thanks, and happy hiking :)