There was a light snow on the ground with ice hidden in places. Please be aware that the mileage on this site is misleading. The trail is actually 6.5 miles one-way! It is a very beautiful hike but we never actually made it to the top. We made it as far as Eunice Lake when I slipped on Ice and broke my ankle. If you decide to go late in the season please keep this in mind and bring the proper gear. Trust me you do not want to hike out 5 miles in the dark on a broken ankle. The trail is very hard to see at night even with several flashlights. Otherwise the trail was very pleasant and beautiful. Not necessarily for young hikers.

Camped at Mowich lake for two nights, visiting Tolmie on Friday the 14th. Overnight temps at Mowich were around 30-32 degrees. Snow was visible above the lake at about 5500 feet. Tolmie was clear to Eunice Lake, with trace snow at the lake. The trail around the lake was a mudhole. I encountered more snow as I went up to Tolmie, reaching about 2-3 inches at the top. The wind as I came up the last crest to the lookout was biting cold. Rather than send time eating lunch in that, I dropped back to the lake where it was noticeably warmer and more comfortable. Fall color is pretty much non-existent. It looks like this winter will simply roar right in on top of the late foliage with no transition.

This trail is in great shape with just a few muddy spots. The bugs were thick especially in the parking area. We had crazy weather with sun, rain, wind and fast moving clouds putting on a show. The lenticular cloud over the top of the mountain was making a slow clockwise circle around the mountain. We sat on the bench at the lookout for a long time watching. There are tons of pretty blue flowers, a few berries and a few paintbrush. Nice hike!

I think this is our family’s fifth time of making it up to Tolmie Peak on the final day of summer vacation. This year we broke with our usual approach of trying to be among the first to the parking lot and followed the advice of the WTA trip reports who suggest an evening visit. This turned out great for us! After the obligatory stop by the Back Diamond bakery for two loaves of Crystal Mountain bread, we got to the trailhead around 3:30 on a Friday afternoon. There were no cars! Parking for the walk-in campground down the road looked pretty full however, this looking to be a gorgeous sun filled Labor Day weekend. We were promptly welcomed by mosquitos, who left us alone once we got moving. The trail follows Mowich lake for the first quarter mile, pops over a low divide and drops down to avoid a cliff band. The wildflowers are out. At 0.9 miles we checked out the slot of Ipsut Pass. Then we dropped below another band of cliffs and passed by the “steps for the giant trolls.” At 1.4 miles the trail starts to climb back up, but first we took a break where everyone has to land a stone on top of the tall stump. At 1.9 miles we arrived at the sign for Eunice Lake and headed left for Tolmie Peak. The trail and lake are completely free of snow, and we were fine in our running shoes. We learned another advantage of heading up in the late afternoon: the 600’ (aka one Space Needle) climb up to the lookout becomes nicely shaded. As we arrived, Rainier remained hidden behind clouds. The bugs were present but tolerable; we hung around and enjoyed our hearty sandwiches, and sure enough the mountain came out around 6pm or so. We headed out after a short while because we wanted to check out the sand beach at the east end of Eunice Lake. We got to the spot to find the salamanders running for cover. We stayed until the sun dropped behind the ridge. We took it easy going out and arrived at Mowich to find Rainier glowing through the trees. We got back around 8pm. We had brought headlamps but did not need to use them. For more photos from our trips to Tolmie Peak: http://seattlewalks.blogspot.com/2011/09/tolmie-peak.html “Before you go:” Link to National Park Service hike information: http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/tolmie-peak.htm .

Beautiful evening to start this hike. We were looking for a Mount Ranier hike "close" to Seattle. We made the 1.5 hour drive, arriving at the trailhead at 3:30. There were cars lined up along the road for about 1/2 a mile. I hiked this with my 2 year old son in his Deuter Backpack (with water, just short of 40 pounds). Based on the stats, we were thinking this would be a rather mild evening hike. We were quite wrong. The trail starts out next to Mowich Lake, providing glimpses of the lake through heavy woods. The trail is relatively flat, but with some gently rolling inclines and declines. It then begins a downhill descent for about 1/4-1/2 mile. There is another descent at the junction with the Ipsut Pass trail. After another short decline (by this time we are wondering when the 1100 foot advertise ascent would begin) the ascent began. The next 3/4 of a mile was a full incline, with multiple "steps" on the trail. I figure this is probably around 600 feet + of elevation gain in this short distance. The beads of sweat started to roll. Breaking out of the trees you are met by beautiful Eunice Lake. There were short patches of snow on the trail, pretty slushy, and the trail was muddy with some trickles of water. Looking up you see the Tolmie peak watch tower peering down on you. Mount Ranier looms down in all its grandeur. The watch tower looks to be very intimidating (think Granite Mountains watch tower as you enter the meadow, or Long's Pass Peak before you begin your ascent.) My wife said she would go no further, but I convinced her that we never regret going the extra distance. We pushed further uphill which by elevation maps appears to be about another 500 feet in just short of a mile. While looking intimidating, it is an easier climb than the climb to the lake. The view at the top is nothing less than spectacular...360 degree views with Mount Ranier bearing it all. This is the place to take your Christmas pictures (the "don't you wish you lived where I do" ones). Unfortunately, we had our camera but had left the memory card at home. Our time to the top was 1 hour 25 minutes. The trip down was significantly faster, and despite lingering at all the view points, we were down in 1 hour 10 minutes. The initial decline experienced on the way up results in a thigh burning ascent (though brief) on the home leg. Overall, beautiful hike. Worth every step. Just note that the 1100 foot elevation gain is from the starting point to ending point. The trail is relatively flat (and actually descending) for the first mile, with the full elevation gain being in the final 1.8 miles. I felt like I had done a 1700 footer. The mosquitoes were out, but they were just trying to soak up the sun like us. We were welcomed back at the parking area to a near empty parking lot at 6:30, for the long and dusty (but fun) drive back to Seattle.