Tolmie Peak and Eunice Lake are great day hike destinations in Mt. Rainier Park. It has been about 28 years since I last visited the area, then with my girlfriend on a date (she is now my wife). The trail starts on about a ¾ mile hike along Mowich Lake then another ¾ of a mile to Ipsut Pass. From Ipsut Pass it is a little over 2 miles to Tolmie Peak. I had a half day off and was able to drive from Seattle to Mt. Rainier, do the hike and was home just at sunset (about 8:30). The total travel time including driving was about 8 hours. State Route 165 and the road to Mowich Lake were in the best conditions I can ever remember them being. SR 165 is mostly a gravel road which normally has lots of wash board and the road in Mt. Rainier Park is even worse. Happy to say that the Park Service had graded much of the Park road to Mowich Lake, leaving about 1.5 miles of washboard rather than the typical 5 miles of bad road. Mowich was very crowded when I arrived with day hikers and campers. The lake area is quite nice and on this day a cool breeze came off the lake making walking nearby a pleasure. On Wednesday, August 15th, flowers were still out in Eunice Lake basin, I could identify Indian Paint Brush, Lupine, and Queen Anne ’s Lace but there were others as well. It is getting near the end of the flower season. On the approach to Tolmie Peak, I was warned about mosquitoes on the summit, unfortunately I forgot to pack bug juice. This meant a quick stop at the top to take photos and go back down to the car. Even with the quick stop, I counted 40 bites on my arms and legs. I think other groups had a worse time of it, trying to get photos with mosquitoes in their eyes and ears. Other than the bugs, the hike was great, moderate in elevation gain, good trail and great weather, temperatures in the 70’s and not much sun exposure until the last climb to Tolmie Peak.

Mountaineers group went up there. Decent view of Mt Rainier. Flowers were out: Lupine, Tiger Lillies, Paintbrush, and several others. Mowich and Eunice lakes both looked so nice. Road in there isn't as bad as expected given some reports I'd seen -- just long. There was some sections of washboard but it's very passable, no high center. Mosquitoes starting at about Eunice lake, quite bad on the ridge.

Annie and I finally did Tolmie peak this morning got to the trail at 8:00 AM. There were about 10 cars already there, I'm guessing mosty camping and a couple of early hikers. It was so cold and windy! We were not really prepared for that. But we hit the trail and soon warmed up. Last year we only went to Eunice lake because it was so hot and bugs were so bad. But I really wanted to get to the lookout. So glad we did this morning. It was perfect weather up there. The mountain was grand as always, see for yourself in the pictures. The tiger lillies were in full bloom I have never seen so many. We saw alot of people on there way up around noon. So glad we beat the rush only 2 others at the lookout when we were. Trail is 7 miles medium difficulty.

Tolmie Peak and Eunice Lake in Mt. Rainier Park 7/7/07 Sitting in the sun next to the Tolmie Peak lookout we admired the giant ice cream cone of our mountain crowning the scene in front of us and sparkling aquamarine Eunice Lake filling the foreground, 600 feet below our perch. We saw Mowich Lake, where we started our hike, nestled in green ridges at Rainier’s feet. Near vertical cliffs dropped from our feet to Eunice’s shore. It was a 4 volcano day with 150 mile visibility. Baker, Glacier, and St. Helens were the the other volcanoes in sight, and mounts Shuksan, Sloan, Stuart and the Olympic range were also visible. Puget sound was under low clouds. Spray Park, the other trail from Mowich Lake, is justly famed for it’s floral displays. Tolmie and Eunice have equal quality flowers. Today the Avalanche Lilies reigned supreme in the meadows and in the woods. These white beauties emerge right after snow melt, poking up 6 inches or so from an onion like bulb. The tall white spikes of Beargrass also made a good display. Marsh Marigolds bloomed next to melting snowbanks on the shore of Mowich Lake. High on the rocky ridgeline of Tolmie Peak miniature Red Paintbrush, lavender Phlox, pink Heather, and purple Penstemon highlighted a charming alpine rock garden. There is a very beautiful waterfall (2 stars) about 1/2 mile below Eunice lake on the outlet stream. I liked it best in the morning light. We also saw small waterfalls streaming down Mowich’s eastern shore. This is a very scenic trail but it is high in Rainiers snow belt. So we had snow; a bit around Mowich Lake, and a lot in the Eunice Lake basin where we traveled on snow for about 1/2 mile. It was 12 to 18 inches deep and should melt in a few days. Two medium size trees down across the trail might last longer but were not difficult to climb over. The profile of this trail is level, easy up, down, up, steeply up, level, and up to the summit. About 50 % is in the forest the rest across meadows and rocky slopes. The Mowich area is in the extreme northwest corner of Mt. Rainier park. From Buckley on SR410 head south on SR165 through the tiny towns of Carbonado and Wilkeson and on the park road to the ranger station, elevation 4950 ft. It’s 26 miles from the Buckley junction, the last 12 on a gravel road. A park pass is required. You can buy one at the self service stand at the park entrance. Many thanks to my Mountaineers companions: Susan, Cathy, Laurence, Kathy, June, Viviene, Susan, Ellen, Jim, Linda and Ellie, you were a wonderful group. Statistics: 7 miles (including ridge scramble) 1300 ft. gain 5900 ft. high point 62 degrees high for the day 85 miles from my north Seattle home. Robert Michelson

The drive through redneck hell to get to Mount Rainier from Seattle is getting very old. Isn't it a contradiction to love Jesus and support troops who murder innocent civillians in Iraq? The trail was in fine condition. There were bugs. We used bug repellant. We were ok. There were a bazillion wildflowers on display from Mowich Lake to Tolmie Peak. If you love wildflowers this is a winner. There were a lot of people all about but we were there for the sunset so we had Eunice Lake and Tolmie Peak all to ourselves. In other words we passed the last party at about 7:30 pm in the forest on the way up to Eunice Lake and were alone from that point on. We saw a marmot and a deer. We caught a great sunset and then returned by headlamp. Whoever had the idea of setting wilderness aside for permanent protection really did us all a very great favor and I thank them.