The flowers are not yet at peak, but still more plentiful than last week's awesome showing. The only two things I'll add to my report last week are the super dry potentially slippery trail conditions in a couple spots so take care if you need to and the women's bathroom didn't have TP in at least half the stalls. Maybe pack a few squares of TP in your pocket before you head in. I saw elk down in the meadows after a kind couple pointed them out, a couple humming birds, and two marmots. It was a great trek. 

We hiked Dege Peak this morning in whirling mist and fast moving clouds. It was magical. The trail is in great condition. This is on the easier side of moderate while Mount Fremont Lookout is on the harder side of moderate if you are comparing the two to decide what awesomeness you would prefer. The trail is almost 900 feet of elvation gain in a total of 4 miles if you go from Sunrise parking lot to the peak and back. There are sections where you have steep drop offs on one side and there a few ridgelines where the wind can really get you. With squirrely little ones, I'd go for Sunrise Rim and hikes in that area. Flowers are blooming all over the place. Not at peak, but the rangers say the flowers are looking 2 weeks ahead of schedule. 

I'll be back to keep my eye on peak flower time. This is one of my three favorite Sunrise side of the mountain hikes. (Burroughs and Sunrise Rim being the other two).

Couple things:

The mountain made a few peek-a-boos, but the clouds hung on most of the day. If your mission is the mountain view, look at the WTA weather forcast. It said widespread fog this morning that would then clear out. So many times, I've seen the widespread fog not clear out like today. Aim for a day that has a bright sun icon.

Deanna, it was so nice chatting with you! The people on the mountain today rocked the planet.

All alone on a peak that a week ago had throngs of people hiking to it. Georg and I started about 7:45 and got to Dege about 11. From the Sunrise parking lot to Dege and back to the White River Trail intersection we saw no one. 3 hours of solitude. There were cars parked up and down the road to the full parking lot so there were a lot of people around. We figure they either did the loop, the lookout or just tried to make it to the parking lot or Glacier Basin.

We spent a half-hour plus soaking i the views and solitude. Once on top of Dege you can see why it is so popular. 360 views of a good part of the park and its surrounding peaks/hikes. We saw Tamanos, Slide, Grand Park, Skyscraper which were earlier hikes this year and then The Chimneys, Marcus Peak, all the feature around the Mountain and the almost endless meadows that greet you when first arriving at Sunrise. Also, the beginning of the White River is visible.

On the way down we met a lot of people just hoping to get to the parking lot at Sunrise. These people had started after 2 and a good portion had few supplies. One hiker had a valid reason, sunset pics from the lookout. I noticed he had a serious pack. He was from Alaska. He was amazed at the greenery. In Alaska he said most everything over 2000 feet was pretty barren once away from the coast. We have heard this a lot from through hikers we have met on the PCT. One hiker from Switzerland said he liked our mountains better because they were so green.

Happy hiking!

Did not hike these, but wanted to give everyone a heads up that as of today the Sunrise Road (from White River campgrounds to Sunrise) is closed.  It's that time of year again.  More road closings to follow soon - link below to the MORA road conditions website.

On my way up to Sunrise yesterday, I asked the Ranger at the park entrance when the road would be closing and he said … today (Oct 8). Indeed, the Park website indicates Sunrise Road is now closed for the season.

https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/road-status.htm#CP_JUMP_461765