Arrived at Sunrise at 8:45 am.    We briefly saw the base of Mount Rainier and then it clouded up.

The hike to Dege was cloudy with some views of the meadow below on either side of the trail.    The variety of wildflowers is beautiful - especially the hillsides covered with purple flowers.

On the way back, there was a misty rain with views of the hilltops coming and going through the clouds.    We saw a single mountain goat way up on the hillside above us.

Great hike! Our 5 and 2 year olds both made it up themselves!

My first time up to Dege Peak… but could only see about 20 feet in the dense fog. Will visit another time.

The fog “forces” one to attend to the small beauties of plants, rocks, squirrels. It was very peaceful. 

Miles the Marmot was out promoting the WTA 2024 Hike-a-Thon, but got a little cold wearing only his WTA t-shirt in the fog. 

Wildflowers are at peak bloom right now! Absolutely gorgeous day, not too hot, breezy, saw bugs but didn't get bitten. I began at the Sunrise Point end of the trail (got dropped off by a group that stopped there and drove to the visitor center for a picnic) and it took me an hour and a half to get to the visitor center. Never felt too strenuous, and I didn't see any other hikers for the first hour of the hike. I definitely recommend this trail for the flowers, mountain views, and solitude. 

Trail was fantastic, interspersed with swarms of gigantic flies and grasshoppers that were an annoyance at best and horrible at the worst. Peak was absolutely swarmed with small bees and horse flies so we only stayed up for 5 minutes before fleeing down the trail. Lots of great spots to stand in the wind from the valley below to cool off, and a good amount of small spots of shade to hide from the sun for a few minutes. Not too many other people on the trail, and it is a great way to get a fantastic 360 view of the park and to see all of Rainier at once. Definitely recommend it to have a quieter hike in a very busy park.