Eagle Peak Saddle — Friday, Jun. 15, 2001

Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise

Eagle Peak became a ""Must-Go"" at about the same time the Kia car company had a Sportage commercial with 2 guys taking the urn with the ash of their dead uncle up an ""Eagle Peak"". The ash spills, and it's just a funny commercial. So, I found Eagle Peak in the Northwest and added it to the list. This trail is in amazing shape. It is not rocky or rooty, nor does it have any drainage problems. After slogging through Squire Creek last weekend, it was a nice treat. It is wide (but not too wide) and well constructed. Kudos to the builders and maintainers. The trail is about 3.7 miles to the saddle, gaining about 3000 feet. The first 2 miles is in the forest, and the trail flirts with a creek for about 4 switchbacks before finally crossing it. It is a wonderful forest walk, as long as you stop every few switchbacks to breathe and enjoy it. It is a steep trail, but we blazed through it and made it up to the first clearing in about 1.5 hours. The Randle Green Trails map show this point at 4700ft. The Mt Rainier West GT map show this same point at 4900ft. I think our altimeter said it was 4800ft. Eh. This is where it gets fun. And steeper. You climb up about 250 feet or so (just a guess) and then walk through the upper forest gaining some more. This is where the snow is. This is the ONLY place the snow is. Follow the trail made in the snow, but watch out for the dualing trails. On the first split, take the low road, and it joins up later with the high road. On the second split, take the high road. If you go low, you'll end up trampling a strip of meadow that is older that you are. Don't be a meadow stomper! Once you are out of the forest, you enter the last final ascent to the saddle. It consists of about 20 switchbacks, each one steep as hell, and each on getting progressively smaller. I think the final switchback was about 5 feet long! It provided some entertainment, zig-zagging back and forth like that at the end. Total time to the top: 2.5 hours. Plenty of blueberries growing. The saddle' Well, I'll assume that the view kicks ass, but since we are early hikers we were robbed of a view due to fog clinging to the mountain. But, I did get to play with some very fluffy camprobbers while eating my orange and trail mix. Tightened the boots and headed back down. We met about 8 groups on the way. Made it down in 1.25 hours. After enjoying burgers and berry cobbler at the National Park Inn, we left only to find the fog had cleared the mountain, and we got to see exactly where we went. Wow. Yay mountains! Stupid fog.... Never got a view or Rainier, or the hand in front of my face, for that matter.... Trail is excellent, 95% snow free. No water on trail, a few mud holes, no blow down. Marvelous.