Category: Washington Cascades

Trail of Two Forests & Ape Canyon – 08/08/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 10, 2026
3 Comments on Trail of Two Forests & Ape Canyon – 08/08/2026

During the week a shift in the wind brought wildfire smoke from the numerous wildfires in Pacific NW and British Columbia to the Willamette Valley. After several days of unhealthy air quality another shift began pushing the smoke out of the valley which was good for us but not for the unlucky folks now in the smokes path. Some progress has been made on several of the fires, but new ones keep popping up. One of these was incident 282 in the Willamette National Forest approximately 4.5-miles north of Waldo Lake (post) which was detected on Friday afternoon. Our planned hike for Saturday had been to revisit nearby Bobby Lake (post). While the new fire was relatively small, we felt it was best to avoid the area and began looking for an alternate hike.

We decided that our best bet, based on weather forecast and proximity of fires, was to head to Washington’s Mt. St. Helens. For the main hike we picked the Ape Canyon Trail which we had hiked twice before, but the not since 2013 (post). Before the 2013 hike we had stopped at Ape Cave to explore the lava tube there. There is another short interpretive trail near Ape Cave, the Trail of Two Forests, that we had not visited yet, so we decided to stop there first this time.

A NW Forest Pass is required to park at the TH.

The hike is a short loop on a boardwalk with a number of interpretive stops where lava casts remind visitors of the previous forest that existed before the lava flow.

A tree stood here when the lava arrived.

A highlight is “The Crawl” where you can descend into a tree mold and crawl through a lave tube to a nearby exit.

For the sake of my knees, and the longer hike to come, I opted not to make the actual crawl and stuck to the boardwalk.

The sign for the exit from the entrance.

The exit

This was a fun little hike that would be great for kids as it is just under half a mile in length. There are also several picnic tables at the trailhead.

From the Trail of Two Forests we drove to the Ape Canyon Trailhead.

Map at the trailhead. This becomes important later at the end of our hike.

The hike to Ape Canyon is straight forward in that there are no junctions, it is just a 4.5-mile mostly uphill hike along a ridge to a rock chasm above Ape Canyon with a view of Mt. Adams to the east.

Pearly everlasting

The lower portion of the trail passes closely to the Muddy River’s lahar left created by the melting of much of the Shoestring Glacier during the 1980 eruption.

Red huckleberries, yummy.

Bunchberry, not edible.

Paintbrush

It was quite a bit smokier than we’d expected based on the forecast. The smell of smoke was prominent over the first couple of miles of trail.

Sickletop lousewort

Thimbleberry, extra yummy.

Oregon grape, apparently this makes good jelly but not pleasant off the plant.

Chipmunk

Ghost pipe

Baneberry, not edible.

Beardtongue

Scouler’s bluebells

We eventually climbed above the smoke.

Red elderberry, not edible raw and potentially dangerous even when processed.

Fireweed

Candyflower

The trail alternates between the SW and NE sides of the ridge providing views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens.

Mt. Rainier through some haze.

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Adams

Pumice Butte

Mt. Adams amid the wildfire smoke.

Lupine

Paintbrush

Butterfly on aster

Ape Canyon

Golden-mantled ground squirrel with an itch.

Mountain heather

The chasm with Mt. Adams in the distance.

The trail is a little sketchy opposite the chasm and a reroute may soon be needed.

Just ahead to the right the tread gets pretty narrow.

Just beyond the chasm the trail arrives at a junction with the Loowit Trail.

We turned right onto the Loowit Trail and continued 0.8-miles to a currently dry spring-fed creek in the Plains of Abraham. Heather had spoken to a couple of hikers who mentioned that they had seen mountain goats on one of the hilltops from the trail closer to the spring. Last September I had seen goats on Pumice Butte during my hike from June Lake (post).

Dwarf lupine

Dwarf lupine on the Plains of Abraham.

When we got far enough around to look back at the hills above the Loowit Trail I took several pictures of what looked like they might be mountain goats to the naked eye.

One of them paid off.

The Loowit Trail crossing the Plains of Abraham.

Mountain goat fur.

Heading for the spring with Mt. Adams in the distance.

This area would have had a nice wildflower display if we had visited a few weeks earlier.

Above Ape Canyon.

The springs are back there but there was no flowing water today.

There were two small pools holding water in the creek bed.

On the far side of the creek bed two mountain bikers that had passed us earlier mentioned that they thought they’d seen a couple of bear cubs in the canyon below but weren’t certain. They continued on and I scanned the hillside.

It didn’t take long before I spotted what I thought could be a bear. When I zoomed in with the camera though I couldn’t tell at first if it was a bear or the shadowed end of a log. Then the head moved. It was the momma bear. A few moments later we had spotted the cubs as well.

We got to watch them forage for quite a while. The distance made it hard to get pictures but that didn’t stop me from trying (a lot).

Momma making sure the kids were following.

When we finally lost sight of the bears I decided to continue on the Loowit Trail to a viewpoint at the far end of the plains while Heather opted to break out her camp chair and relax a little longer.

Oregon sunshine

Paintbrush

Curious golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Alpine Butte

Coming up on the viewpoint at the junction of the Loowit and Abraham Trails. The peaks along the ridge from left to right are Coldwater Peak (post), The Dome, and Mt. Margaret (post). The top of Mt. Rainier is visible to the right.

Mt. Rainier

Penstemon

I turned around at the junction and headed back. Along the way I spotted a bear walking up the ridge of the butte that the bears had been below.

I assumed this was momma bear again but I didn’t see the cubs and the bear dropped over the far side of the ridge soon after I’d spotted it.

I reconnected with Heather and we headed back. The visibility of Mt. Adams was much improved and the smoke that had been present over the lower portion of the morning hike and moved on.

There were also clearer views of Mt. Rainier too.

Stonecrop

Fritillary on pearly everlasting.

Nuthatch

Marble Mountain across the lahar.

Circling back around to the trailhead head map. I was a little ahead of Heather and got back to the trailhead first. When I arrived there was a group of ladies and kids gathered around the map. One of them asked me if this trail went to the “canyon” and I said yes. I thought to myself it was crazy to be trying to get to Ape Canyon with such little kids and starting after 3pm to boot. A few moments later as I was putting my pack into the car I realized that she may not have been referring to Ape Canyon when she asked about the canyon, and she had probably meant nearby Lava Canyon (post). It was too late to catch them so I hoped that Heather might say something to them, but they didn’t ask her any questions, and she just assumed they were just exploring. I felt really bad and hopefully the figured it out sooner rather than later but in my defense I did give the correct answer to the question that was asked. The trail sign also named it the Ape Canyon Trail and the map was right there.

Aside from probably having sent a family on a wild goose chase the hike was great. Hiking to the far end of the plains put my hike at an even 13-miles.

There is some contention with the elevation gain as both Washington Trails Association and William L. Sullivan list the elevation gain as 1400′ while the Oregon Hikers Field Guide says 2485′. The GPS was much closer to the latter and by the way both Heather and I felt by the end the higher number seemed more realistic. It appears that the lower number is simply the difference in the high point and trailhead elevation and doesn’t account for the uphill sections on the way back.

Regardless of the actual elevation gain any hike that includes both mountain goats and bears (oh my) is a great one. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Trail of Two Forests and Ape Canyon

Tags ape canyon, Bear, hiking, Loowit Trail, mountain goat, Mt. St. Helens, Plains of Abraham, Trail of Two Forests, Washington

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

June Lake to Ape Canyon – 09/20/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 24, 2025
1 Comment on June Lake to Ape Canyon – 09/20/2025

After a few solo hikes we were able to hit the trail together to wrap up my final week of vacation for 2025. The hike I’d penciled in at the beginning of the year was out due to a road closure blocking access to the trailhead and my plan B was also out due to a closure for hazard tree removal. I turned to my list of “extra” hikes that were not currently on the schedule, which runs through 2029, and the one that jumped out was June Lake in the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. I checked the weather/smoke forecast, and it was clear skies with a high in the low 60s. That was enough to convince us.

This would be our second visit to June Lake with the first having been in July of 2014 (post). The hike to June Lake is just 1.3-miles (2.6-miles round trip with 410′ of elevation gain) so during our 2015 visit we continued past the lake 0.3-miles to the Loowit Trail which circumnavigates Mt. St. Helens. We turned left (clockwise) on that trail for nearly 5-miles before turning around. Our plan for this outing was to go right (counterclockwise), possibly as far as Ape Canyon (post).

We parked at the June Lake Trailhead and set off just after 7am.

The trail briefly follows June Creek with some views of the top of Mt. St. Helens before veering away to climb through the forest.

The trail nears the creek again to cross it on a footbridge then arrives in an open flat where June Lake lies hidden behind bushes on the right.

June Creek

The first path we followed through the bushes led to a view of the lake but not the waterfall that flows into the lake.

We ducked down a second path to get a view of the falls.

Aside from a few dragonflies and an American dipper we were alone at the lake and took a short break there to enjoy the scenery and sound of the waterfall.

From the lake we made the stiff climb up to the Loowit Trail and headed toward Ape Canyon.

It’s hard to tell in the photo but this section was both steep and loose. We both used the trees/roots on the left as handholds going up and when we came back down.

The trail leveled out some as it neared the junction.

The trail sign at the Loowit Trail junction said the Ape Canyon Trail was 5-miles. From the Ape Canyon Trail the canyon itself is a little over an additional half mile.

The Loowit Trail crossed a lava flow then spent a little time in the forest and along the lava flow before climbing into the rocks.

Various poles and posts mark the trails when they are passing over the lava flows.

The trail made a pretty significant climb (approx. 200′) when it reentered the lava flow gaining a view of Mt. Adams to the east and Mt. Hood to the south.

Marble Mountain is the closest peak, and Mt. Hood is behind to the left through some smokey haze.

A little better look at Mt. Hood.

Pink mountain heather

Heading up.

The Loowit Trail to the left crossing over the large rock with Mt. Adams in the distance.

Looking back down from near the top of the climb.

We were still about 3.2-miles from the Ape Canyon Trail at this point. From this crest the Loowit Trail would make a series of ups and downs as it crossed a half dozen gullies/canyons of various depths including several forks of the Muddy River. We momentarily lost the trail at one of the first gullies when we missed a hairpin turn around a post marking the route and instead headed straight following footprints along a rocky ridge.

The trail passing between large rocks.

Mt. Adams was visible for much of this stretch and Mt. Rainier occasionally made an appearance to the north.

Mt. Rainier over the trees.

There were also plenty of great views of Mt. St. Helens.

Mt. Adams from one of the posts.

This is where we missed the turn and were following footprints along this ridge.

When we finally spotted a post and the trail way down in the gully below we checked the GPS and confirmed we were off the actual trail. A little scrambling connected us back up to the correct path.

Mt. Adams from the ridge. The post is barely visible between some trees ahead to the left, but we didn’t want to try to recross the top of the ridge as there were some large gaps that were almost too sketchy for us on the first pass.

A little downclimbing to the actual trail below.

Passing the post we had seen from above.

Dropping into another gully. At this point Heather decided she was not going to try and push for Ape Canyon and sent me ahead while she would take her time and turn around when she felt like it.

The trail briefly left the rocky landscape to traverse up and along a hillside with a few trees and a lot of huckleberry bushes that were sporting their fall colors.

Looking back at Mt. Hood and the direction we’d come.

Mt. Adams and a lot of huckleberry bushes.

Mt. Rainier in the distance.

Mt. Rainier behind Pumice Butte.

Ripe serviceberries mixed in with the huckleberries.

After traversing the huckleberry covered hillside it crossed another tributary of the Muddy River.

Closer look at Mt. St. Helens.

Heading for the next post.

Mt. Rainier became more visible as I continued north.

One of the larger canyons of the Muddy River. The entire route was dry this late in the year.

Dry waterfall above the trail.

Looking down the canyon toward Mt. Adams.

Mt. Hood and a layer of haze behind one of the posts.

The trail turning uphill before the next canyon.

The Loowit Trail climbing out of another canyon to a post with Mt. Rainier in the distance.

Mt. Rainier and Little Tahoma

Dwarf lupine

The next ravine was the main channel of the Muddy River and it proved to be the trickiest as the trail climbing out was not obvious.

There was a post visible on the far side poking up from a patch of green but no visible path leading to it.

It almost looked like there might be a path on the shelf above the dry riverbed, but I didn’t see a clear path to it, nor did it appear to lead anywhere near the post on the ridge above.

Once I was in the riverbed I spotted two small rock cairns, one with a pink ribbon so I headed for those.

That brought me to the far side but there was still no clear tread that I could see.

The post is uphill just to my left. There were some prints leading up from here so I angled uphill toward the trees above.

This route quickly turned into a class 3 scramble. I had to be very careful which rocks I used as hand and footholds due to how loose the hillside was. I momentarily considered turning around but I was closer to the top than the bottom and wasn’t sure I could safely downclimb, so I continued. I finally managed to climb out near the snags.

The post is hiding back behind the snags here.

After gathering myself I continued on figuring that it should be easier to follow the correct path down starting from the post on the way back. The Loowit trail now began a nearly three-quarter mile long descent.

Mt. Rainier to the left and the Loowit Trail ahead to the right.

The Ape Canyon Trail was visible climbing along the ridge below.

The trail leveled out shortly before arriving at the junction with the Ape Cayon Trail at a post with a great view of Pumice Butte.

I almost called it quits here. In addition to a great view of Mt. St. Helens I could see the Loowit Trail below in the distance as it bowed out and around toward Ape Canyon which was on the far side of Pumice Butte.

The Loowit Trail is visible on the right-hand side about halfway up the photo.

The trail then bent around to climb the ridge in the distance on the far side of the butte.

The deciding factor was that on our previous two visits Mt. Adams had not been visible from the viewpoint above Ape Canyon. Despite there being a little haze today I knew Mt. Adams would be visible, so I sallied forth.

Heading toward Pumice Butte now. If you look closely, on the left-hand side toward the top, there are several mountain goats. At this point I had dismissed them as fallen snags and hadn’t bothered looking closely.

Passing through yet another gully.

Paintbrush

The trail passes the top of Ape Canyon and crosses what is sometimes a small spring fed stream.

No water, just a little bit of mud. Speaking to backpackers there were few sources of water available this late in the year.

Success! Mt. Adams from Ape Canyon

This was the 2013 view.

And the 2015 view.

I took a break on a rock and had a snack and changed into dry socks before starting back.

The rock I used as a bench.

It was while I was heading back that I realized it was mountain goats on Pumice Butte and not stumps/downed trees.

Looking north toward Windy Pass where the Loowit Trail passes between the mountain and the butte ahead.

Mt. Adams, Pumice Butte, and mountain goats.

I returned the way I’d come, except for the two places that I’d lost the trail on the way to Ape Canyon. As the sun moved overhead the view of Mt. Adams improved a bit and the view of Mt. Hood became hazier.

Mt. Hood was barely visible now.

When I reached the post above the Muddy River I followed the path as it began to descend the side that I’d scrambled up.

The section of trail that I had thought I’d seen from the other side was visible below but again there was no clear route to it. I believe it is a remanent of a previous route through the canyon that has since washed out.

The route down made a switchback and basically led me back to where I had begun my scramble up. There was a pretty good drop near the bottom though. It was significant enough that I sat down and slowly lowered myself by sliding down the loose pumice. Looking back, I am sure I considered that as a possible route up but the drop, or climb going up, seemed pretty daunting and since I wasn’t positive it was indeed the current trail I veered right instead. Once I was done with the butt slide, I found myself in the riverbed at the cairns I had followed earlier. It was a little perplexing at the time, but I was through the worst section now and could enjoy the rest of the hike back.

Dust kicking up from a rockfall on the mountain.

Golden-mantled grounds squirrel. I heard a few pikas along the way but never saw any, just the golden-mantles and some chipmunks.

Coming up to the post on the ridge where we’d lost the trail earlier.

Mt. Adams near the end of the hike.

The trail below in the rocks.

Back on the June Lake Trail.

I caught up to Heather a little before reaching June Lake. She had gone through the huckleberries and stopped at the edge of one of the big canyons and taken a nice long break before taking her time on her way back. We stopped at June Lake again for a final look at the waterfall then returned to the car.

Ouzel with a snack.

The hike to Ape Canyon came in at 14.4-miles on my GPS. I am just guessing on elevation, but I’d say it was in the 2500′ range due to all the ups and downs.

This little orange section is my scramble out of the Muddy River Canyon.

Mt. St. Helens never disappoints. This might have been my favorite hike we’ve done at the mountain to date but it’s hard to say. Happy Trails!

Flickr: June Lake to Ape Canyon

Tags ape canyon, ape canyon trail, hiking, June Lake, june lake trail, June Lake Trailhead, Loowit Trail, Mountain Goats, Mt. St. Helens, mt. st. helens national volcanic monument, Muddy River, Washington

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Lava Canyon – 08/30/2025

The morning after our last hike, at Silver Falls State Park (post), I woke with a bad case of vertigo and wound up in urgent care thinking I might have an ear infection. That wasn’t the case, but it took the better part of a week for things to settle down putting our hiking plans on pause. By Labor Day Weekend the vertigo had passed, and I was just dealing with a little excess pressure in my left ear. That was good enough for us to head back out for the trails.

For our first hike of the holiday weekend we picked Lava Canyon in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This hike had been on our list of trails to revisit for a while now and given the forecast for smokey conditions in the Oregon Cascades it looked like a good time to do it.

Our first visit to Lava Canyon was in September 2012 (post) before we’d decided to try and hike all of William L. Sullivan’s featured hikes. During that visit we did Sullivan’s shorter option, a 1.3-mile lollipop loop following a much longer hike at Ape Canyon. For this visit we wanted to do his longer option and add on a little bit of time on Smith Creek Trail. Doing some pre-hike research led me to the Oregon Hikers Field Guide which described a loop utilizing The Old 83 Trail to return to the Lava Canyon Trailhead.

Our typical early start meant we were the first ones on the trail Saturday morning.

We headed down the paved path past a viewpoint and then a warning sign.

Muddy River

At the 0.4-mile mark we came to a junction with the short loop we’d done on our first visit.

On our previous visit we returned using the bridge shown above. That loop currently isn’t an option due to damage to the suspension bridge a quarter mile further along the trail.

Viewpoint above Upper Lava Canyon Falls.

The view of the falls leaves a little to be desired but there is a better view a little further down the trail.

Upper Lava Canyon Falls

Beyond the viewpoint the trail becomes rougher.

The closed suspension bridge.

The Lava Canyon Trail continuing past the suspension bridge.

Warning regarding the conditions along the Lower Lava Canyon Trail.

We continued down the increasingly rough trail and came to a view of Lava Canyon Falls.

The top of Lava Canyon Falls.

Lava Canyon Falls

Fireweed

The trail was very narrow in places and high, not a good one for people who have issues with heights, children or pets.

This missing section of tread was the sketchiest part of the trail. There was a significant drop which would have been fatal.

The next waterfall we passed was Middle Lava Canyon Falls.

Unnamed stream crossing.

A short distance beyond Middle Lava Canyon Falls we came to the 30′ to 40′ ladder.

After securing our hiking poles we climbed down the ladder and continued along the trail.

Basalt above the trail.

At an unmarked junction we made a hard right turn to take a 0.2-mile spur trail to the top of The Ship where there was a view of Lower and Lava Canyon Falls.

This is the view of the spur trail (on the left) looking back after having passed the junction and turning around.

There was a shorter ladder on The Ship.

Chicken tails

Huckleberry leaves turning colors at the end of summer.

Lower Lava Canyon Falls

After a short break to enjoy the view we carefully headed back down to the Lava Canyon Trail.

The spur trail above the ladder.

We continued another third of a mile to another unsigned junction where we turned right.

We took the spur to avoid the challenging conditions that the sign near the suspension bridge had mentioned. The spur trail crossed the Muddy River on a good footbridge then followed the river 1.1-miles to the Lower Smith Creek Trailhead.

This trail was also a little rough but there were no major challenges.

Mt. Margaret (post) and Mt. Teragram (rocky knoll).

Mt. St. Helens

About 100 yards before reaching the trailhead we passed a yellow rope hanging down the steep embankment. None of the maps or hike descriptions we’d looked at said anything about using a rope to get down to the river, so we ignored it and continued on.

Zoomed in look at the rope from the Muddy River.

The rope is located at the center of this photo.

As it turned out we should have used the rope to get down because the maps and descriptions indicated that from the trailhead you would walk north along the former Forest Road 8322, but that old roadbed ended at a vertical drop where the was no way to safely scramble down to the river.

Vehicle parked near the trailhead sign in the distance.

FR 8322 roadbed heading toward the former bridge site.

Unable to descend from the end of FR 8322 we decided to continue down that road past the trailhead looking for an alternate route instead of returning to the rope. About a quarter mile from the trailhead we came to some campsites where we found a rough scramble trail that we used to get down to the riverbank.

We made a u turn along the river and headed back toward the old bridge site where we would ford the Muddy River.

While the trail had been a little sketchy at times the scariest part of the hike came as we were heading back up to the ford of the Muddy River. There was a family camped near the trailhead, and they decided it would be a good idea to let the kids shoot their 22’s across the river valley. It wasn’t surprising that they would be that careless given they had a big campfire going despite a full ban on campfires in the forest. (Forest Order 06-03-00-25-01) I tried yelling and waiving my arms and I don’t know if that got their attention or if one of the adults spotted us, but they did stop shooting and we made it past.

We changed into our water shoes and forded just below the log here. The water was knee deep and cold.

View back to where FR 8322 used to be. There was no way we were getting down that.

We picked up the obvious trail which climbed easily up the far embankment.

The trail headed back along the river before veering away and arriving at a junction with the Lava Canyon Trail.

The Smith Creek Trail ends at Forest Road 99 just north of the Smith Creek Viewpoint (post)

We stuck to the Smith Creek Trail which followed the old roadbed. After a third of a mile we came to a junction with lots of flagging and some cairns.

Smith Creek from the trail.

Another view of Smith Creek.

Lupine

The unsigned but well-marked junction with The Old 83 Trail. The Old 83 Trail would loop us back to the Lava Canyon Trailhead, but first I wanted to explore a little more of the Smith Creek Trail. Heather opted to skip this detour, so we split up here.

The Smith Creek Trail was relatively level and, for the most part, continued to follow the old roadbed. There was a mix of forest and occasional views of Smith Creek.

Aster

Unnamed creek.

I had planned on hiking for half an hour then turning around, but as the 30-minute mark approached the GPS showed I was close to a junction, so I made that my turn around.

View up Smith Creek toward Windy Ridge near the junction.

The junction wound up being where FR 94 used to split off to cross Smith Creek.

After the hike I realized I had turned around less than half a mile from Ape Canyon (post) which would have been a logical spot to turn around, but I was already 5 minutes over my allotted time. I made my way back to The Old 83 Trail and turned up it following Heather.

The Old 83 Trail followed the former route of FR 83 3.3-miles uphill to FR 83 near the trailhead. The wide road was easy to follow with no major blowdown present. It was a quite walk back for me and despite being sure I would see some wildlife I never spotted anything other than an occasional small bird. Heather however saw at least one and possibly up to three owls.

Barred owl

Crane Lake is back in the trees to the left. There was no view from the roadbed and neither of us found the use trail that supposedly led to it.

Mushroom and foam flower

Groundsel

Trail sign for The Old 83 Trail.

The Lava Canyon Trailhead from FR 83.

My hike was 11.4-miles with roughly 1500′ of elevation gain.

The trailhead was very busy by the afternoon but on the trail I only saw two backpackers. The Old 83 Trail and the Smith Creek Trail were both in good shape, but the Lava Canyon Trail had some rough spots making it quite an adventure. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Lava Canyon

Tags hiking, Lava Canyon, Lava Canyon Falls, Lava Canyon Trail, Lava Canyon Trailhead, Lower Smith Creek Trailhead, mt. st. helens national volcanic monument, Muddy River, Smith Creek, Smith Creek Trail, The Old 83 Trail, The Ship, Washington

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Cascades

Naches Peak Loop (Mt. Rainier) – 08/08/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 15, 2025
No Comments on Naches Peak Loop (Mt. Rainier) – 08/08/2025

For our final hike of our Mount Rainier vacation we landed on the Naches Peak Loop. This was originally not going to be our final hike but after several changes to our plans throughout the week it wound up here and we couldn’t be happier that it did. This was a spectacular hike with tons of wildflowers, great views, and a nice variety of wildlife.

Less than 40 minutes from Packwood we arrived at the trailhead a little before 5:45am.

Double Peak

The Naches Peak Loop Trail is 3.5-miles with 500′ of elevation gain. A portion of the loop follows the Pacific Crest Trail which provided an opportunity for a side trip down to Dewey Lakes in the William O. Douglas Wilderness.

It is recommended to hike the loop clockwise to maximize the views of Mount Rainier so that was our plan as we set off. The wildflower display was immediately profuse.

Heading down to the start of the loop near Tipsoo Lake.

Tipsoo Lake

Spirea, lupine, western pasque flower, and bistort.

We turned left at the start of the loop and climbed for a third of a mile to the Pacific Crest Trail at Chinook Pass.

Western pasque flower seedheads and aster.

Valerian and bistort

Larkspur

Arnica, fleabane, lupine, bistort, and valerian.

Partridgefoot

Highway 410 at Chinook Pass.

Trail sign for the PCT.

We turned right on the PCT and crossed the highway on an overpass.

The PCT was more level as it traversed the hillside below Naches Peak.

Looking back at Yakima Peak.

We were leaving the National Park and entering the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

The top of Mount Rainier to the left of Yakima Peak.

Saxifrage

Bird’s beak lousewort

At one point we looked back toward Yakima Peak and spotted some deer dashing across the hillside.

Doe and two fawns.

White mountain heather

Wilderness information for the William O. Dougals Wilderness.

Paintbrush

Grass-of-parnassus and an arnica.

Allumroot

Columbine with several other types of flowers.

Cusick’s speedwell

Pink monkeyflower

Wilderness sign

Bird with a snack.

Naches Peak

Just under a mile from Chinook Pass the PCT passes a small tarn below Naches Peak. We detoured around the tarn on a use trail.

Sickle-top lousewort

Penstemon

Aster

Pink monkeyflower and arnica

Pussytoes

Dewey Peak

The top of Mt. Adams between Dewey and Seymour Peaks.

Mt. Adams

Golden-mantled ground squirrel enjoying the view.

Dewey Lake below Dewey Peak.

We came to a junction 1.7-miles from Chinook Pass where the PCT forked left to head downhill to Dewey Lake.

Heather decided not to make the side trip down to Dewey Lake as it added over 600′ of elevation gain, and over 3 miles to the hike. I headed down the PCT which made one big switchback then headed more directly toward the lakes.

Double Peak with the snowy Tatoosh Range behind.

Stevens, Boundary, and Unicorn Peaks

Yarrow

Rainiera

No fires reminder.

Dewey Lake

There are several smaller ponds/lakes along the PCT in addition to Dewey Lake.

The largest of the smaller bodies of water.

Reflections in a pond.

PCT along Dewey Lake.

I turned around at the southern end of the lake and headed back to the Naches Peak Loop.

Elephants head at Dewey Lake.

Sandpiper

Junco

Great blue heron

Lousewort

Mushrooms

Grouse

The signs at the Naches Peak Loop junction ahead.

I continued counterclockwise on the Naches Peak Loop. The wildflowers were not as thick on this side of Naches Peak, but the views of Mount Rainier were excellent.

The Tatoosh Range.

Mt. Rainier and Naches Peak

Unnamed lake along the Naches Peak Loop.

There were some good flowers near the unnamed lake.

Robin

A nice buck crossed the trail just ahead of me then disappeared into the forest.

Harebells

Cedar waxwings

Mt. Adams

Hawkeye Point and Johnson Peak in the Goat Rocks Wilderness in front of Mt. Adams.

Sourdough Ridge

Yakima Peak and Highway 410.

Tipsoo Lake from the southern trailhead.

Yakima Peak from Tipsoo Lake.

Mt. Rainier from Tipsoo Lake.

Butterfly

Pine siskin

The trailhead where we had parked on the far side of a small pond.

With the detour to Dewey Lakes my hike wound up being 7.2-miles with roughly 1200′ of elevation gain.

This wound up being the perfect hike to end our trip with providing big views and extensive wildflower meadows along with a surprising variety of wildlife sightings. It was also short enough that we on our way back to Salem a little before 10am allowing us to be home mid-afternoon (no thanks to Portland traffic). It had been a great trip, even with the flat tire the first day. The temperatures had been especially welcome as it never got above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems like it had been many years since our last summer vacation that didn’t include 90-to-100-degree temperatures at some point. We were also pleasantly surprised with how often we didn’t notice the crowds. While the park was busy there were times every day where we were able to enjoy a feeling of solitude, even in the Paradise Area. We weren’t in the park on a weekend so things might have felt differently on a Saturday, but our experience was very positive. I don’t know when we’ll be back, but there are still plenty of trails left for us to explore at Mount Rainier. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Naches Peak Loop

Tags cedar waxwings, Chinook Pass, deer, Dewey Lake, grouse, hiking, Mount Rainier National Park, Naches Peak, Naches Peak Loop, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Tipsoo Lake, Washington, wildflowers, William O. Douglas Wilderness

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Comet Falls and Snow & Bench Lakes – 08/07/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 14, 2025
No Comments on Comet Falls and Snow & Bench Lakes – 08/07/2025

After a wet Wednesday the forecast for Thursday looked a lot drier with only a slight chance of a shower in the morning and partly sunny skies by the afternoon. Our plan was to continue the waterfall theme from the day before (post) by visiting Comet Falls then check out a pair of lakes, Bench and Snow, before returning to Packwood for one final night.

It was dry but overcast when we arrived at the Comet Falls Trailhead.

The Van Trump Trail climbs relatively steeply for almost two miles to the base of Comet Falls. Total elevation gain is approximately 1250′ making this a fairly strenuous hike.

This footbridge is over Chrstine Falls which we got a view of the day before.

Van Trump Creek

Paintbrush

Several salmonberries were consumed during this hike.

Pika!

Fireweed

The steep set of stairs ahead were a workout.

Pearly everlasting

Beardtongue

Monkeyflower and yellow willow-herb

Unnamed fall on Van Trump Creek.

Rocky stretch of trail where the pikas were seemingly everywhere.

One pika!

Pika number 2, with snack.

Tall mountain bluebells

Confluence of the West and East Forks of Van Trump Creek.

Footbridge over the East Fork Van Trump Creek.

Bloucher Falls

It was just 200′ from Bloucher Falls to a viewpoint of Comet Falls. Unfortunately fog was hiding most of the view from the viewpoint, but continuing on the Van Trump Trail produced clearer views.

Comet Falls is over 300′ tall.

The best view of the morning before more fog rolled in.

The Van Trump Trail continues steeply uphill to Van Trump Park and can be connected to the Rampart Ridge Trail (post). Originally, we had planned on visiting the wildflowers and views at Van Trump Park, but after rearraigning our plans due to Sunday’s flat tire (post) and Wednesday’s rain we decided to turn around at Comet Falls.

Right about the time we headed back more fog moved in really obstructing the view of the falls.

Fog was now affecting the view of Bloucher Falls as well.

We kept our eyes out for pikas on the way down and were not disappointed.

Beardtongue

Pika with a mouthful of vegatation.

Stonecrop

Harebells

Penstemon

A pika and a thrush.

Blueberries

Twinflower

Chestnut-backed chickadee

Final drop to the trailhead.

Our 3.8-mile, 1250′ track.

From the trailhead we headed back toward Packwood for eight miles to the Snow Lake Trailhead. The trailhead itself was closed for repaving/striping, but we’d hoped to find a spot along one of the nearby pullouts. The two closest pullouts were full so we wound up driving 0.4-miles back up Stevens Canyon Road to the next available pullout.

The closed trailhead.

The pullout we parked at.

We had a 0.4-mile road walk to reach the trail.

The full pullouts on either side of the road.

While the trail is only about 1.2-miles long it gains over 600′ in a series of steep ups and downs.

False hellebore

Unicorn Peak in the clouds.

Gentian

The northern end of Bench Lake. There is reportedly a view of Mt. Rainier to the north from this rocky overlook however the clouds eliminated any chance of that today.

Spur trail to the left down to Bench Lake.

The spur trail was steep and very eroded. Heather took one look and said “no thanks” and continued on to Snow Lake.

On a clear day there would be a view of Mt. Rainier from the southern end of this lake.

Blurry great blue heron on the far side of Bench Lake.

After checking out Bench Lake I followed Heather toward Snow Lake.

Paintbrush

Footbridge over Unicorn Creek.

Arnica

Spur to Snow Lake Camp and the privy to the left.

Snow Lake

Sickle-top lousewort

Snow Lake from the outlet.

\
Snow Lake Trail passing above Snow Lake.

Unicorn Peak

The end of the maintained trail.

Unicorn Creek near its source.

Tents at Snow Lake Camp across the water.

We headed back after visiting Snow Lake and while the clouds began to break up the sky didn’t clear up enough for us to ever see Mount Rainier.

Unicorn Peak with a little blue sky.

Nuthatch

We stopped at the overlook of Bench Lake again to watch some deer in the brush below.

No view of the mountain today.

Due to where we parked this stop came in at 3.7-miles with a little over 700′ of elevation gain giving us a total of 7.3-miles and 1950′ on the day.

We returned to Packwood for our final night. We had burgers from Cliff Droppers for dinner then watched the elk graze in the grass behind our room.

Group A

Group B

Another great day at Mount Rainier was in the books with one more hike remaining. The next morning we would be heading for the Naches Peak Loop where we hoped to see some great wildflowers and epic views of Mount Rainier. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Comet Falls and Snow & Bench Lakes

Tags Bench Lake, Cliff Droppers, Comet Falls, hiking, Mount Rainier National Park, Packwood WA, Pika, snow lake, Snow Lake Trail, Unicorn Creek, Unicorn Peak, Van Trump Creek, Van Trump Trail, Washington

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Narada, Christine, Carter, Madcap, and Silver Falls (Mt. Rainier) – 08/06/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 13, 2025
1 Comment on Narada, Christine, Carter, Madcap, and Silver Falls (Mt. Rainier) – 08/06/2025

The arrival of rain showers Wednesday had led us to change our plans into a “Waterfall Wednesday”. Our plan was to visit four or five of Mount Rainier National Park’s waterfalls starting with Narada Falls. With the rain clouds overhead we got a little later start and arrived at the Narada Falls Trailhead just before 6:30am.

Located along the Paradise River a short trail drops 100′ in just over tenth of mile to a viewpoint of the 168′ waterfall.

Small cascade above Narada Falls.

The viewpoint below from the top of Narada Falls.

Paradise River

The trail down to the viewpoint. It is possible to connect to the Wonderland Trail a tenth of a mile from the viewpoint allowing for longer hikes to Reflection Lakes or the Longmire Area.

After visiting the viewpoint we returned to our car and continued driving four miles west on Paradise Valley Road to a pullout just before Van Trump Creek.

An even shorter trail here led to a viewpoint of Chrstine Falls.

There was no sign for the short, paved path.

The path dropped about 40′ in less than 100 yards to the viewpoint.

Christine Falls

After checking out Chrstine Falls we again traveled west on Paradise Valley Road to the Longmire Area. Here we planned for a more substantial hike to Carter and Madcap Falls along the Wonderland Trail. We could have followed the Wonderland Trail down from Narada Falls to visit these two falls but that was a much steeper section of the trail than coming up from below. This was our second time starting a hike from Longmire. In 2019 we did an excellent Fall hike to Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground (post).

From Longmire we followed a pointer for the Wonderland Trail near the entrance road.

We followed this short 0.1-mile connector to the actual Wonderland Trail where we forked right.

In 2019 we had returned to Longmire via the left-hand fork.

The Wonderland Trail climbed gradually through the forest with occasional glimpses of the Nisqually River for 1.6-miles to the Carter Falls Trailhead.

Red huckleberries

Huckleberries

Starting at the Carter Falls Trailhead makes the hike to Carter and Madcap Falls 2.8-miles with 660′ of elevation gain. According to the Park’s construction schedule this TH was going be closed for repaving/striping on Wednesday, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.

From the Carter Falls Trailhead the Wonderland Trail dropped down to the Nisqually River where it crossed on the river on a single log footbridge.

Fireweed

Heather was not a big fan of how swiftly and close the river was flowing to the bridge.

Beyond the bridge the trail continued to climb, but now it was following the Paradise River.

There was a relatively short but steep section along this old pipe.

The steps ahead meant that we were close to Carter Falls.

Carter Falls

A tenth of a mile beyond Carter Falls the trail arrives at Madcap Falls.

Madcap Falls

We declared victory at Madcap Falls and returned the way we’d come. We had thus far avoided any heavy showers and had just experienced a light mist for most of the morning. As we neared Longmire the rain did pick up but fortunately it wasn’t long before we were back in the car.

The bridge coming from the other directon.

The Paradise River joining the Nisqually River.

Arriving back at the short connector trail to Longmire.

This hike wound up being 6.2-miles with approximately 1000′ of elevation gain.

We headed back toward Packwood with one more possible stop. Since we weren’t entirely soaked and it was still before Noon we were hoping to find a parking spot at the Grove of the Patriarchs Trailhead so we could visit Silver Falls. (We originally had also been planning on visiting the Grove of the Patriarchs, a stand of giant old growth trees, but the suspension bridge leading to the grove is damaged and that hike is currently closed.)

The busy, but not full, Grove of the Patriarchs Trailhead.

From this trailhead we crossed Stevens Canyon Road following a pointer for the Eastside Trail.

Normally a 3-mile loop is possible here, but ongoing construction had closed part of the loop near the Ohanapecosh Campground.

It was raining less here than it had anywhere else all morning allowing for a nice hike down through a beautiful forest.

Foam flower

The Ohanapecosh River was spectacularly clear and colorful.

A spur to the left leads to an overlook, but the better view is from the far side of the bridge over the river.

Silver Falls from the overlook.

For the best view skip the overlook and head for the railed section of trail across the river ahead.

The Ohanapecosh River flowing away from the bridge.

Silver Falls

This was our favorite view just uphill from the bridge.

After admiring this amazing waterfall we headed back the way we’d come. This stop was 1.6-miles and 300′ of elevation gain giving us a total of 8.3-miles and 1550′ of total elevation gain on the day.

All five of these waterfalls were worthy of a visit and this was a perfect day for it. We returned to Packwood and after hanging up our gear to dry we went out for coffee and bakery items from The Mountain Goat Coffee Company which really hit the spot. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Narada, Christine, Carter, Madcap, and Silver Falls

Tags Carter Falls, Christine Falls, hiking, Longmire, Madcap Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, Narada Falls, Nisqually River, Ohanapecosh River, Packwood WA, Paradise River, Silver Falls, The Mountain Goat Coffee Company, Washington, wonderland trail

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Cascades

Fremont Lookout and Burroughs Mountain (Mt. Rainier ) – 08/05/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 12, 2025
No Comments on Fremont Lookout and Burroughs Mountain (Mt. Rainier ) – 08/05/2025

After getting replacement tires and hiking some of the trails in the Paradise Area on Monday (post) we headed for Mount Rainier’s Sunrise Area early Tuesday morning. Timed entry reservations are required to enter the Sunrise Corridor from 7am thru 5pm in 2025, so we made sure we were plenty early to avoid needing one.

We left Packwood, WA a little before 5am and stopped at Sunrise Point just before 5:45am to catch the tail end of the actual sunrise.

Alpenglow on Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Adams behind Barrier Peak

The view NE.

After the spectacular sunrise we continued up Sunrise Road and parked near the Sunrise Visitor Center.

Our first visit to Mount Rainier had been a 4-day backpacking trip (post) on the Northern Loop which began from Sunrise. Our first 1.6-miles followed our route from that trip following a “Trail Access” pointer to a wide trail next to a signboard.

There was no fog as there had been the day before, so we had good views as we climbed through open meadows toward Frozen Lake.

Looking back at the Sunrise Day Lodge.

Western pasque flowers and Mt. Rainier.

There is good signage throughout the park.

Parry’s arnica

Pine siskin

We went left when we reached the top of Sourdough Ridge.

A short distance along the ridge we were alerted to a herd of elk below in Huckleberry Basin.

There are at least seven elk visible in this photo.

A cow and three calves.

The trail climbed up along Sourdough Ridge and past Frozen Lake to a 5-way junction. The wildflowers on this side of the mountain are not as profuse as they are in the Paradise Area but there was still a nice variety of flowers in bloom.

False hellebore

A few remaining phlox flowers.

Paintbrush and aster

Rainiera

Pearly everlasting with a few paintbrush intermixed.

Harebells

Alumroot

Goldenrod

Lousewort and partridgefoot

First pika of the day.

Golden fleabane

Dwarf lupine

Penstemon and alpine false dandelions.

Catchfly

Frozen Lake which supplies water to the Sunrise area and is off-limits to visitors.

The 5-way junction. The Wonderland Trail is the first to the left and continues straight ahead. The Burroughs Mountain Trail is the second to the left heading uphill toward Mt. Rainier. To the right is the Mount Fremont Trail.

When we hiked the Northern Loop we had gone straight on the Wonderland Trail from this junction. Today’s plan was to head right to the Fremont Lookout then return to this junction and head out the Burroughs Mountain Trail returning to Sunrise via Shadow Lake.

We headed for the Fremont Lookout which was 1.3-miles away. After a brief initial steep climb the trail eased up and gradually climbed along the open hillside.

We took the righthand fork.

Passing above Frozen Lake.

Shrubby cinquefoil

The Burroughs Mountain Trail on the far hillside.

Heading up.

Frozen Lake behind.

The Fremont Lookout at the end of the ridge ahead.

The views from this trail were impressive as was the number of pikas living along the rocky hillside.

Looking back at Mt. Rainier.

Skyscraper Mountain directly ahead.

Pika

The rock fin in the foreground was pretty cool.

Yellow-bellied marmot

Penstemon

The trail eventually came to the top of the ridge as it neared the lookout.

The lookout is on the other side of the knoll ahead.

From the ridge we could see a ridge to the east where a herd of mountain goats was hanging out.

Heather pointed out this group in the rocks.

We took a break at the lookout taking in the views. It was chilly enough that we were eventually prompted to continue on.

Mount Rainier from the Fremont Lookout. Berkley Park is the green area below where the Northern Loop Trail climbs up to meet the Wonderland Trail.

The West Fork White River (post) below to the left. The plateau to the right is Grand Park (post).

The Mount Fremont Trail along the hillside with Little Tahoma to the right.

Chipmunk. Always begging but we will not be swayed. Please do not feed the animals no matter how cute they are.

Golden-mantled ground squrriel

Rocky Mountain goldenrod and alpine sandwort.

Paintbrush

Talus collomia

We made our way back down to the Burroughs Mountain Trail and began another 1.3-mile climb to Second Burroughs Mountain.

Bird’s beak lousewort

Cusick’s speedwell and white mountain heather.

Mt. Rainier beginning to come into view.

Looking across at the Mount Fremont Trail. The lookout is visible on the left shoulder of the middle peak.

Mount Rainier and Second Burroughs Mountain from First Burroughs Mountain.

I had gotten ahead of Heather and missed a mountain goat that peered over the hillside above her on the trail.

Our return trail, the Sunrise Rim Trail, met the Burroughs Mountain Trail on First Burroughs Mountain.

Berkeley Park from First Burroughs.

The Burroughs Mountain Trail dropped to a saddle between First and Second Burroughs Mountains then made a relatively steep climb to the top of Second Burroughs Mt.

Looking back at the saddle.

Heading up Second Burroughs.

The Goat Rocks (post) to the south.

Gilbert Peak, Goat Citadel, Littel Horn, Chimney Rock and Old Snowy Mountain in the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

Glacier Peak to the north beyond the Fremont Lookout.

All of my maps showed the Burroughs Mountain Trail dropping down from Second Burroughs and steeply descending to the Inter Fork River below Glacier Basin, however a trail does extend to Third Burroughs Mountain. That would have added three miles and over 1150′ of cumulative elevation gain to the day. That would have been tempting had we not already hiked up to the lookout, but since we had and we had another three days of hiking ahead of us we declared victory at Second Burroughs.

First Burroughs and the Inter Fork.

Emmons Glacier

Old Desolate Mountain to the left and Sluiskin Mountain to the right.

Bench on Second Burroughs.

Not sure if this is a thrush or something else (Merlin thought it was a horned lark but that doesn’t look right at all.)

After a nice break on Second Burroughs we headed back to First Burroughs and the Sunrise Rim Trail.

Pink mountain heather

Tundra aster

Lenticular cloud forming over Mt. Rainier.

The Sunrise Rim Trail junction.

We turned right on the Sunrise Rim Trail. This trail descended for 1.4-miles to the Wonderland Trail near Sunrise Camp and Shadow Lake.

A buckwheat

The lenticular cloud was growing.

Lupine and lousewort covered the hillside in spots.

Goldenrod and yarrow

As far as I can tell this unnamed lake isn’t shown on any maps.

Silverback luina

Dwarf mountain ragwort

Narrow sepal phacelia

Sourdough Ridge ahead.

Aster

Orange agoseris

Checkerspot

As we neared the Wonderland Trail we reentered the tree line where the wildflower display really picked up.

Sunrise Camp below along with the Wonderland Trail.

Old cabin near Sunrise Camp.

The Wonderland Trail heading toward Frozen Lake.

A short distance beyond Sunrise Camp we arrived at Shadow Lake.

Bistort and other flowers at Shadow Lake.

Lupine and elephants head

Shadow Lake

We stayed on the Wonderland Trail for another 0.7-miles beyond Shadow Lake then forked left for 0.6-miles to return to the Sunrise parking area.

Cinquefoil

More clouds forming. As nice as it was today Wednesday’s forecast called for showers all day with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Clark’s nutcrackers

We forked left a second time at a junction with the Silver Forest Trail.

Sunrise Visitor Center

After dropping off our packs we took a moment to explore the Visitor Center before heading back to Packwood.

This was interesting although neither of us had it in us to actually attempt to jump.

This hike clocked in at 9.3-miles with a little over 2000′ of elevation gain.

This was another amazing hike with huge views, plenty of wildflowers, and a lot of wildlife. It was also less crowded than the Paradise Area had been. I don’t know if that is a result of the timed entry reservation system or simply our choice of trails but there were plenty of moments of solitude during this hike. We had an early dinner at Cruiser’s Pizza back in Packwood (they have a full menu in addition to pizza) and worked on finalizing our plan for Wednesday’s hikes. With rain showers in the forecast for the entire day we did some shuffling of our planned hikes and made Wednesday a waterfall Wednesday. We were happy with our new schedule for the remainder of the week and were looking forward to the rest of the hikes. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fremont Lookout and Burroughs Mountain

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Paradise Area (Mt. Rainier) – 08/04/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 11, 2025
2 Comments on Paradise Area (Mt. Rainier) – 08/04/2025

We had planned five days of hiking in Mount Rainier National Park starting with a visit to the Sunrise Area. Those plans fell through when we experienced a flat tire on Sunday’s drive to Walupt Falls (post). In 2024 the park instituted a timed entry reservation system to help alleviate congestion in parts of the park. In 2025 the Sunrise Area was the only one subject to timed entry. Timed entry reservations are required from 7am to 5pm. Reservations are not required outside of that window however and given our penchant for early starts our plan was to arrive well before 7am.

Instead of heading to the park first thing Monday morning we were waiting for 7am when Rod’s Tire Source in Randle, WA opened. Thankfully not only did they have tires in stock that would fit our Subaru they could get us in just after 8am. That meant we should have plenty of time to still get one of our other planned hikes in. We made the 14-mile drive to Randle and the folks at Rod’s were all ready for us at 8am. They had us on our way shortly after 8:30am, and after stopping by our room to grab our packs we headed for the Paradise Area of Mt. Rainier.

The Paradise Area is possibly the most popular area at Mt. Rainier and had been subject to the timed entry reservations in 2024. Due to road and pavement projects in 2025 timed entry wasn’t applied to Paradise in 2025. By the time we reached the trailhead parking area at 9:45am it was full. Luckily there was space along a pullout between this lot and the picnic area (the picnic area acts as overflow parking).

Sign for the picnic area from the pullout.

We headed toward the picnic area the crossed the road to a set of stairs that led to the lower parking area.

The forecast had been for partly sunny skies, but the parking area was socked in with fog. We hoped that it might burn off at some point, but regardless we were excited to be getting a hike in at all given the tire issue. We stopped at a signboard and confirmed out planned route which was to hike the Skyline Trail counterclockwise.

Because we started from the lower lot we needed to take the Alta Vista Trail to the Skyline Trail.

The wildflowers were amazing from the start, and we couldn’t imagine what it would have looked like if the fog wasn’t limiting our sight distance.

When we arrived at the junction with the Avalanche Lily Trail a family mentioned that there was a doe bedded down a couple hundred feet to the left, so we detoured that way.

The doe bedded down in the wildflowers.

We kept the proper distance from the doe and used the zoom on the camera to get some photos.

After a few pics we headed back to the junction and took the Avalanche Lily Trail toward the Jackson Visitors Center where we picked up the Skyline Trail.

Jackson Visitors Center

We headed toward Myrtle Falls to do the loop counterclockwise.

Paradise Inn

A big patch of partridgefoot amid other wildflowers.

Arnica and multiple other flowers.

Shooting star

Mostly bistort

We detoured down the short path to the Myrtle Falls Viewpoint before continuing on the loop.

Myrtle Falls

Edith Creek above Myrtle Falls.

Pink monkeyflower and a speedwell.

A white field of valerian (and some bistort).

There are a number of trails crisscrossing the Paradise Area allowing for shorter loops and a lot of exploration.

Spirea

Yellow penstemon

Coiled lousewort

Arrowleaf groundsel

Bird’s beak lousewort

It wasn’t all wildflowers, but it mostly was.

Sickle-top lousewort

We ran into a small crowd gathered below a talus slope. Most of them were watching a hoary marmot but there was also a pika for those who spotted the small animal.

Pika

Marmot

The marmot was busy looking for brunch.

Tall mountain bluebells

After watching the critters for a few minutes we continued on past the parade of flowers.

Fireweed

Thistle

There were so many flowers it was impossible to catch everything but on this hillside we spotted some yellow paintbrush.

Paradise River

Paintbrush in front of western pasque flowers.

Columbine and yellow willow-herb

Pink mountain heather and lupine

Sparrow with a snack.

Bracted lousewort

Cusick’s speedwell

Golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Despite the many reminders not to feed the wildlife we witnessed several people unable to follow this simple rule (at least one of which got bit).

Phlox

Beargrass

Elephant’s head

Monkeyflower

Bird and some sort of willowherb (tiny pink flowers on the right).

Bird’s beak lousewort and white mountain heather.

First patch of snow along the trails.

Pussytoes

Cinquefoil

Western pasque flower in bloom.

Saxifrage

Marsh marigold

Catchfly

Orange agoseris

Pink monkeyflower

Littleflower penstemon

As we neared the highpoint of the loop the fog began to give way.

Golden fleabane

When the trail gained a ridge there was a slightly obscured view of Mt. Raininer.

I took a seat on a rock and watched the changing views while I waited for Heather to catch up.

The Goat Rocks on the left with Mt. Adams on the right.

I was not alone at the viewpiont.

When Heather got to my rock I left my pack with her and continued up the ridge to McClure Rock.

McClure Rock straight ahead.

Penstemon

There was a little more elevation involved than I had anticipated.

Aster and partridgefoot

Giant cairn on McClure Rock.

Climber’s trail heading toward the mountain.

A look at people on the snowfield above.

Goat Rocks and Mt. Adams from McClure Rock.

Bismark Peak to the right with Mount Aix behind Nelson Ridge.

Pussypaws

Dwarf lupine

I returned to Heather and we continued on the loop which quickly reentered the fog.

Raven

Goldenrod

Penstemon

The Panaroma Point Overlook was crowded despite being in the fog.

Back into the flowers.

Arnica, mountain heather, and lupine.

Bog laurel

Gentians

Saxifrage

The only snow remaining over the trail.

Lots of marmots along the route.

Fleabane and mountain heather

Fleabane and paintbrush

We decided to leave the Skyline Trail when we came to a junction with the Dead Horse Creek Trail

The stroller was empty, not sure what the story with that was.

The Dead Horse Creek Trail was much less used which provided a little more solitude as we headed downhill. There was not a noticeable drop off in flowers though.

Not sure what this chipmunk was eating but it wasn’t from us or any other person we saw.

We paused to watch four marmots on a rock, two of which were wrestling.

We stayed right here on the Dead Horse Creek Trail.

Flowers along Dead Horse Creek.

Nuthatch

As we neared the end of trail we spotted another deer bedded down amid the flowers.

Buck in the wildflowers

The lupine was profuse near the bottom of the Dead Horse Creek Trail.

Stairs leading to the lower parking lot.

My hike here wound up being 7.7-miles with a little over 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.

Before we headed back to Packwood we drove up to the upper parking lot and found a spot near the visitor’s center and went inside to grab a little food and check out the exhibits.

When we finally got back to our room we were greeted with a few elk grazing in the grass out back. (This was a regular occurrence.)

It turned out to be a great day considering we started off needing to replace our tires. Our plan was to visit the Sunrise Area on Tuesday where the forecast was for mostly sunny skies. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Paradise Area

Tags Alta Vista Trail, Dead Horse Creek Trail, Edith Creek, hiking, Jackson Visitor's Center, McClure Rock, Mount Rainier National Park, Myrtle Falls, Packwood WA, Panorama Point, Paradise, Paradise Area, Paradise River, Skyline Trail, Washington, wildflowers

Goat Rocks Hiking Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Walupt Falls and Lake – 08/03/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 10, 2025
4 Comments on Walupt Falls and Lake – 08/03/2025

After I spent a week of vacation hiking solo in July Heather joined me for an August vacation to Packwood, WA. The majority of our trip would involve hikes in Mount Rainier National Park, but on the way to our Vrbo in Packwood we took the opportunity to visit Walupt Falls aka Walupt Creek Falls. Located in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, the 220′ waterfall had been on our bucket list of waterfalls for several years, but the 4-hour drive from Salem made it too far for a day trip.

There is no official trail to Walupt Falls so there is no official trailhead. There is however a use trail that leads steeply downhill to the base of the falls from Forest Road 21 across from the Walupt Horse Camp. To reach the horse camp we turned off Highway 12 just over a mile west of Packwood onto FR 21 (Johnson Creek Road) and followed this rocky, bumpy road 16.1 miles to a junction with paved FR 2160. If you’re a long-time reader of our blog you are probably familiar with our low tire pressure adventures. We’ve had a low tire pressure light come on near the Alvord Desert in 2018, on Steens Mountain in 2021, and three different times in 2022 (Siskiyou Peak, Siskiyou Wilderness, and Russian Lake).

Once again, the dreaded light illuminated just as we reached FR 2160. I pulled over and when we got out we could immediately hear the air leaving our right front tire. We had to hop back into the car and drive a little further to find a level pullout then unload the back to retrieve the spare. After getting the tire changed we discussed what to do. Since it was Sunday the chances of us finding a business nearby that would be open was slim to none. Since we were now on a paved road and only a little over 3 miles from the Horse Camp we decided to continue with our hiking plans, and we’d deal with the tire on Monday.

We parked at a small pullout across from the Horse camp where the use trail began between some large rocks.

There was only room for a couple of cars at this pullout. Do not park in the tempting pullout on the other side of the road, there is a “No Parking” sign that isn’t immediately visible. There are other options along FR 21 or you can park at Walupt Lake (fee required) and hike the trail between the lake and horse camp.

Do not park here.

While this isn’t an official trail the falls are on some trail apps. There were varying opinions regarding how hard the route was to follow, but we didn’t have any issue following the use trail.

The route initially follows an old roadbed.

After about a quarter mile the route crosses Walupt Creek on a log.

The trail followed the creek down through the forest.

Cascade on Walupt Creek.

The Cispus River below.

Looking down Walupt Falls to the confluence of Walupt Creek and the Cispus River.

There was fairly consistent flagging along the route, but it wasn’t really necessary considering how well beaten the path was.

Walupt Falls from a viewpoint part way down to the base.

The last section of the trail down is very steep, but there was a good rope set up. (The rope was actually more helpful on the way up than down.)

Cispus River

Walupt Creek joining the Cispus River.

Frog

It was a little after 9:30am when we arrived at the base of the falls which turned out to be a really bad time for photos. The Sun was directly behind the falls and not too far above the top of the waterfall.

If our focus was more on photography than hiking we would have planned better, but that isn’t our focus. Despite the poor photography conditions the in-person experience was amazing. This was a very impressive waterfall. We slipped on our water shoes and explored the creek below the falls.

Flowers growing in the creek.

Western harebells

Fireweed

View down the creek to the Cispus River.

Hedgenettle

Heather at the base of the falls for a height reference.

There had been a couple with a dog at the falls when we arrived, but they had headed back up leaving us to enjoy the falls alone. After spending some time admiring the beautiful scene we finally tore ourselves away and headed back up ourselves. We passed several sets of hikers headed down on our way back to our car so we were thankful to have had the solitude.

Our original plan had been to drive on to Walupt Lake and hike the Walupt Lake Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail. Given that we were using our spare tire we decided not to move the car and adjust our plan to hiking the connector trail between the Horse Camp to the Lake and then hiking a short distance along the Walupt Lake Trail. After making sure all the remaining tires appeared fine we crossed FR 21 and picked up the connector trail near the Horse Camp outhouse.

The outhouse through the trees ahead.

We followed this connector nearly a mile to Walupt Lake.

We went around this spider web.

Twinflower

White-veined wintergreen

We walked past the boat ramp and through the day use area to pick up the Walupt Lake Trail.

Walupt Creek leaving the lake.

Map, info and permits for the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

Entering the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

Given our check in time was 3pm we decided to hike until 12-12:30 and then turn around knowing we had at least an hour-long drive to Packwood.
The trail passed through the forest a little away from the lake which meant that views were limited, but near the far end of the lake we took a spur trail downhill to a sandy beach where we took a short break before heading back.

Oregon sunshine

View across Walupt Lake.

Yarrow and pearly everlasting

Paintbrush

Prickly currant

Lakeview Mountain as we were leaving the lake.

Our hike as approximately 7.3-miles with a little under 1000′ of elevation gain.

We carefully drove the rough road back to Highway 12 with the low tire pressure light still on due to the presence of the spare which didn’t help me feel confident that we’d know if another tire was having an issue. Our prayers were answered, and we successfully made it to the Chevron in Packwood where Heather got some information on where we might be able to get replacement tires while I filled the gas tank.

After checking into our Vrbo we walked to the Blue Spruce Saloon and Diner for dinner and came up with Plans A-D for the rest of the week. The biggest question marks were whether or not any of the local businesses would have tires in stock and if they did when would they be able to fit us in. It was literally a rocky start to the trip, but Walupt Falls had not disappointed. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Walput Falls and Lake

Tags Blue Spurce Saloon and Diner, Goat Rocks Wilderness, hiking, Packwood WA, Walput Creek, Walput Creek Falls, Walput Falls, Walput Horse Camp, Walput Lake, Walput Lake Trail, Washington

Hiking Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Big Huckleberry Mountain – 06/22/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 24, 2024
4 Comments on Big Huckleberry Mountain – 06/22/2024

There are a few hikes we’ve done where either fog, clouds, or smoke have left us without a view from our destination. When that happens, we add them to the list of destinations to revisit. Big Huckleberry Mountain was one such destination. Located in SW Washington in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest we had visited this former lookout site in 2019 (post). For that hike we started from the Grassy Knoll Trailhead. That was an 11.4-mile hike gaining 1800′ of elevation with lots of wildflowers.

While the Grassy Knoll approach was great there are other ways to reach Big Huckleberry Mountain. Two of them are by starting at trailheads along the Pacific Crest Trail from either the north or south. We chose the southern trailhead based on it being the starting point of William L. Sullivan’s featured hike in his “100 Hikes Northwest Oregon” guidebook. An unofficial trailhead, it isn’t shown on Forest Service or Google maps, but a large pullout along Forest Road 68 where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses serves the purpose.
Looking down at the pullout from the PCT on the way back.

Be aware that FR68 is rough with numerous good-sized potholes and one large, steep drop that would be difficult for low clearance vehicles.

From the pullout we crossed the road at a large sign for the Wind River Experimental Forest and headed uphill on the PCT.

The PCT gradually climbed through a nice forest where a good number of wildflowers were blooming. There were also some glimpses of Mt. Hood through the trees. At the 1.3-mile mark the views to the south opened up where a large landslide at some point in the distant past had removed much of the forested hillside.

Phantom orchid

Spotted coralroot

Finetooth beardtongue

Mt. Hood through a window in the trees.

Finetooth beardtongue along the trail.

White spiraea

Bluehead gilia

Paintbrush

Some yellow balsamroot along the trail.

Columbine

Inside-out flower

Queen’s cup

Bunchberry

Vanilla leaf

Arnica

Approaching the landslide area.

Starting at the green up to the left is Augspurger Mountain (post) and Dog Mountain (post) on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. Mt. Defiance (post) is the high point on the Oregon side with Mt. Hood to the right. The three lower peaks to the right of Mt. Hood are Tomlike, Chinidere, and Indian Mountain (post).

Mt. Hood from the viewpoint.

Lomatium, bluehead gilia, and arrowleaf buckwheat in the bowl.

The trail continued along above the landslide before veering left to pass around a rise along the ridge.

Honeysuckle

On the far side of the rise a spur trail led right to a small wildflower meadow along the side of the landslide.

Wild onion mixed in with bluehead gilia.

Bluehead gilia

Lupine

Catchfly

Beyond the viewpoint the trail dropped to a saddle then resumed its gradual climb following the forested ridge. Just before the 3-mile mark we passed the Cedar Creek Trail coming up from the right. Along the way we passed through a couple more small meadows with nice wildflowers.
Arnica and beargrass in the forest.

Nearing one of the little meadows.

Sub-alpine mariposa lilies

Bluehead gilia

Sub-alpine mariposa lilies

A closer look shows why these are also known as cat’s ear lilies.

Buckwheat

Onion

Bastard toadflax behind a cat’s ear lily.

Rosy pussytoes

Yarrow

Looking back from the meadow.

I believe these are some type of microseris.

Boundary sign for the Wind River Experimental Forest.

Broadleaf arnica

Star-flowered false solomonseal

The Cedar Creek Trail coming up from the right.

Anemones

A third of a mile beyond the Cedar Creek Trail junction the PCT passed by a rocky outcrop. On the far side we took a path to the left leading to the top of the outcrop which had a great view of Mt. Hood and more wildflowers.

Wallflower

White groundsel

Cliff beardtongue

Wild rose

Larkspur

Mt. Hood from the viewpoint.

Spotted coralroot

Oregon sunshine and wild onions

Chickweed

While we were taking a break at the viewpoint another pair of hikers arrived (the only others we would see all day). We left the viewpoint to them and continued on.
Arriving at another small clearing with flowers.

Phlox, penstemon, lomatium, onion, and mariposa lilies.

Another little meadow.

Larkspur and balsamroot

This was the only time we spotted Mt. St. Helens on the hike.

At the 4-mile mark (0.7 from the rock outcrop viewpoint) we arrived at the junction with the Grassy Knoll Trail.

Almost immediately after passing this trail the Big Huckleberry Mountain Trail led uphill to the right.

We had forgotten how steep the 0.2-mile trail to the former lookout site was compared to the PCT, but the wildflowers and views from the long summit were worth it.

Mt. Adams from the former lookout site.

There was a lot of phlox in bloom.

Table Mountain (post) and Greenleaf Peak (post)

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood with Mt. Jefferson behind to the right.

We walked west from the summit down the wildflower covered ridge to get some additional views.

Balsamroot and groundsel

Mt. Adams

Phlox

Paintbrush and cliff beardtongue

Another view of Mt. Hood.

Sandwort

Chickweed

Balsamroot

Some of the smaller flowers present on the summit.

Finetooth beardtongue

Wallflower

Wild onion

The end of the ridge is about three quarters of a mile from the lookout site.

We took a break on a small rock outcrop to enjoy the scenery and the gentle breeze that was keeping things from being too warm.
Heather on the outcrop.

Painted lady

When we finally started back we heard voices which turned out to be the two hikers that we’d seen at the lower viewpoint. They had set up their amateur radio and had just been communicating with someone in Pennsylvania. We passed by and made our way back past the lookout site and down to the PCT.

Larkspur
Swallowtail

Chickweed in some phlox.

We returned the way we’d come on the PCT enjoying the wildflowers the second time as much as we had the first.

Wallflower

Colubmine

Bluehead gilia

Beargrass along the PCT.

Heading down to the trailhead.

The hike ended up being 9.3 miles with approximately 1460′ of elevation gain.

This was a great hike with good views, lots of wildflowers, and plenty of solitude. The only downside at all was the rough drive up FR 68. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Big Huckleberry Mountain

Tags Big Huckleberry Mountain, cedar creek trail, Grassy Knoll Trail, hiking, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Washington, wildflowers, Wind River Experimental Forest