Summit: 6,856ft
Native land of the: Yakama and Puyallup
10m 3,000ft gain
Norse Peak is a great early winter hike with close up views of Mount Rainier from the northeast. It lies just outside of the National park in the Norse Peak Wilderness and Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest. You can hike here all year but there’s limited parking and much of the area was burned in 2017. Snow makes for a great contrast to the burned trees.
1st Trip: 11/02/2019
Moose and I got an early start this fine Saturday morning and only saw one other person who shared our same idea of fun!
The snow was pretty compact but Moose still loved it!
We followed a large amount of switchbacks at a moderate pitch through the forest until we reached some openings around 5,000ft.
The higher up we got the more dramatic Mount Rainier looked. At the summit we took a long break in a nice campsite with a tiny bit of shelter from the wind. Rainier was so clear I just had to have a photo shoot with Moose!
It was hard not to take your eyes off Rainier but there were more beautiful peaks in the distance. I took some close ups while Moose rolled around in the snow.
As I look closely at the vast maze of crevasses on Mount Rainier it’s hard not to feel small.
After a fun time on the summit we retraced our steps back to the trailhead. Moose was excited to move again and started sprinting towards Mount Rainier!
What a perfect winter hike!
Moose always sleeps well after his mountain adventures!
CAPPY TRAILS 