My friend and I began our 5-night, 6-day at Sunrise Lodge. We did the entire Northern Loop with a spur to Spray Park. 46 miles of epic bliss!
Day 1: Sunrise to Mystic Lake Camp: We had plenty of company the first night, but dinner at the lake .2 miles from the sites was a treat with Rainier playing peak-a-boo and the wildflowers behind us making a fabulous show. No trail obstacles. An easier first day. Bugs were not bad at camp. Toilet decent. Water source plentiful!
Day 2: Mystic to Cataract Valley Camp: We could not help but comment on the diversity of the terrain on this hike. A climb out of Mystic provided meadows, wildflower and stunning shots of Tahoma! The suspension bridge over the Carbon was excellent. Love me a suspension bridge adventure! We ended with a very hard climb to Cataract camp and snagged the sweet #6 site, room for two. A bear had been sited at a main water source along the way. Pikas making their chatter and water at camp was plentiful. There are two solared toilets back-to back to each other. So nice to have nice toilets! We did hear a large animal in the middle of the night, but nothing to note other than that.
Day 3: Cataract Valley to Spray Park (Day hike): It's a very steep spur to Spray Park from camp. It's all up, with a rock field for a good 1/4 mile. All without major obstacles, and plenty of water sources along the way. A cinnamon bear (very large) was way too close for comfort, but it was cool to see it at the where you crest Spray Park. Views were spectacular. Stayed at Cataract Valley camp a second night.
Day 4: Cataract Valley Camp to Yellowstone Cliffs Camp: A lot of down and then a lot of up. VERY hard up. Relentless up. But worth every step to a unique camp that looks directly out to the Tyee peak and surrounding cliffs. Stunning! We had some does and bucks romping around our camp that evening. No one else there, just us. Water source plentiful. Our favorite camp site!
Day 5: Yellowstone Cliffs Camp to Fire Creek Camp: This day provided spectacular landscape diversity. Windy Gap is a treat. Lots of meadows, vista views, and then a steep and steady down to the White West Fork River. To be honest, it was a mess at the first section. Easy enough, but the logs were a little hard to navigate (especially for a 5'2" person like me!) But I'm all about a challenge and managed to navigate, even had to be on all fours at one time. The main crossing has a foot bridge with rail which we were incredibly grateful for. We had to navigate a bit to find the trail again and then embarked on another steep, relentless climb to Fire Creek through sun-speckled forest. The camp feels very remote, as it's .5 miles off the trail. We had it all to ourselves and water source plentiful!
Day 6: Fire Creek camp to Sunrise Lodge: What a treat to finish off this trip with "money-shot" views of Tahoma and then a descent into Grand Park. We took the spur to Grand to nab shots of the mountain. Wildflowers are no longer. It was very brown and dry. We continued to Berkeley Park where we saw a brown bear off at a safe distance. Marmots, goats, and wildflower fields as we ascended back up!
It wouldn't be appropriate not to mention how incredibly grateful we are to Rangers, Rovers, trail workers and park service for this wonderful trail. The trail is in such great shape and signage was amazing. We thank you!
Total was 46 miles, 12,500 feet of elevation gain12/,700 feet of elevation loss. Of course, give or take, given margins or error with devices. A trip I'll never forget!
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