Summit: 5,737ft
6m 1,500ft gain
If you want to hike or camp near Mount Rainier with your dog you’ll have to do so outside of the National Park. One of the best spots just north of the park boundary is the Clearwater Wilderness . The forest road to get there is in the running for worst road in Washington but the destination is so nice you’ll forget about that. If I were only doing a day trip here I’d hike up Bearhead Mountain but with the plan to backpack we looked towards Summit Lake Peak.
1st Trip: 07/14/18 – 07/15/18
Now that Moose was starting to get into a peakbagging groove we thought it was time for his first backpacking trip! We picked an easy hike since we had pushed Moose up Bandera Mountain the day before. We wanted to go all the way up to the summit before picking a campsite and once we were there we had to stay!
We spent the rest of the day soaking up the glorious views of Rainier and taking lots of pictures.
The beautiful day lead to a beautiful sunset! You can watch my time-lapse of this sunset here: Rainier Time-lapse 7/14
Here’s the picture that’s framed above my desk:
Sleep was a little rough so we were happy to be up before 5am to chew on some sticks and watch the sun rise.
We were back on trail by 6am with the biggest smiles on our faces! This sweet trip will never be forgotten!
CAPPY TRAILS 