A return to Lake 22 Hike

A raging waterfall, seen through the trees.

The hike toward Lake 22 wasn't a lot like I remembered it. It's probably been five years since I made the hike with Mary Jane, a photographer and hiking buddy at the time. The weather was dry and the road was rocky. But I don't remember it being this rocky, or tiring. But now I am five years older, the weather was cold, the waterfalls were vigorous, and there was water on the trail. At the point where Tammi Hermann and I turned back, we met a young man who had a Garmin on his wrist and told us he had come about 1.8 miles. The trail one-way is 2.7 miles and a 1,500 foot elevation gain. Most people we ran into said we had a mile to go to reach the lake, and given the rocky ascent and time of day, we decided it was time to retrace our steps. It was 3 p.m. It had taken us 3 hours to gain probably 1,000 feet and we didn't want to be on this trail in the dark. It took us 90 minutes to get back down to the car.

The photos that follow tell the story of the hike.

Tammi, ascending the trail

A spooky critter we met along the way, its limbs sun bleached and dessicated

Tami, right, on a bridge over a crashing waterflow, left

The 3-hour, 1.5+ mile terminus of our hike

Creek 22, aiming to pass beneath the bridge as it heads to join the river

Stats for the day:
Distance: At least 3 miles
Conditions: Overcast, snow on trail
Load: 13 pounds
Elevation gain: 1,000 feet, at least

Statistics, year to date:
Distance: 236.1 miles 
Elevation Gain: 73,178 feet

Mount Rainier first fall snow hike 2019

A deer browses near the path between White River Campground and Sunrise Visitor's Center.

Woke around 8 a.m.; packed almost from scratch for a day at Rainier. Weather report said 10 percent chance of rain and maybe 10 degrees for a high. It was warmer than that when I arrived, but overcast, and the road to Sunrise hadn't been cleared of snow. Maybe another day, but today I was not going to get to Sunrise by car.

I hiked part way from the White River Campground, gaining about 320 meters according to my phone App. That comes out to about 1,000 feet. I was a bit winded, possibly due to long underwear restricting my legs. I turned around when the snow on the trail made ascending dicey. I should have packed Yak Trax.

Stats for the day:
Distance: unk
Conditions: Overcast, snow on trail
Load: 13 pounds
Elevation gain: 1,000 feet 

Statistics, year to date:
Distance: 234.1 miles 
Elevation Gain: 72,178 feet

View from the bridge just before the campground turnoff

This campground tree, hollow from the stump up, was likely cut as a preventive measure.

A glimpse of the trail. Snow closed over it at elevation.

Note on White River Campground:

Located five miles up from Highway 410, the White River Campground sits at 4,232 feet, making it the highest of the three drive-in campgrounds at Mount Rainier. The high elevation often makes this the last of the campgrounds to open and the first to close.

Mount Rainier's Plummer Peak with Roger and Tammi

A pika paused his darting for a few moments to munch on a salad.

Washington Trails Association says that the climb to Plummer Peak is a 1,500 elevation gain and the summit is 6,359 feet. I didn't make it to the summit yesterday, Sept. 2. The trail took me along a very steep drop off and I am always uncomfortable with those, particularly when I have a backpack on that shifts my center of gravity. Roger Matthews and Tammi Termann went ahead. I turned back and waited for their return. Ironically, it was Tammi who took a spill on the trail, banging her face and arm slightly and drawing a little blood, but otherwise weathering the storm well.slightly,  The altitude was affecting us a bit, so maybe that was a factor. Using my phone GPS I believe we were hiking above 4,800 feet, and were closing in toward 6,000 feet before I turned back. Even young people we passed on our descent were sweating and moving slowly. WTA says the trip is 4.5 miles, so I feel comfortable claiming 3.5 miles.

At the Grove of the Patriarchs, Tammi climbed among the roots of a fallen tree.

A patriarch yet to fall

On the Plummer Peak hike, a chipmunk prays for a morsel.

At this elevation, trees struggle to survive.

A view of the mountain during the descent

Mushrooms cower together at a switchback, below a menacing field of skree

Near the trailhead we found other mushrooms like this one at various life stages.

Noteworthy moments: 

Sworls on a burl on an old growth log

• A visit to the Grove of the Monarchs, a must every time you visit Rainier National Park.
• A big fat marmot browsing below the final ascent to Plummer Peak
• Several pikas darting around
• The accidental discovery of what appeared to be blueberries, but were probably blue huckleberries
• Discovery of some impressive mushrooms
• Feeling the effects of elevation

Stats for the day:

Distance: 3.5 miles*
Conditions: Clear Sky
Load: 18 pounds
Elevation gain: 1,000 feet 

Statistics, year to date:
Distance: 234.1 miles 
Elevation Gain: 71,178 feet

Fifth Rainier on Mount Si!

Scene near the canal where I gathered and filtered water to drink.

August 26, 2019 --Today I surpassed 70,000 verticle feet for 2019, ascending the equivalent height of Mount Rainier for the fifth time -- my goal for the year. I was not high energy, but I made the summit lookout in three hours. Other noteworthy moments: Learning from a fellow hiker that water flowing straight from the rocks was safe to drink (I still filtered the water from the stream in the "canal" at the early part of the trail.) I got by with one large bottle of water and some trail mix. I had prepared tuna salad, which I finished when I got back home. My feet hurt, but not as much as they might have; I had rolphed them the night before.

A scene by the boardwalk at snag flats, a little past the first mile marker

A scene just above the canal where I filtered drinking water

Two large trees bookend the trail.

Distance: 8 miles*
Conditions: Clear Sky
Load: 18 pounds
Elevation gain: 3,000 feet 

Statistics, year to date:
Distance: 229.6 miles 
Elevation Gain: 70,178 feet -- my Fifth Rainier for the year!

Mount Ellinor, Lena Lake and a goat on the Olympic Peninsula

View from dining area of Robin Hood Resort at Union, WA

My friend, Tammi Hermann, invited me for a two-night groupon at Robin Hood Resort at Union on Hood Canal, very close to some nice hikes: Mount Ellinor, and Lena Lake, both in the neighborhood of Lake Cushman. We also took the time to identify potential camping locations in nearby state parks.


Our trip took us to the Kitsap peninsula via the Southworth Ferry on the 14th.

A commuter's conundrum expressed on the piling next at the Fauntleroy ferry dock.

We drove to the resort, found the office closed, and then drove  to the Mima Mounds West of Olympia.

Several trees rose from one of the dozens of mounds at the Mima Mounds site.

Trunks of a clutch of maple trees at Potlatch State Park.

The sight that greeted us at the beginning of our Mount Ellinor hike

A friendly part of the Mount Ellinor ascent.

A not-so-friendly part of the Mount Ellinor ascent.

Hikers were invited to pack rebar and logs up the trail for trail maintenance.

Tammy stood beside a recently improved trail that benefited from the logs and rebar.

Back at the resort we dined, attended the resort's open mic night and enjoyed the hot tub. The next morning we rose early and hiked Mount Ellinor by way of Lake Cushman. The climb started steep and ended up to be a scramble up a rocky path that could have led us to the Mountain Goats that soon will be relocated to the Cascades. But the fog was nipping at our heels and I wasn't confident that we could descend without an injury, so I called off the hike within probably 200 yards of where we would encounter the goats.

We were in he neighborhood of 5,000 feet elevation when we turned back. The hot tub was particularly welcome that night because our muscles were a little sore.

On the Lena Lake trail we found what appeared to be a dry waterfall that likely roars in the spring.

On Friday we left early after collecting some sea shells along the beach. We went to Hamma Hamma and discovered the hike to Lena Lake, climbing with what appeared to be improved stamina. I found myself having trouble keeping up with Tammi -- or staying ahead of her. She had worried ahead of time that she was out of shape, but I was impressed with her speed, especially as we descended from Lena Lake at close to 3 mph, as fast as I've ever descended a trail.

One of two log bridges on the Lena Lake Trail.

Cedar logs along the trail, perhaps destined to be split for trail maintenance.

Our destination -- Lena Lake

At Lena Lake, two young interns with Olympic National Forest included us in their survey about how many people knew the proper way to defecate in the forest. One of them, Katie Spires, a University of Washington student, was kind enough to e-mail us a photo of a Mountain Goat at Lena Lake, below. A hiker we met on the trail said the goats would be netted, sedated, and moves to the Cascades.

A mountain goat close to the edge of a cliff overlooking Lena Lake. Photo by Katie Spires.

Tammi at Potlatch Park

Hiking statistics for Ellinor:
Distance: 2.6 miles*
Conditions: Overcast, some foggy mist; higher altitude
Load: 19 pounds
Elevation gain: 1,500 feet 

Hiking statistics for Lena Lake:
Distance: 6 miles*
Conditions: Overcast, very light rain
Load: 19 pounds
Elevation gain: 1,250 feet 

Statistics, year to date:
Distance: 221.6 miles 
Elevation Gain: 67,178 feet
Next Goal: 70,000 feet, my Fifth Rainier. 2.822 feet to go.

Listless leaf left on a log

A tree and its trunk separated by our walking path

Sunrise at Rainier, again

Parking lot, buildings and background at Sunrise, Mount Rainier Aug 8, 2019

I was surprised at my low energy levels today when I was hiking toward Frozen Lake today. Joan Tito also was tired and turned back to wait for me and John Anderson to return later.

Joan. In the background, Dege Peak, where we three hiked last year. (Click link)

We hiked to the lake, then took a different path back and ended up unintentionally separating.  What became clear is that I'm out of shape for 7,000-foot elevations. Later, when we stopped at Mud Mountain Dam, which is several thousand feet lower, our energy levels were fine.

The bank above the route back to Sunrise

The photo below was taken on the return hike. A squirrel ran across the trail then climbed up upon a rock, chewigh vigorously on what appears to be a crust of bread it found along the trail.

Hiking statistics for the day:
Distance: 5 miles*
Conditions: Clear, sunny
Load: 15 pounds
Elevation gain: 500 feet to 6,500 feet +

Statistics, year to date:
Distance: 213 miles 
Elevation Gain: 64,428 feet
Next Goal: 70,000 feet, my Fifth Rainier. 5,572 feet to go.

* This involved both the hike to Frozen lake and the return via a different route, plus additional hiking at Mud Mountain Dam.