My hiking group hiked to Forest Lake today. If you want trail solitude out of Sunrise Mt Rainier this is the hike for you. We pulled into Sunrise just before 10:00AM it was overcast skies and 45 degrees. Mt Rainier was shrouded with low clouds early in the day. We headed up Sourdough Ridge and took the Huckleberry Creek trail over the ridge and hiked the long descent down to Forest Lake.  The topography over the ridge looks like a moon scape until you descend into the stunted evergreen trees. There were even a few snow patches high up on the basin walls still melting out. Wild flowers were more prolific on the north facing slopes and along the streams. We saw lupine, lousewort, white arnica, bistort, gentian, monkey pod, anemone, partridge foot, cusick speedwell, paint brush, false hellebore, valerian and more. The avalanche area from 2 winters ago has been cleared and there was no climbing over jumbled tree piles. There were a couple single log bridges over shallow streams that looked intimidating to a few in my group. Having Forest Lake all to ourselves we enjoyed a long leisurely snack break on the Eastern Lake shore.  We had this trail all to ourselves until our return ascent.  Two small groups were just arriving in the lake basin when we were headed backup the trail. The toilet facility up from the lake in the woods was very clean. Wildlife sightings were limited to a lone marmot and a hordes of juncos flitting in the trees on the switchbacks above the lake. Most all the elevation gain on this hike is on your return back up to the crest of Sourdough Ridge. If it’s a hot day plan on carrying extra water last mile to the ridge is basically a long slog up with a couple switchbacks on totally exposed terrain.  Once we got back to the Sourdough Ridge trail traffic became thick in both directions. The bathrooms at Sunrise had been serviced while we on the trail. We pulled out at 2:36 and the parking area was 90 percent full. Another fantastic day out in nature with friends! 

We had a short window of time to stretch our legs and chose the Sourdough Ridge trail to divert from the more popular paths towards the Burroughs and Fremont Lookout. On a busy Saturday morning we only saw three other parties on the ridge trail and enjoyed the wide variety of blooming wildflowers and the wide, clear trail! Despite some wildflower smoke the views were lovely. Would definitely recommend this route for folks with small hikers for a lot of reward for less effort! It was a great kickoff to #Hikeathon 2025!

Today we did a day hike from Sunrise Visitor Center to Third Burroughs, outward following the North Burroughs trail, and on the way back too the south route around First Burroughs to Sunrise Rim Trail, about 10 miles round trip.

It was a beautiful hike.  The mountain was mostly out, with just small clouds forming and blowing away throughout the afternoon.  The view of the glaciers below Third Burroughs is totally worth the extra effort. The trail is well marked and obvious until the last 200 yards, but at that point you can see where your are going and how to get back. 

A marmot greeted us going up to First Burroughs, while a mountain goat stared down from above.  Later, when returning around the south side of First Burroughs, we saw four mountain goats a few hundred yards into plateau.  The wildflowers around Shadow Lake and nearby meadows were amazing.  

If I did this again, I would go in the reverse direction, the view of Rainier from the Sunrise Rim Trail and up the south side of First Burroughs was amazing, and I regretted that it was always behind me. We stopped a lot to make up for it.

Bugs were a minor annoyance at most - it seems one large fly followed each us all day but nothing biting.  There was a small patch of snow just before Second Burroughs, but completely manageable with boots/trekking poles. Be aware that the trip around the south side of First Burroughs has areas that are probably better with trekking poles and has some exposed areas, so keep those kiddos close.

This was a pivot hike. After a bout of insomnia, I arrived at Sunrise at 5 a.m. My intended route was Sourdough Ridge to Burroughs (the whole shebang) and back down Sunrise Rim to the parking lot. I felt good heading up the first Burroughs. It is up up up and my eyes were a bit gummy but the rest of me was not feeling bad. It felt a little breezy. And no one was around. Then up on the first Burroughs the wind was a real thing. Constant and drumming in my ears. I had enough layers, but looking at the trail ahead I've learned when traversing ridges I'm not a super fan of big gusts. So I paced for a few minutes because I knew my decision was made, but still, this was my Burroughs day. I took the Sunrise Rim trail back. So this was me not remembering how much of a ridge hike that little section of trail is. It was comical that I was descending a very dry, somewhat narrow ridge with huge consequence if you fall in big gusts of wind. I took it slow and thought a couple times maybe I should have just done Burroughs. But the big deal was the exhaustion I could not fully grasp that was clinging to my muscles. Zero sleep, aka an all-nighter, is totally cool for your high school or college days and any time you just start dating someone, but seriously, any time after that, it's so suckie.

Stats for the Sunrise parking lot to Sourdough Ridge to 1st Burroughs to Sunrise Rim back to the parking lot was 5.3 miles and 1100ft elevation gain.

A few things:

The trail is extremely dry right now. All that dust floating around can cause dry mouth big time. 

The Sunrise Rim connector to Burroughs is rough and rocky, but well-defined. It never felt eroded or overly narrow. If you have any kind of issue with heights, a low land hike like Berkely Park might suit you better.

Wildlife on the road was a concern for my drive at such an early hour. Only the tourist variety looking to take picutres under the Mt. Rainier sign proved unnerving.

The best flower showing today was on Sourdough Ridge to Frozen Lake and the bottom half of the Sunrise Rim trail.

Camping at White River Campground in mild and sunny conditions, we headed up to Sunrise with 3 of the older grandchildren for a short leg-stretcher before lunch. We opted for a stroll east along Sourdough Ridge, stopping about 20 minutes short of Dege Peak due to lightweight footwear (on their part) and the approach of lunchtime, which for teens is no minor matter. In the end, they put in 2.7 miles with a gain of around 475 feet.

Bluebird skies gave photogenic views in all directions, and light breezes kept the insects away for the most part. This set of grands had never been to Sunrise, and though I warned them that Rainier would be "in your face all day", they didn't really believe me until they got up there. The trail was in fine shape, the hikers fairly numerous for a Friday late morning. The thing about heading to Sourdough Ridge is that you go UP practically right from the parking lot, and you've gained nearly 100 feet before you get to the first trail directional sign of any consequence. I wonder if that's meant to convey the subtle message that if you're puffing here already, maybe you should cross the parking lot and opt for the Emmons Vista or Silver Forest trails instead?