Owyhigh Lakes, Tamanos Mountain — Thursday, Jun. 23, 2022

My wife and I participated in a Mountaineers scramble to Tamanos Mountain with six others. It was a gorgeous blue-sky day and our first visit to Mount Rainier National Park in many years. Mere words and pictures cannot do it justice, but suffice it to say, we were blown away with the views.

ROAD / PARK: Sunrise is closed, along with the White River Campground. This results in very low traffic to the White River Entrance. The bathrooms at the entrance are closed for construction, but there are plenty of clean and stocked port-a-potties there. No bathrooms at the Owyhigh Lakes TH down the road.

TRAIL: The route we took ascended first to Owyhigh Lakes via the Owyhigh Lakes Trail. This trail is in excellent shape. Super easy grade and nice switchbacks through the forest. There are about 3 or 4 pretty large blowdowns before you reach the lakes, a couple of which are kind of a pain to go around, but we managed. The trail isn't super scenic along the way, just nice old-growth forest with a few peek-a-boo views down to the White River below, and one to the Shaw Creek drainage which is pretty cool. Just before you reach the lakes, the views open up to Governors Ridge on your left, which dominates the scenery there.

SNOW: The snow on the trail starts intermittently about 1.5 miles before the lakes at around 4800'. By 5000' it's pretty much continuous, well before you reach Tamanos Creek. There are a few steep gully crossings before the camp where a fall and slide could cause serious injury. Most of us just used poles and boots to cross here, but an ice axe and/or traction would help if you're uncomfortable with steep snow. Crossing the bridge over Tamanos Creek is a bit tricky due to the 4' of snow on either side of it, but it's not too bad.

It becomes difficult to find the trail at this point, but it continues south without gaining or losing much elevation after the camp, so it's hard to go too far wrong. I would recommend a compass or GPS if you are unfamiliar with the area. Owyhigh Lakes are starting to melt out, but the surrounding forest has probably 4-6' of snow in it.

The snow throughout was generally very well consolidated, and postholing was minimal when in the trees. In the open areas and in the heat of the afternoon, it was softening up quite a bit.

TAMANOS MOUNTAIN: Using ice axes, we ascended snow to the 6200' saddle south of Tamanos Mountain, then continued up the south ridge on snow to the 6700' level. The top part is all on loose rock, so it took us quite a bit of time (maybe 30 minutes) to reach the true summit on the north end.

The views get progressively more jaw-dropping as you ascend to the ridge, then when you reach the saddle Mount Rainier is staring you in the face. From the summit the views were even more amazing. Adams and Goat Rocks seemed very close to the south, and the whole Cascade and Stuart Range were laid out in front of us to the north, including Glacier Peak. We could easily see the road up to Sunrise, as well as the road to Chinook Pass and Tipsoo Lake (entirely frozen). We marveled at the Cowlitz Chimneys and the cliffs of Banshee Peak.  

GEAR: Going to the lakes, most hikers will be fine with sturdy waterproof boots and poles. Spikes or other traction aren't really needed, but gaiters are helpful if you're going on a warmer day when the snow is softening up. Climbing Tamanos Mountain will require mountaineering skills with an ice axe and helmet.