It was the opening day for Sunrise. We rolled into the park around 12:30 PM and waited for about 1-1.5 hours to get into the park. We took the opportunity to eat lunch while waiting to get in. The parking was totally full near the trailhead and not many folks were leaving. We ended up parking on the side of the road across from the ranger station. There is a very nice bathroom in the campground with flushable toilets, toilet paper, and soap.
The trail had very slight grade which made it enjoyable and not too hard. It alternated between some forests and no cover which kept it interesting and dynamic with good views of the river and valley between the mountains.
Virtually the the trail is snow free up to Glacier Basin camp. There was a single patch that crossed the trail and it was packed down. We were able to cross very easily with just our boots (some might call it the tiniest bit slippery so poles could help if you're very cautious). At the camp we saw overnight campers setting up their tents and daytrippers having lunch on the rock islands on the river. The campground also has toilets. I didn't check them out but they are probably vault toilets. They also are quite a bit away from the camp so be prepared to walk a bit.
Not many wildflowers but spotted them here and there. Tons of butterflies. Some aggressive mosquitoes especially in forested areas. Lots of chipmunks throughout the whole hike. They were very hyper and it was amusing to watch them suddenly pop out of nowhere and zoom around in front of us.
After reaching camp, we continued hiking on the trail. We rested on some rocks and were swarmed by fire ants and other giant ants. Shook them off, no major bites - but unnerving. Continuing on, there is a dry dirt cat walk type of steep hill to climb. I was a little uncomfortable because there is a steep drop off and the ground kept slipping underneath me. Climbing wasn't so bad. Getting down, I had to catch myself from sliding and falling several times. In this area there was a semi-sketch section where on one of the drop off edges the ground gave out, so you have to maneuver a bit around that. I'd expect it to give out in the near future, so maybe they will need to re-route the trail a bit.
We took the trail all the way to the edge of the basin area (where mountaineers were ascending the mountains in the back) and found a family of 4 mountain goats: a huge male, two females, and a baby. They stayed near the top of the rock formations. We almost missed them until they gave themselves away with the sounds of their hoofing around and the resulting rock fall and dust kicked up. We watched them make their way around the ridge line, grazing on patches of grass. The baby skipped around and made joyful ba sounds :)
On our way down, we accidentally surprised a group of marmots and they ran around like they were in some slapstick comedy skit.
The hike down was very pleasant and we made it back by 8:30 PM - it was still light out. The moon was full on the way back and we got great views of it over Rainier as we approached last light. Overall, it was a very special outing!!
I am young but have a badish knee from an old injury and would say the hike up to the camp was very doable assuming you are comfortable with the gain and mileage. The ground was soft and comfortable to walk on with little to no rocks.
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