NORTHERN LOOP TRAIL
WHERE: There are a few places you can head for in Mount Rainier National Park. The two most popular destinations are Paradise Lodge (home of the largest average annual snowfall in the lower 49) and Sunrise Lodge (the highest road access to the park at 6400 feet). The Northern Loop starts at Sunrise Lodge. From Portland drive north on I-5 to highway 12 which you will take east. a few miles after Packwood take highway 123 which splits off from 12. Follow this route until just before crossing the White River. You will see a sign taking you back west to Sunrise Lodge.
THE TRAIL: If you want to see everything but don't mind a little company, this is the place to go. The Northern loop is approximately forty miles total but feels like much more. Make sure to stop at the White River Ranger Station on your way in since you will need to register for a back country permit. you also need to register for campsites if you don't want to camp over 1/4 mile away from the trail. This is too prevent overuse and degradation of the camping areas. From Sunrise Lodge, me and my friend John headed up 1 mile to Sunrise Camp after we finally got started around nine at night: The trip was delayed by a hike down the wrong trail going straight downhill, and of course back uphill after realizing our (my) mistake. The next morning we started off hiking to Berkeley Park where the Wonderland Trail, which loops around the whole mountain, splits off: The Northern Loop trail goes north and the Wonderland trail goes west. There where patches of snow around at this elevation even in early September. Nearby you can hear the shrill whistle of the Hoary Marmots playing in the rocks. They are always there to greet you each time you enter the sub-alpine zones. From Berkeley Park you can also see a great distance down the valley which you are about to hike which is north. Turn your head and you have a magnificent view of Mount Rainier which you will see many times during the hike. Mount Fremont, Burroughs Mountain and Skyscraper Mountain also loom nearby as 7,000+ foot rocky pinnacles on the arms of Mount Rainier.
From Berkeley Park stay to the right as you hike through a field of wildflowers before going down to Lodi Creek at 5400 feet then continue on to Grand Park. There are a few climbs and drops on the way. Grand Park is excellent for wildlife viewing where Bear and Elk are very common. Unfortunately I didn't see either. From here you continue down until you meet the west fork of the White River at Van Horn Falls (3200 feet elevation). The change in scenery is incredible starting off with Alpine views above the treeline, down through a couple of rocky parks full of wildflowers before dipping through old growth forest down to a pristine and very wet dark forest. Unfortunately all that hiking downhill means that there is a lot of hard work ahead going back uphill. Our camping permit was for a campground not far from the falls. We set up camp ready to get some rest for day two which will be the toughest day.
Day two will prove to be a bit more demanding but the scenery will be just as good if not better. It started with a steep climb to Windy Gap (5700 feet) offering views of Willis Wall and Liberty cap sidled by glacial fingers coming around from the sides but disappearing into valleys that would soon harbor creeks and rivers. Now another decent to the Carbon River valley at 3,000 feet. The same dramatic landscape changes occurred here as in Day 1 except the approach to the Carbon River valley brings you through even lusher forest.
Here comes the pain: The hike toward Moraine Creek. It starts with an uphill hike to meet the most volumous and lowest glacier in the contiguous United States at 3600 feet. The trail is very rocky for the next two miles going up about 2000 feet in elevation. It then continues upward in a less dramatic fashion. This portion of the trail is known as Dick's Creek. A warm day makes this hike even more painful. To make matters worse the trail is very uneven and rocky. After another mile the trail finally starts to flatten out then drop to Mystic Lake at 5600 feet. Mystic Lake campground is about 1/2 mile to the east of the lake. As we set up camp a black-tailed deer greeted us with a warm welcome.
With very sore legs from two days of constant climbing and descending, I was weary of day three even though it would only be a little less than 10 miles. The next day started with a drop to the bottom of Winthrop glacier at 4800 feet then up to 6600 feet near Berkeley park. Approaching you can see the trail that had been the beginning of the journey appear from the valley as well as current path leading straight ahead to meet it. This is a portion of the Wonderland Trail. After you finish back at Sunrise you can relax and take in Gorgeous views of The Emmons Glacier area. After the first two days this one was very easy and done in good time. Of course a cold beer and hot pizza was in order when we went through Packwood Washington on the way back!