With somewhat sketchy hiking legs I departed on this jaunt in Mt. Rainier National Park with the intention of bagging 4 peaks: Satulick (5577’), Iron (6283’), Copper (6280’) and Ararat (6010’). Way trails were sketchy to non existent on these scrambles so I spent much time side hilling, ‘schwacking and, in the case of Iron and Copper, gully climbing in order to access those two summit plateaus. None of this scrambling was particularly hard but the somewhat muggy day left me occasionally sweating profusely, especially on the gully climbs to Iron and Copper. My water intake was far more than usual, but the effort to tag these peaks was well worth it. By the time I finished the last peak (Copper) my legs were certainly feeling it so I dropped Ararat from this day’s list so as to arrive back at my vehicle at Longmire at a decent time. I’ve been coming to this park since 1983 and it still astounds me that there are so many more new places to explore personally. Despite it being high season for Wonderland hikers, my hours spent off trail were in complete solitude, and I lingered on the flat summits of Iron and Copper taking in the views in all directions. Once regaining Indian Henry’s I patched up some scratches on my hand from the scramble and paid a visit to Mirror Lake before departing, spending the last hour in the dark and enjoying cooler temperatures. The stats (22 miles/6500’) had my legs a quivering at the end but it was happy pain. Photo set here..

*Mirror Lake, Mt. Rainier National Park*