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40 years outdoors experience, extensive info on Mt. Rainier’s Wonderland Trail, original music, equipment reviews, off trail videos, other peaks in Mt. Rainier NP
I was hoping for clearing later in the day; TumTum is a wooded summit so there were no views to be expected. Knocking this off first would allow me to hit Ararat later. Alas, no clearing was forthcoming and instead the rain turned to snow. Ararat deserved better weather so I called it a day. It may look kinda miserable, but any day in the woods is a good one. Stats for the day: 14 miles/5000’ TumTum blog post can be found here.
41 summit and high point video in Mt. Rainier National Park from a compilation over a few years. In order.....Burroughs Mountains, Skyscraper, Mt. Ruth, Steamboat Prow, Goat Island Mountain, Curtis Ridge, Aurora Peak, Andrew, Tokaloo Rock, Success Divide/Cleaver, Satulick Mountain, Iron Mountain, Copper Mountain, Pyramid Peak, The Colonnade, Shriner Peak, Brown Peak, Slide Mountain, The Palisades, Antler Peak, Dege Peak, McNeeley Peak, Hessong Rock, Mt. Pleasant, Echo Rock, Observation Rock, Ptarmigan Ridge Prominence, Russell Glacier, Fay Peak, Knapsack Pass, Tolmie Peak, Martin Peak, August Peak, Virginia Peak, Berry Peak, Banshee Peak, Panhandle Gap, Whitman Crest, Meany Crest, plus a no view shot of Gobblers Knob at the end.
Mike Woodsmansee's book, Trekking Washington, describes how to negotiate the substantial off trail portion on Mt. Adam's east side. I used this as a guide, relying mostly on line of sight and altimeter, to negotiate this section when completing this Round The Mountain trek. Because this hike is so rarely done, at least when one searches for internet content, I attached a GoPro to my shoulder strap and set it to take one photo per second. Although not easy to watch, I am making this video available for people willing to undertake this strenuous journey to at least get a feel for what the terrain is like. Despite being only about 5 miles, it took me nearly 8 hours to negotiate the eastern off trail portion. This section is on the Yakama Reservation, so make sure you are legal to cross this land. When I did this hike on June 24-25, 2015, the Yakama had opened their boundaries early due to lack of snow. I camped (and parked) at the Cold Springs campground so did not need a permit as I transited the Reservation in one day and did not bed down until off Yakama land, finishing the loop hike CCW on day 2. Although I have portions of a GPX track, my device lost contact a number of times so it is not complete enough to make available. Besides, anyone attempting this trek should have enough skill, experience and confidence to undertake the task without handholding. This proved to be a tough but extremely rewarding journey. I hope this time lapse is of help to anyone researching and undertaking this trek. To download this video go to the Vimeo link below.