Mount Rainier NP: Burroughs Mountain solo hike

One of my goals for this year is to get back to blogging. We have so many fun adventures that I want to share and also get down so I can remember :)

A highlight of my summer was our August trip to Mount Rainier.

Brad got on a Mazamas club climb on Little Tahoma, a peak within Mount Rainier National Park, adjacent to the big mountain.

We decided to take a little extra time and camp in the park the night before the climb. I would explore on my own while he was out on the club climb, and then he would join me after for another night in the campground.

We borrowed Mom's teardrop trailer (thanks, Mom!!!) and found a spot in the White River campground. With camp all set up, we checked out the view from the river.

The next morning, I drove Brad to meet his climbing team at the ranger station. Being up there saved many hours of early, early driving! Then I headed back to the campground to begin my solo adventure. I was a bit nervous about my first big solo hike, but I was prepared and excited!

My friend, Tim J., had recently posted about hiking Burroughs Mountains at Rainier National Park. I researched the trails and decided I'd give it a try. But trip reports were inconsistent, and there's a web of area trails, so I wasn't sure exactly what route to take.

I started up, up, up the Wonderland Trail (right from our campground) to Sunrise Visitor Center.

I stopped and asked the ranger on duty about Third Burroughs Mountain. I'd read about it online, but the official national park literature only listed First and Second Burroughs. The ranger acknowledged it but wouldn't really talk about it - seemed like a secret she wasn't supposed to tell me about. She just told me to make sure and stay on marked trails to avoid stepping on the sensitive meadows.

I set off on my way, using the Earthmate app on my phone, along with the paper map from the national park.

I continued on the Wonderland Trail until Sunrise Camp and then cut over to the Burroughs Mountains trails.

I was alone on the trip up the Wonderland Trail. But the Sunrise area is really popular, and I was around some people for much of the hike up Burroughs. The only bad part of the day was when I reached Second Burroughs at the same time as a HUGE group of young people in BYU shirts. I remember counting about 30 people. Several were sitting in a rock shelter and blasting John Denver tunes on their bluetooth speaker. They were also feeding the squirrels - a big no-no. It really ruined my summit experience and put me in a bad mood.

Still, the view was gorgeous!

I decided to head toward Third Burroughs and see if the group kept going or turned back. Fortunately, they did not follow!

I could see the clear trail to Third Burroughs, and since it was tundra, it was easy to follow. Also, there were others on the trail, but most didn't continue past Second Burroughs.

Clear trail:

Still some snow patches in August:

The Rainier Summit from my Third Burroughs summit:

The glaciers were amazing:

That's Little Tahoma, where Brad was supposed to be climbing:

The view 😍

After soaking in the view, I returned to the Burroughs Mountain Trail, this time taking a right for my return trip on the Glacier Basin Trail:

I was alone again on this portion of the trip, seeing just three other people on this trail. I did see some marmots, though! (can you see the little one to his left in the rock crack?)

I hit the Glacier Basin intersection and turned left for the final stretch back to the campground. See the clouds coming in?

In all, I covered 14 miles and a ton of elevation. I also did it all by myself. I felt so great - so proud of my accomplishment.

I took the rest of the evening easy, making yummy dinner to refuel my body and hanging out in camp - again, by myself. I slept alone in the little trailer, satisfied by a day of hard work and beautiful payoff!

The predicted rain and thunderstorm arrived, but I was snug as a bug in my cozy bed! Brad and his climbing team were camping high on the mountain. 😲

I drove to the ranger station in the morning to check for messages from Brad. He had spent the night watching the lightning and rain from his tent. The team leaders (him included) decided to skip the summit and return to their cars. They reached the trail head shortly after I arrived. Good timing!

Brad was disappointed to not make the summit, but he said the stormy camping was fun!

The next day, we hiked together up the Wonderland Trail to the Sunrise Visitor Center. The clouds covered the mountain (it's right behind us):

The climbing team made a good call to turn back. Safety first!

😊