Sally and I headed down to Mt. Rainer NP for a day in the mountains. We picked the Tolmie Peak hike as neither of us had been up there before. The gravel road up to Mowich Lake off State Highway 165 was fogged in and we had to drive slower in a few spots the see the road. Once up the the parking lot at Mowich Lake, the sun was out. We followed the Wonderland Trail along the lake and on to the junction at Ipsut Pass. From here the trail losses elevation before getting to a nice water fall on Meadow Creek, then more uphill to Eunice Lake. We stopped for a bite to eat at the lake, which still has a foot or two of snow to hike on along the south side. You can see the lookout out tower high above, built in 1935, from the lake. Once past the last inlet stream, the snow is gone the rest of the way to the summit of Tolmie Peak at 5,939' A volunteer ranger was at the lookout tower for the day. We where high above the clouds and had a great view of Rainer, Eunice Lake done below and other peaks all around us. Even with the sun out, the temp at the lookout read 62 degrees. After eatting the rest of our lunch and taking several photos, we headed back down. Clouds started blowing in and the temp dropped, when we got back to the junction with the WL trail near Ipsut Pass it was 50 degrees. Only saw about a dozen other hikers, a few chipmunks, one Clarks Jay and some butterflies on this day. The wild flowers are also popping out too. Check out Tolmie Peak for some wonderful scenic views.

In search of that ever elusive creature, “The Photo,” I managed to leave home by 6:40 for an 8:30 arrival at the trailhead. This day I carried 3 quarts of water in addition to “all” the photo gear. Temperatures under the trees were very comfortable, until about 9:15 when the promised heat began to show. The trail is a nice easy stroll through the woods until reaching the junction with the Ipsut Pass trail. The trail then drops below cliffs and becomes rootier and rockier. By the waterfall outlet of the lake, the trail climbs, steeply at times. The trail opens below the lake in fields of – not much yet, only some avalanche lilies and rounds a rise to the lake basin proper. Snow covers almost entirely the entire route until the final climb to the lookout from the basin begins. Some Phlox were in bloom in the open. There were only a few snow patches on the upper ridge. There was one small chipmunk keeping to itself, no “camp robbers” this time. Six hikers were at the top before me and two more waves of folks came while I sat on top, altogether I would say there was 25-30 folks making the hike this day. I may be back in a couple of weeks for the flowers. www.mtnlover.com

The weather people had promised record heat for the last Friday in May and they delivered. We arrived at the Mowich Lake parking lot to find piles of old snow lining the lot. The temp at 9 am was 60+. The camping area was clear of snow. We hiked along the lake through large patches of snow but the Wonderland Trail was completely free. When we arrived at the junction near Ipsut Pass, we peered down the valley; the pass and trail are snow-free. We hiked up to the lake and finally encountered 1 to 3 feet deep patches and then continuous snow near the lake. The lake is in the process of rapid melt. We climbed the snow-free trail to the lookout and great 360 degrees views from St. Helens in the SW to Mt. Baker in the north and Mt. Stuart, Glacier Peak to NE. Light breezes helped keep the heat at bay, although temps were still in upper 70's to low 80's at 5900'. We found out later that the temps in the low lands exceeded 90 degrees. There were some bugs, but not too bad...yet. Early spring flowers are making their appearance, with yellow violets, avalanche lilies in the forest and glacier lilies, alpine desert parsley, alpine buckwheat, salt and pepper on the exposed southern flanks of Tolmie Peak. Very pretty, warmish hike. The trails are in great condition, but with some melting snow water now and then.

We decided to do something a bit closer to Seattle with less mileage to walk and less feet to climb. Previous reports had talked very favorably about Eunice Lake and Tolmie Peak. For being such a popular hike we were quite surprised to run into just a handful of people on the trail. At the lookout we were the only ones enjoying lunch. The Eunice Lake basin is covered with Avalanche Lilies.A few Paintbrushes are starting to make their appearance. The hillside up to the lookout is bursting with Beargrass.Bugs didn't bother us at all. A steady breeze made this a delightful day.

Inspired by DML’s report and photo from last week, and DAR’s desire for a less strenuous hike than last week’s hike to Polallie Ridge, I suggested a long overdue trip to Eunice Lk and Tolmie Peak LO at Rainier. Considering it has been over 10 years since I’ve been there, I was pleased to note the horrible muddy section of memory was merely wet. A none too early start had us on the trail by 10:30. We were soon passed by a ranger as we took our time up the trail, a nice easy stroll through the woods until reaching the junction with the Ipsut Pass trail. The trail drops below cliffs and becomes full of rocks and roots. By the waterfall outlet of the lake, the trail climbs, steeply at times. The trail opens in a small meadow below the lake in fields of avalanche and glacier lilies, spring beauties and violets, and rounds a rise to the lake basin proper. Unlike the report from last week, the basin is perhaps 30% snow-covered, though just on the south and west sides. Crossing rapidly melting snowfields and rock hopping (for fun, it is easily steppable) the outlet, the trail resumes its upward climb through fields of bear grass, some lupine, mustard and a few Tiger Lilies. Once on the ridge, the trail swings east to the lookout and on this day, no views, except of clouds. Darn – I hauled the wide angle lens up just for some photos. Two chipmunks and one camp robber tried to keep us company during lunch, but had no luck. The trip back was slow, the little bit of uphill to the junction should have been easier. I wandered over to Ipsut Pass and was totally suprised at how close it is to the junction, and what a valley view to the east it provides. Back at the lakeshore, The Mountain showed just a bit of itself for a brief moment. I will be back, and I will get my photo. www.mtnlover.com