It's been the kind of summer in the Northwest Corner that almost defies belief. The kind that makes you think, "well, if this is global warming, bring it on!" And, as my posts suggest, I've made good use of the weather, doing more day hiking in the hills hereabouts than I do most summers.
This past week was a bit showery, leading up to a drenching downpour with thunder and lightning on Thursday. I was resigned to the idea that all good things had to come to an end, including the Summer of '13. But then, the sun returned, and on Saturday the temperature was back up in the low 80s.
And I was off for the hills once more (my final day hike of the year before I head off trekking in other climes on Thursday). I returned to Mt. Rainier National Park, and attacked the Eagle Peak Trail hike.
The hike begins near Longmire Lodge. Longmire itself is an interesting destination, the first major facility one comes to when entering the park from the west. James Longmire was an early entrepreneur who, in 1883, built his wagon trail up from the town of Ashford to some mineral springs he had discovered. These were the days of spas and "taking the waters," and he hoped to entice health seekers and fashionable folks -- arriving in Ashford by train -- up his road by wagon. He built a small hotel and a bunch of cabins and other facilities near the springs, all of which eventually were taken over by the park service after the National Park was created in 1899. The present lodge was built a bit later by a concessionaire.
I knew approximately where the Eagle Peak trailhead had to be, relative to the Longmire lodge, but finally had to ask park employees for assistance. A spur road heads south a short distance from the lodge parking lot, through housing built for Park employees, and across a picturesque, one-lane bridge. The trail heads off to the left, almost immediately past the bridge, but is marked by only a small sign that sits close to the ground and is not easily spotted from a car.
Round trip from the trailhead to the end of the trail (at a saddle just below the peak, the peak itself being a semi-technical scramble) is 7.2 miles, with an elevation gain of 2,955 feet. The trail is steep, but very well maintained throughout its length -- broad, smooth, cushioned by soft dirt and evergreen needles -- as it switches back and forth through old growth timber. Therefore, the final half mile or so, when the trail emerges into the open, comes as a bit of a shock -- extremely steep, sharp switchbacks eventually becoming a long series of crude steps formed out of scree held in place by horizontal timbers.
But the reward is worth the final effort. Views of Adams and St. Helens in the distance, to the southeast and southwest respectively, and the enormous bulk of Mt. Rainier, staring right in your face from the opposite side of the Nisqually valley. The road from Longmire to Paradise Lodge is steep and winding, and Paradise itself is a major take-off point for summit climbs. Therefore, I was surprised to discover that Paradise and its parking lots not only were visible from the Eagle Peak saddle, but that I had to look downward to see them. A calculation or two convinced me that I wasn't seeing things. Longmire's elevation is 2,761 ft., and I had climbed 2,955 ft. Therefore, I was viewing Paradise (5,400 ft.) from an elevation of 5,716 feet. That fact gave me even greater respect for the distance I'd climbed.
The trail was so good going down -- once past the hellish switchbacks at the top -- that I was back at my car in only 55 minutes. The climb up took 1 hour, 45 minutes.
An enjoyable hike, and a beautiful day.
