Pacific Northwest Hiking Tours

	Mt. Rainier National Park NEW	Rogue River Wilderness
		Columbia River Gorge
		Olympic National Park
		Sun Valley/Sawtooths of Idaho
		Alaska: The Kenai

Dates:
(6 days, 5 nights; Sun-Fri)
Aug. 15-20

Assembly Point: Seattle, WA
(airline service to Seattle; Timberline van shuttles between Seattle and Mt. Rainier Park prior to and following tour)

Tour Cost: $2,095
(includes all lodging, all meals, van shuttles between Seattle and Mt. Rainier, park entrance fees, leaders, tour maps & narratives)

Itinerary

      Of all the mighty volcanoes of the Cascade Range, extending from southern British Columbia through northern California, none rise and dominate the horizon as does Mt. Rainier. Rising from the Cascade foothills of central Washington, Rainier easily is the tallest of the High Cascade peaks. At 14,411 feet, Rainier is almost 300 feet higher than Shasta, the only other Cascade volcano exceeding 13,000 feet. On the other hand, as impressive as it is, Rainier is only one of more than 400 volcanoes that comprise the Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Ocean.

    The fact that Rainier rises to its lofty height virtually from sea level accounts for the incredible diversity of habitats of both vegetation and wildlife that thrive on the mountain. Temperate rain forests at lower elevations give way to lush subalpine forests, tundra, and ultimately permanent snowfields and glaciers as elevation increases. Thanks to conservationists, including John Muir, Congress enacted the necessary legislation on March 2, 1899, creating Mt. Rainier National Park, our fifth national park.

    After years of cycling the slopes of Rainier, Timberline will finally add this magnificent jewel to our hiking program. We’ve chosen a mid-August date as the time when most, if not all of the snow, has melted from our planned trails and the mosquitoes are in full retreat.

    We’ll assemble early morning of Day 1 and head directly to Rainier’s western entrance at Nisqually. From the Van Trump Trailhead, we’ll hike through the forest, initially to views of Christine and spectacular Comet Falls, one of the park’s tallest at 130-feet. We’ll then climb beyond Comet to the flower-filled meadows of Van Trump Park, with its striking views of Rainier and the Tatoosh Range (6 miles). It’s then on to Paradise, where we’ll spend our first three overnights at the historic Paradise Lodge.

    Day 2, we’ll hike from our lodge along the Skyline Trail, likely the park’s most popular hike, and for good reason. A solid climb early into the hike and we’re beyond timberline where the spectacular vistas reside, and Rainier is in our face at all times. A short spur trail offers an irresistible opportunity to view Nisqually Glacier, before we begin our descent back to Paradise (6 miles).

    We’ll devote much of Day 3 to the Stevens Canyon/Ohanapecosh area of the park. From the Reflection Lakes Trailhead, we’ll climb steadily to the saddle between Pinnacle and Plummer Peaks for some extraordinary views of the peaks that dominate the landscape in the southeastern corner of the park (3 miles). We’ll then return to the Reflection Lakes Trailhead and hike the loop that encircles these lakes. We’ll follow the trail as it climbs above the lakes to and along Mazama Ridge for its awesome views of the Tatoosh Peaks (3 miles).

    Early morning of Day 4, we’ll leave Paradise and head east to Chinook Pass, just beyond the park’s eastern boundary. We’ll join the Pacific Crest Trail just east of the pass as part of a grand loop that encircles Naches Peak (6,452’). Stunning views of Rainier and many of the other dominant peaks of the eastern slope highlight our return to our trailhead (5 miles). We’ll then head to the Crystal Mountain Resort, where we’ll spend our final two nights.

    Day 5, we’ll re-enter the park through the White River Station toward Sunrise. Our focus for this day is a section of the famed Wonderland Trail, the 90-mile epic track that encircles Rainier. We’ll hike the Fryingpan Creek section to the subalpine meadows of Summerland and beyond into the rocky alpine above to the edge of the snowfields (9 miles).

    Following a final night at Crystal Mountain, we’ll drive to road’s end at Sunrise and hike beyond timberline to the Mt. Fremont Fire Lookout. The views of Rainier throughout this hike are incredible along a trail that overlooks the entire expanse of the park’s northern section—all in all, a dramatic conclusion to our week-long engagement with this grand mountain (5.5 miles).

E-Mail: timber@earthnet.net