Secured cross-country permit for the Green Park (XGRE) Zone (who knew there was a CalTopo Map Sheets layer for Mount Rainier Backcountry Camps & Wilderness Zones?! Thanks to the Longmire WIC Ranger!) and we had a very nice trundle down past Sunrise and Hidden Lakes. "Unmaintained" trail beyond Hidden Lake still seems superior to many trails in USFS Wilderness and is an easy, steep follow. Blueberries and huckleberries galore all along the trail. Beyond the rim we found the Green Park meadows.
Lots of beautiful, open meadows on level after level. Had the place to ourselves other than the ground squirrels, pikas, birds, salamanders, and elk herd that stampeded by our camp in the middle of the night. Bugs were minimal and mainly of the yellow jacket variety.
Went up the Marcus Peak saddle for morning views of Rainier before racing the smoke back to Sunrise with a quick detour to meet a huffy (literally) black bear at Upper Palisades.
Wonderful hiking spot with lots of opportunities for further exploration.
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