My 3 night trip was cut to 2 nights after I woke this morning to ash on my tent and a headache from the smoke. I passed a few brave souls venturing up while I came down, but when I went to the WIC to release my 3rd night campsite the ranger said she was seeing tons of others doing the same. 

Tuesday to the basin was totally clear, no air quality issues. My left calf muscle seized pretty badly but I made it - that last .7 was brutal! I sadly didn’t see the bear rumored to be about the campsite. A ranger had advised me to get water about a quarter mile beyond the campsite (go past the tiny metal pipe spurting water to the next decent sized stream) as the white river was even more full of silt than usual. Saw a marmot and many frogs and had a lovely night with no rain fly under the stars. 

The next morning my leg was still sore but I decided to day hike to Burroughs. A very kind man at the next campsite gave me his lighter when my stove’s igniter stopped working at breakfast and I was and am eternally grateful for this kindness!! Began the hike to Burroughs grateful I didn’t have a full pack (my second night was also at the Basin so I left my camp site set up) but did fill both my drinking bladder and my filter full, happy to take the extra weight on the notoriously dry Burroughs trail (there is one small stream along the way up but I cannot emphasize enough how much you need to plan your water on this hike!) this trail, though steep, was truly one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever been on. Had a snack and a break on a rock in a meadow before the second half of the climb. Had to break out my inhaler a few times as the heat, climb, and smoke all started to get to me. 

I almost gave up at the Burroughs intersection but decided to try thanks to the kind encouragement of a few fellow solo ladies. I did make it to the top of third Burroughs! The fire was looking VERY ominous and little Tahoma was already hidden by the haze, but the view was well worth the climb. 
Going back down was honestly harder than going up, the trail down to glacier basin is loose scree and I lost my footing several times. Go slow and watch your footing! 

re-doing the .7 back up to the basin camp was just as punishing but I took the chance to refill my water on the way up, saving me the hike out to filter before dinner. At this point the fire-spawned clouds began to rumble quite alarmingly and the air smelled strongly of smoke. In the morning I woke with my leg feeling great, my air mattress leaking, and my camp shoes broken, along with the aforementioned blanket of ash on my tent, so I decided to skip my planned trip to palisades (I am still pretty heartbroken about this but it was the right call for my lungs.) 

Did a quick overnight camp at Glacier Basin, with an ambition to ascend to Steamboat Prow as a day hike, inspired by this trip report:

Steamboat Prow, Mount Ruth, Glacier Basin & Emmons Moraine — Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

I write this report from and for the perspective of a fairly experienced trail hiker looking to experiment with negotiating some climbers' tracks.

Alas, we didn't make it quite as far the Prow, topping out at just around 8000 ft, a few hundred feet below the climber's track around Mt. Ruth. However, the views of the Emmons Glacier and Little Tahoma up close and personal, as well as the sights and sounds of crackling ice, rockfall, and meltwater gushing into the White River were more than satisfactory as consolation prizes.

The trail up to Glacier Basin is well-trod and popular, if a bit steep on its last 1/2 mile -- it's the beginning of an "easy" route to summiting Rainier, as well as having a history of acting as a road to a defunct copper mining claim.

To get to the climber's track to achieve the ridgeline heading to Ruth, exit the Glacier Basin camp towards Inter Glacier and hang a left just after the "Trail Unmaintained Beyond This Point" sign towards Inter Fork. You'll see a cairn below marking a great spot to scout your crossing route, as well as soak your feet after you come back down.

Negotiate as safe a rock-hop route as you can across the Inter Fork's three channels towards an obvious bootpath, and begin the ascent after passing abandoned mining equipment on your left. There's a much clearer stream (vs. filling from the glacial flour-filled Inter Fork) to filter water from just past this point.

The next half mile or so is very steep, with extremely loose volcanic rock, sand, and lightly packed pebbles covering the route that snakes up through and past the tree line. It's certainly tiring going up, but much more dangerous coming down. Trekking poles and concentration are necessities. The track becomes slightly gentler as you climb higher towards the ridge, but still demands careful, deliberate steps.

After achieving the ridgeline, Little Tahoma and the Emmons Glacier rush into view. The path farther up is obvious here, and much more tame. Take your time and absorb all the sounds and sights, enjoying the light reflecting off the numerous crevasses and cracks in the ice.

We stopped just short of the three small snowfields still remaining under Mt. Ruth and headed back to camp, citing fatigue from trekking over choss and scree, diminishing daylight, and a potential for rain rolling in -- which fortunately did not materialize. For further ascent guidance, refer to the earlier mentioned trip report above as well as topographic maps like CalTopo or GaiaGPS.

Before departing Glacier Basin the next day, we did a quick morning hike up to Sherpa Rock, an excellent and rewarding viewpoint with just 1000 ft of ascent, to view the Inter Glacier (or what is left of it) and gaze down into the basin itself. As we headed back to the trailhead at the White River Campground, we did a quick look into the Emmons Moraine spur trail, but after seeing the glacier from above and up close, it was fairly underwhelming. Perhaps it's wiser to check out this diversion before trying the same ascent.

Steamboat Prow has always intrigued me. It’s a prominent feature strikingly visible from many locations. Super aptly-named as well. It’s been on my list for a awhile and today was the perfect day to check it out.

Weather was sublime. Not too hot, not too cold, light warm breeze. Could not have been any better.

My plan was to do somewhat of a lollipop loop up Glacier Basin Trail, then take the climber’s trail from GB Camp to Ruth and the Prow. Returning via the Emmons Moraine ‘trail’ which I never really found until the end. When they say it’s “not maintained” they mean it. More on that later.

Started up the Glacier Basin trail at 8:30am. GB trail was immaculate, and a nice, smooth, mellow warmup. Soon I was at GB Camp where wide open views begin, and remain for the duration of the trip. The scenery is stunning and just gets better every step of the way.

From GBC I took the climber’s trail spur south and easily hopped across the Inter Fork. The trail was in great shape and easy to follow. It’s steep and sandy, and gravelly in spots, but the recent rains really improved the tread. Firm and grippy as opposed to loose and dusty.

After about a mile of steep climbing the trail mellows out cresting the moonscape ridge of the Emmons moraine where Little Tahoma first appears in whole, all at once. It’s quite a shock and resembles nothing “little”. The whole area up here just seems huge, vast, and endless. The Emmons Glacier is gigantic, its crevasses massive, and this late in the season looks like a stormy sea of ice stuck in time.

It was here that the glacier soundtrack kicked in and was on full repeat for the rest of my duration above 6800’. The white noise of rushing water peppered with the echoing sounds of rockfall and cracking ice combined with the visuals was full sensory overload.

Trekking up to Ruth starts mellow and steepens into a chossy, rocky landscape. I lost the ‘trail’ a few times here as it diverts north away from the ridge a bit. Any way up would probably ‘work' but it’s a bit of a game of choose your own adventure while trying to find a path of least resistance. The rock was fairly loose in this area as well which made travel tedious, but I would find an easier path on the descent.

Finally topped out on Ruth, and views were jaw-dropping -especially looking up the tantalizing route to the Prow. Knowing that the views would only improve from here, I didn’t linger long. Grabbed a quick snack and some water and got moving.

There is a pretty minor cliff feature to descend along the way. From other reports I’d read, I thought it was going to be a bigger deal. I found it to be pretty short and routine class 3. Maybe 20 feet, good holds, not much exposure.

From the mini-cliff, the trail continued over snow-free, arid, gravelly path. The geology in this area is so cool. It’s a myriad of colors (red, pink, yellow, orange), and full of volcanic artifacts. The Inter Glacier (what’s left of it) was pretty bare and sad-looking. I could see how it would make for an epic glissade in the right conditions.

My pace slowed as I continued up, feeling the altitude a bit, and just in awe of the scenery & solitude. Nobody at Camp Curtis, or Camp Schurman that I saw. Not surprising this time of year. Gaping crevasses dominate the icy landscape everywhere you look.

Finally topped out at 1pm, still amazed at how perfect the weather was. There were several craggy, cliffy spires I explored. And from here the Winthrop Glacier comes into full view for the first time, flanking the west side of the Prow. Combined with Emmons, it definitely gives you that “bow of a ship” feel, like a steamboat cleaving the ice into its 2 glaciers.

As I ate lunch, I heard a massive rockfall avalanche on the Curtis Ridge wall. It took me a moment to spot it, but was super impressive. With so much to see and savor, I stayed up top as long as I could. And after an hour and a half I headed down.

It was much easier and faster moving on the descent not feeling the altitude as much. And, after passing Ruth, I had no problem locking into the trail as it trended NE a bit.

Once I got back to the 6800’ spot on the ridge, my alltrails app clearly showed an "Emmons Moraine trail" continuing NE along the ridge which I regrettably took. The ridge walk was super straightforward, although not much of a “trail”, and crossed a few rocky high points.

At about 6600’ along the ridge, the way descends and is pretty steep in spots. It’s loose, gravelly, and I saw no sign of a trail. I’ll spare the details, other than to say I would definitely not recommend hiking in this area. The app showed I was “on trail” but there was no trail in sight. Additionally it was pretty brushy and littered with deadfall. Normally I’m pretty thorough with prep before a hike. This time I winged it on a section I knew nothing about and paid the price, ha.

By the time I reached the “Trail Unmaintained Past This Point” sign, the trail was great! :)) Soon after I crossed the Inter Fork bridge and wrapped up the last 20min on the Glacier Basin Trail finishing at 6:25pm.

Aside from the phantom trail shenanigans, it was an awesome day! 13.4miles, 5,610'gain

This was a 3-day van camping/dayhiking trip. Stayed at Silver Springs Campground on Hwy 410 and had timed-entry permits for the park for all 3 days, Aug 6-8.

Glacier Basin: Wed, Aug 6. Rained. Few people on trail. Flowers were still out. No bear this year. 

Summerland/Panhandle Gap: Thurs, Aug 7

Parking: I checked how full the lot was each of the 3 days we were in the area. Wed at 9:30 - lots of parking - and it was raining. Thurs at 8:30 - still some spaces open, but still cloudy. Fri at 8:00 - almost full, and good weather forecast.

Flowers have peaked and are still beautiful. 2-3 snow slopes before the Gap. Spikes would have helped a bit as the snow was firm under the cloudy skies & cooler temps. Steep snow and sand/rock at the top. Clear skies on the way down.

Third Burroughs: Fri, Aug 8. Via Shadow Lake and the Glacier Overlook. Absolutely stunning. Possibly one of the best hikes in the park. Great views of the toe of the Emmons Glacier on hike to the 1st Burroughs and looking down the Winthrop Glacier from the 3rd.

We hiked from the White River Campground to the stunning turquoise lake at the base of Emmons Glacier; a short but rewarding 3-mile round trip. The trail is in great condition and offers beautiful scenery throughout, including a couple of lovely waterfalls that add to the serene atmosphere.

After crossing Inter Fork Creek and entering the Emmons Moraine section, there is a small section of the terrain that becomes a bit more challenging. The soil is loose in places, so extra caution is advised during the climb. But the effort is well worth it, the lake’s gorgeous color paired with Mt. Rainier towering in the background is a breathtaking sight.