Almost didn't hike that day because I got a late start and worried about the trail being crowded. Signs along the road to sunrise kept saying it was full but once I got to the lot it wasn't bad. I hit the trail around 4pm and it was my first time hiking this spot but already a favorite. For such a short trail I couldn't believe how scenic it was from start to finish. The remaining snow that is there now is easy to cross and will likely be gone in a week or so. The trail has a lot of options for veering off and discovery but its well maintained and pretty easy going.

I got to the lookout in an hour and hung out for a bit. It was pretty crowded at but there were other places to hang out and spend some time. It was so nice, I stayed a few extra hours for sunset. On the hike out I came across a fox and it got super close. Once it got dark enough for a headlamp, I came across a nice buck and a doe right on the trail. If I hadn't stopped for 3-4 hours to watch the sunset, the hike back took maybe 45 mintues.

I'm doing this report to share about a very short nature walk along Sourdough Ridge at Sunrise. I wouldn't call it a hike although it is probably over a mile. This is one for those who, for any number of reasons, will never choose any of the longer hikes out of Sunrise. 

Birding is good in this area, with sightings of Chipping Sparrows, Clark's Nutcrackers, Mountain Bluebirds, Stellars Jay, Dark-eyed Juncos, Yellow-rumped Warblers and more. 

This morning, we were also surprised by a beautiful adult mountain goat and a Cascade Silver Fox ON the trail. Such a serendipitous sighting. 

From the parking lot, head up the mountain and go right at the Y. This trail will take you to Sourdough Ridge and "the bench". You can continue right for Dege Peak or go left and continue along the Sourdough Ridge Nature Trail to make it a loop back down to the parking lot. Lots of bang for your buck, more bounce for the ounce, on this one. 

Enjoy

I arrived at the Sunrise parking lot at 7 am on a surprisingly sunny Saturday. The lot was probably less than a fourth full. The bathroom was open and relatively clean. 

It was pretty chilly up there, so I was glad to have layers. It was in the 40s and super windy all the way up. The trail was really dusty and that mixed with the wind wasn’t ideal. There were some rocky parts of the trail, but majority was dirt so you shouldn’t have any issues in regular tennis shoes. 

First I hiked to Fremont Lookout. Signage on the trail was great, so I had no problems with navigation. The fire lookout was closed so you couldn’t walk up it, but you could walk around it.

Then I made my way back to Sourdough Ridge and continued on straight to Dege Peak. There is no tree cover on any of these trails, so be prepared to be fully in the elements.

Both Fremont Lookout and Dege Peak had 360 degree views. Dege Peak seemed to be less populated and had some cooler views of the valley and lakes below. There was a good number of people on the trail, but I still had parts of the trail to myself.

I clocked a total of 9.6 miles and made it back to the parking lot at 11:45 pm. It was completely full and there was a line of cars being monitored by a ranger waiting for a parking spot. Also, they are monitoring the number of cars in the park so when I got back down to the entrance there were several hundred cars in line waiting to get in. If you want to avoid the crowds, then get there early. It’s definitely worth it. 

Overview

Hiked from Sunrise to Skyscraper Mountain, then to Mount Fremont Lookout, and then back along Sourdough Ridge to the junction with the trail up from Sunrise just below Point 6951. This came to 11.3 miles and 2,945 vertical feet.

Road/Trailhead

The road is paved all the way to the trailhead. There are a few decent dips in the asphalt both on the section of 410 up from the Crystal junction as well as on the White River/Sunrise road and some small rockfalls to be careful of on the Sunrise portion of the road, but apart from that it's smooth sailing. Arriving on this Monday afternoon at about 1:30pm there were some scattered spots in the main paved lot (3-5 per row) and a bunch more in the unpaved overnight section. 

Trail/HIKE

I had planned to do an out-and-back to Skyscraper - the webcam looked enticing and the NOAA forecast called for mostly sunny day and clear night. Upon arriving at Sunrise things looked pretty good, a bit more clouds about but still mostly blue skies. By the time I was halfway across Berkeley park, the clouds started rising and rolling in from the northwest. Upon arriving at the summit of Skyscraper the Mountain was hidden and the visibility in that direction did not extend much past Skyscraper Pass. The visibility down the backside of Skyscraper Mountain was virtually nil. After snacking and waiting for a break in the clouds, I headed back towards Sunrise. On the way back there were a bunch of marmots in Berkeley park and a herd of a few dozen goats had moved up from the lower slopes and were grazing 50-60 feet from the Wonderland trail.

The clouds were moving quite fast by the time I arrived back at the Frozen Lake junction, so I decided to add a side trip up to the Fremont Lookout on the off chance that it would clear a bit, but it was not to be. By the time I was approaching the lookout, the wind had picked up a lot and thick cloud was rushing past constantly. Visibility in all directions was non-existent. As I headed back down the wind continued to pick up. By the time I got back to Frozen Lake junction, it was basically gale force wind and kicking up a lot of sand. Wearing a knit hat, medium weight gloves, grid base layer, fleece mid layer and softshell was still a bit on the chilly side.

There were starting to be some sun rays breaking through the clouds occasionally as I headed back towards Sunrise on the Sourdough Trail, so when I reached the first junction down to Sunrise, I decided to keep going along the ridge towards Dege Peak. When I reached the second junction, the Mountain started to break out a bit and I was rewarded with some nice sunset light on the peak and the surrounding clouds.

All in all the whole trail described is in good condition and easy to follow. The non-rock sections are very loose and dry right now - my shoes and lower pant legs were completely covered in a layer of fine dirt - but there are no steep sections so there's not much concern with slipping if one has half-decent tread on their shoes. The trail up to Frozen Lake junction was moderately busy, with most people heading up to Fremont. The Wonderland from the junction up to Skyscraper pass only had a couple of parties and there was no one else on Skyscraper Mountain. Highly recommend bringing extra layers as the weather can change quickly and there is little-to-no shelter anywhere on this trail.

A big loop around the Sunrise area, with the main highlights being Fremont Lookout and Second Burroughs, was so fantastic its almost hard to describe.  Our loop took Sourdough Ridge to Fremont Lookout first, then out to Second Burroughs.  We then went along the edge of the ridge past Shadow lake to Glacier View and Emmons Vista for a very-well rounded hike.

We did our hike on a Wednesday, starting our drive well before dawn and taking a few moments around Sunrise Point before proceeding to the parking area, where there was ample space.  The first half of the day was very sunny, but unfortunately the wind had shifted a bit to briefly push smoke from the Schneider Springs fire into the park, so anything more than a few miles out was hazy.  It was still a good view in person, though it drove the cameras crazy.  We got N95 masks before we started our trip just for the potential of wildfire smoke, and they did a good job of keeping our lungs clear.

Starting along Sourdough Ridge, the approach towards Rainier was just fantastic.  The view changed consistently, with interesting frames available, and we also got occasional views to our right when the ridge periodically opened up - this was when the smoke was at its worst, unfortunately.  Views got really exciting when we got close to the Frozen Lake, though the lake was a bit small at present. 

At the Frozen Lake we took the right towards Fremont Lookout, but I consistently was looking behind me to Rainier itself, which was quite stunningly framed with Burroughs Mountain in front, and a field in front of it.  The trail to Fremont artistically climbed the ridge gradually, never gotten too steep, and as you get higher up the trail just clings to the edge of the ridge and undulates like a roller coaster.  At times you can see the lookout, which seems not far away, but it takes longer to get to than you think.  This part of the trail wasn't difficult, but you will catch yourself on a rock, sometimes decently sharp, every now and then, as you are hiking on nothing but rocks.

You can go all the way to the tower and walk around the tower, though the inside of the tower is closed.  Except for the ridge you traversed blocking a small part, you have almost entirely 360 degree views, and some of the most pleasingly framed views of Rainier come from here.  Though the tower is elevated above the surrounding terrain, the best spots to relax are actually a few yards up the trail along multiple expanses of flat rocks with multiple opportunities to look out at Rainier.  Here, we caught several marmots perusing the rocks, including one that got relatively close to us.  I was able to get photographs as long as I didn't startle him.

Re-tracing your steps can sometimes be laborious, but not when you have the unbelievable views coming back along the Fremont Trail to Rainier.  It's not just Rainier, but also the multitude of mountains and ridges north of the mountain that make for such a spectacular view.  My favorite part of the hike was probably the space around Frozen Lake between Fremont and Burroughs Mountain, which we entered again here.  From here we would go up the side of First Burroughs Mountain.  This climb is very gradual, and though it didn't look too imposing from the valley, took quite a while to navigate. 

The top of First Burroughs revealed a very interesting perspective on Rainier, less photogenic than that from Fremont, but more dramatic as the mountain seems so close, but is so otherworldly it appears like you are next to the moon.  This feeling is only increased as you walk towards the mountain along Burroughs' flat but rocky plateau.  From here, you could look back and see Berkeley Park and Grand Park below, and see the path work its way alongside the ridge to Fremont.  The saddle between First and Second Burroughs was another interesting view into the snowy peaks north of Rainier.  Ascending Second Burroughs was another gradual but longer than it appeared ascent, and the top of Second Burroughs was an extremely rocky plateau that had a lot of people spread out enjoying a break or picnic along the rocks.  We took another break here, the massive mountain of Rainier seemingly breathing in front of us at small clouds basically emerged from its surface.  It was truly otherworldly and one of those moments in my life I'll never forget.

Heading to Third Burroughs would have been too much for us.  We worked back to Second Burroughs and took the trail to the right, which took us along the stark plateau for a while before beginning a long passage of trail traversing the edge of the immense gorge below, with a sheer dropoff just to the right for quite a lengthy portion of trail.  It was a bit too smoky to really see the other side of the gorge super clear, but we could see well enough to enjoy it.  By this time, Rainier was starting to collect quite a few clouds, clouds it would turn it were just the start of several days where the mountain would be obscured by clouds.  For now, most of it was visible, and the clouds added just a different view for us, since we had seen the full mountain earlier.

Once we exited the cliffside section, we entered trails which alternated between meadows and woods, with a few limited stream crossings.  Shadow Lake was a nice feature to explore here, but the real drama of the hike was over.  We finished off by hitting Emmons Vista before we headed back to the parking area, finishing a phenomenal 9.5 mile hike that's among the best I've taken.