And Eagle Peak Saddle....

Sunday we headed up to Mt Rainier to hike to Eagle Peak Saddle. We park near the Ranger Station instead of the trailhead which makes the hike 7.9 miles with just under 3000 ft of elevation gain.

We started out with the morning overcast which was very welcome. We quickly were plenty hot since Eagle Peak trail is steadily steep. The trail was in great condition and there was very limited snow up in the trees just below the last uphill to the saddle.

We had Nancy and Dakota with us as well as Lance and Gay and we paced accordingly. At nearly 30 lbs himself Dakota gave Nancy a workout. We were treated along the way to a very comfortable deer who walked down the trail towards Nancy, Dakota and I and got within 15 feet of us before leaving the trail. I left my camera with my pack to bring Nancy some baby stuff in the shade so I didn't get the close up of the deer, but I did get some longer shots earlier.

This is NOT Photoshopped.

Everyone survived the trail and arrived at the saddle to fantastic views of Mt Adams, Mt Hood, Mt St Helens and , of course Mt Rainier. A little further up you get some Tatoosh Mt range views as well.

We enjoyed our long break at the saddle before heading back down and heading to Whitaker's Basecamp Grill for a beer and maybe meet up with Sherrie and Spence who had a Mt Rainier summit attempt in the morning. They were there, but conditions kept them from progressing past 13000 ft. We couldn't stay too long since Nancy had a flight out that evening so we headed home after about an hour.

Sherrie posing with food.

Next up is Mt St Helens which we are planning a sunrise summit (midnight hike?) first thing Saturday morning (Friday night?). The current weather forecast says we can expect dry weather in the 50's on the climbing route and a nearly 82% full moon. That should help navigating the boulders in the dark.

Be very well and more soon....