Enjoyed a solitude sunrise up at Dege Peak this morning.

Wildfire smoke was prevalent. I could smell it as soon as I was out of my car at the White River CG parking area. The smoke did create some cool colors during sunrise. Especially for photography.

I started at the White River CG parking lot and headed up the Wonderland Trail for 2.6 miles. l took the short spur trail east to the Sunrise parking lot. From there I headed up Sourdough Ridge to Dege Peak.

In addition to the cool sunrise colors, it was a day for wildlife.

As I was getting to the meadow, just west of Antler Peak,  my headlamp highlighted a couple of  glowing eyes above me in the meadow. The eyes were moving towards me. I stopped, turned off my headlamp and let my eyes adjust to the moonlight.  With the moonlight still strong, I was able to see it was a bear lumbering down the meadow.  It had no interest in me whatsoever.  It meandered down the meadow, crossed the trail and continued on its way to the sunrise area. That was pretty cool.

I was still enjoying my night time bear sighting when I reached  the second view point east of Antler Peak.  All of a sudden a goat popped up over the ridge within 5 ft in front of me.  We were both stunned for a couple of seconds before the goat took off running, as fast as a goat could run, east along the trail.  That had my heart pounding a little.

Once on Dege Peak, I could hear a bull elk bugling to the south.  It sounded like it was coming from the Fryingpan Creek drainage area. Hard to tell.  I have never seen any elk in that area.  It was far enough away that it was enjoyable. Unlike a couple of weeks ago up on Cowlitz Divide where 3 bugling elk at the same time was ear piercing.

I took in all the unique colors of sunrise and headed back down.  I didn’t see anyone until I was on the WT about 1.5 miles from the parking lot.  Pretty cool to be all alone in this section of the park!  

Really enjoyed my conversation with Glen, another avid MRNP hiker, who gave me some great tips on new areas to explore.

The parking lot was full when I returned. All but two people I ran into, had come expecting to hike from Sunrise and were surprised to find the road closed.  I have a feeling that will be a big issue this weekend and parking will be difficult.

I said goodbye to Sunrise this morning until next summer. Restrooms still open, but everything else is shutting down. Sunrise Road is slated to close October 11th. It felt like June today, not October. Gorgeous sunrise and lots of wildlife hanging around. The silver Cascade fox is a favorite and I was so glad to see it today. It's stunning in the park, though the haze comes with the late morning sun. Did two favorite, short hikes today and wandered for hours. There is a short trail running parallel to the service road that I've never seen anyone on. A quiet walk past the picnic area. Get out this weekend if you can, time is running out to get to the upper parking lot. 

More photos on my blog linked below.

Saying so long to Sunrise.
A beautiful morning.
I wrote about it on the blog.
More pictures too!

https://insearchofthevery.com/2022/10/07/putting-sunrise-to-bed/

FOUND BOOTS AT SUNRISE PARKING LOT. They were there when we arrived and still there (with different cars parked by them) when we returned, and the visitor center was closed, so we took them home in hopes of reuniting them with their owner. Let me know the brand and we can return them to you.

Hiking-wise... we visited with friends from the other Washington. They were not inclined to an early start and we arrived at Sunrise at 11am, and managed to find an open parking space in the full lot. We hiked out to the Second Burroughs and made a loop of it on the return (counterclockwise). This route felt like it was steeper on the descending part of the loop, and then you have to gain a bit of elevation again to get back to the parking lot. I liked this leg because there were more trees, and a nice view of the moraine and a bright blue little lake below the Emmons Glacier. However, this leg also had more loose rock that merited good ankle support. There were many open parking spaces when we returned around 2:30-3:00.

Miscellaneous: there were a few scattered remaining wildflowers, and the beginnings of fall color. There's a privy near Shadow Lake.

On the last day of summer, we observed Mount Rainier from the Sourdough Ridge Trail. The massive scale of the mountain makes Sunrise appear as a miniature, a child’s village. A pleasant scene. Although visibility was clear and long, and the scenery magnificent, the wind was gusting so forcefully we found it absolutely maddening, dominating our experience of a favorite place. As we approached Frozen Lake, we knew it would only get worse. I remembered a past hike up Burroughs Mountain, barely able to keep standing on the summit, the wind so strong. Not today we said and threw in the towel, hiked back, and enjoyed our PB&Js seated in the car.

Our original plan was to hike the Naches Peak Loop with a visit to Denny Lake, a memorable hike we had enjoyed six years ago. We arrived at the trailhead parking lot around 8:20 am to a few cars. The problem was that the entire area was shrouded in dense fog, which had plagued us since the road split from 410 south to 410 east. Visibility from the car varied between 50 and 100 feet, and we cautiously crept along the winding road at 20 miles an hour. Fortunately, there was little traffic. Once at the parking area, the weather was damp, chill, and windy, with little visibility for a hike best known for its stunning views of Mt. Rainier. We waited in the car for forty minutes and the fog showed no signs of burning off. It was time for plan B. We left the sea of gray and headed to Sunrise.

As we drove up the White River Road, the mountain showed itself through clearing skies, absolutely brilliant. We pulled into a partially filled parking lot around 9:45 am and headed up the Sourdough Ridge Trail, a familiar route as we had hiked to both Fremont Lookout and Third Burroughs several times. We thought we’d try Skyscraper Mountain, but turned back before Frozen Lake as the persistent winds showed no signs of abating. At least the wind would now be at our backs. At the trail that turns down to Sunrise, we impulsively continued east on the Sourdough Ridge Trail towards Dege Peak. It is a pleasant trail, far less traveled than the section that heads west. Partway to Dege Peak, we’d finally had enough of the constant winds and called off the hike. We’d come back another day.

Our hiking plan was so modest and the weather forecast so benign that we’d didn’t expect to encounter anything that would get in the way of our plans. Big mistake. When summer departs and fall arrives, all bets are off. It reminds me, once again, to anticipate unforeseen circumstances, both with alternate plans and extra clothing.

If you haven’t already hiked them, I can definitely recommend the Naches Peak Loop, Third Burroughs, and the Fremont Lookout hikes as they all have stellar views of Mt. Rainier.

Walked up to the Mt Fremont fire tower on what started out as a very cloudy/foggy Friday morning.  Nobody in line at the ticket gate and hit the main Sunrise lot at 8:00 AM, maybe 30 cars already there.  Restrooms both right after the ticket gate and up at Sunrise were open and in good condition.  Hwy 410 is still being worked on and got stopped a couple times by flagger operations.  Watch for elk along 410, saw two small groups right next to the road.   One other note - State Patrol is out making sure folks don’t speed through the little Greenwater community (which I appreciate.)  Our route was the traditional north from the main lot up to the Sourdough Ridge trail to Frozen Lake then hang a right onto the Fremont tower trail.  All trails were in great condition and the heavy fog/mist helped to keep the dust down.  The stairs that WTA put in just before Frozen Lake are still in great shape.  

Given the weather forecast expectations were low, but even a cloudy day on Rainier is better than being stuck inside working, eh?  The clouds were quite thick on the entire drive up to Sunrise with the Sunrise Point Lookout area being so thick you could barely see across the little parking lot.  The fog was so thick I inadvertently rounded a corner along Sourdough Ridge and walked to about 40 ft of a large mountain goat just standing next to the trail, (honestly startled me - I don’t really want to get that close to them...)  But we exchanged pleasantries and he went on his way.  Lots of chipmunks out looking for snacks.  The clouds were still thick past frozen lake all the way up.  But just making the last turn to head up the final scree field area we walked right up out of the cloud deck and into the bright blue sky… pretty darn amazing. There were a few other folks at the tower and they were all just grinning ear to ear.  I guess sometimes if you want sunshine you have to climb up through clouds.  Sure  Fremont is popular, but it’s still an incredible place.