Rampart Ridge

Monday, I did something of a speed walk to the top of Mt. Si, trying to make a better showing than I had earlier in the summer, as reported here on June 26.  (I succeeded, bettering my time by six minutes.)  Since then, I've noticed a pain in my back, above my left hip, whenever I walked uphill. 

I wanted to continue preparing for my short trek in Crete, a month from now, but not at the price of worsening any injury.  So, today I selected a hike that would include uphill hiking, but not one as stressing as was Mt. Si.

From my Rainier National Park guidebook, I selected the Rampart Ridge loop trail, starting and ending at Longmire lodge.  The trail ascends about 1,200 feet to Rampart Ridge, north of the lodge, continues eastward along the ridge until it meets the Wonderland Trail (which circles Rainier), and then descends again via the Wonderland Trail back to the lodge.  The loop is about five miles in length which, together with the moderate elevation gain, seemed to make it an ideal candidate.  And today proved an ideal time for it -- the first moderately cool day we've had in the Northwest in some time.

To reach the trail, you cross the highway from Longmire, where the "Trail of the Shadows" begins.  This is a nature trail, and also a trail that reveals and explains the remains of various structures from the "ancient" (nineteenth century) history of the Longmire settlement.  The trail loops one mile around the edge of a small lake.  I began walking the nature trail counter-clockwise, but you can reach the beginning of the Rampart Ridge trail a bit sooner by walking clockwise.  The point where the trail takes off from the nature trail is clearly marked -- and, in fact, the Park Service has done an excellent job with its signage at every junction I passed.

The Rampart Ridge trail proper commences with a lengthy series of moderately steep switchbacks -- about the same steepness as the typical climb on the Mt. Si trail, but with a far more forgiving trail surface.  You are not in danger of twisting your ankle on rocks with every step, as you often are climbing and descending Mt. Si.  The climb is through beautiful, dense, old growth timber.

Eventually, the trail becomes more horizontal as you approach the ridge.  You get one look down a very steep cliff on the north side of the trail, but the ridge then becomes broader and all you see are trees.  I had hoped that the ridge itself would be above tree-line, at least part of the time, so I could observe Mt. Rainier and other peaks while hiking.  But it's not.  At one point, about 1.7 miles from the start, you walk into a clearing with an impressive view of the mountain -- which was partly concealed by a cloud today (see photo). 

You then continue walking -- still on an excellently groomed trail -- nearly horizontally for another 1.2 miles, until you intersect the Wonderland Trail.  Another set of signposts suggest more ambitious destinations ahead, if you choose to walk eastward on that trail -- Pyramid Peak Camp (1.7 miles), Devil's Dream Camp (3.9 miles), Indian Henry's (5.0 miles).  I felt my hike was nearing its conclusion all too soon, and was tempted to head eastward at least some distance, hiking to destinations that post-hike research reveals as magnificently alpine.  But I recalled my reasons for choosing this hike originally, and stuck with my conservative plan.   

From the intersection, I therefore turned the other direction and followed the westbound Wonderland Trail down -- fairly steeply in places -- to the highway, crossed the highway, and followed a path parallel to the highway another quarter mile back to Longmire.

Not a terribly ambitious hike, but enjoyable.  And my back?  Didn't bother me a bit while hiking, either up or down.  Hasn't bothered me since I returned to Seattle. 

Of course, I did take some Tylenol before and after the hike.  So maybe I cheated.