As far as views of Rainier go I'm not sure you can find a better spot. This is my favorite side of the mountain and I think the views from here are better than from Paradise, being a bit further away I think gives you a better idea of the size. Trail to the saddle was uneventful, had a nice scramble up to the top of Pinnacle Peak. This is a call 3 or 4 scramble with some exposure but the holds were good where they needed to be so it never felt dicey to me. Some mountain goats started some rock fall in the gully next to me, would have been bad news if they were above me but it still led me to down climbing faster than I wanted to. Back to the saddle and then past to go up Plummer which was a walk up. Such a beautiful day and still wanting more I decided to push on to the end of the northern part of the traverse. The trail just kind of disappears so it is not much of a destination. Probably not much reason to go past the saddle in between Denman and Lane peak. On the way back I hit Denman for a 3 summit day. Started early enough that I had the area to myself, didn't pass anyone else until the way down. What a wonderful day in the mountains and a great hike. Only problem was the bugs, they were ferocious and put an end to my idea of taking a nap in the meadow.
5.84 miles
2,662 elevation gain
4 hours 56 minutes
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