Another beautiful day at Mt. Rainier NP. Temps in the mid 50's to upper 70's. No clouds and Mt. Rainier was golden. Bugs did come out in the late morning but were manageable; bugs are not at peak population yet. Three cars in the parking lot by 6:45 AM and three spots open when we got back at 12:15. We saw three people on the way up and many on the way down.
Trail up to Fryingpan Creek is perfect. Rock-hoping to the Fryingpan Creek bridge is easy. There is some patches of snow along the switchbacks to Summerland. They are not too difficult (no microspikes or ice axe needed) but poles were definitely helpful.
Flowers aren't blooming yet (as of July 19) at Summerland but it is still very impressive. Like the previous poster mentioned, there is bear scat along the switchbacks. We unfortunately didn't see any wildlife but do be careful around bears which frequent Summerland.
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