Naches Peak Loop Hike

29 July 2014

Mt. Rainier from Naches Peak Loop Trail

Last year when C.J. and I were returning from our hike to Bear Creek Mountain in the Goat Rocks, we stopped at Chinook Pass and ate lunch in a meadow that was bursting with wild flowers. We were already aware of the relatively easy hike around Naches Peak, half in the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area and half in Mt. Rainier National Park, but we were short of energy that day and made a note to return. As the wild flower season approached this year, C.J. kept an eye on trail reports on the WTA.org site. On the 20th a hiker reported the trail was mostly snow-free and the flowers were starting to look good, especially the beargrass. On the 28th another hiker said that the flowers were peaking but the bugs were as well. We decided to go for it.

Avalanche Fawn Lily

To avoid the worst of the bugs we left later than we had originally planned, around 0830, got gas at Covington Costco (367.9) and parked at Tipsoo Lakes by 1045 or so, after some road construction delays. There were plenty of cars in the parking lot (and probably more at the other lots just beyond Chinook Pass) but, except for a couple of large family parties, the trail never felt crowded. It took very little time to climb through forest and meadows to the pedestrian footbridge over Hwy 410 at the 5400-ft pass. The bright-red Indian Paintbrush were abundant, and this time there were many white

Beargrass and the Snuffbear

Avalanche Fawn Lilies where snowbanks had recently melted. The pink heather was in bloom on the east side slopes of Naches. We passed a shallow tarn and reached a view of Dewey Lake, 700 ft below, shortly after noon and stopped for lunch at a scenic overlook just off the trail. Fortunately there was a breeze (or, maybe thermal cycles) which kept the worst of the bugs away. Continuing around to the south of the peak we passed the trail to Dewey Lake (a detour here would have added 2.2 miles to the 4.5 mi of the loop trail) and entered Mt. Rainier NP. In a short distance we had a full view of The Mountain. Taking the trail in a clockwise direction was the right thing to do to keep Mt Rainier in sight for much of the last half of the hike. We passed another shallow tarn. At a stream I filled my water bottle with cold water so we could mix up some Crystal Light. Unfortunately the batteries were low on my SteriPen and I couldn't purify the water so we were out of luck for cold lemonade. However, we were on the downhill grade and were soon crossing 410 below Upper Tipsoo Lake. We followed the trail around one side of Lower Tipsoo and were once again back to the parking lot (around 1400).

Selfie along the trail

On the road we were both feeling sleepy so we stopped in Greenwater at Wapiti Woolies. In addition to their stock-in-trade of Nepali knit hats ($28-$48) they had a coffee shop/ice cream counter in the back. I got a mud slide mocha - an iced mocha latte, not blended, with chocolate whipped cream, while C.J. got a cone. We enjoyed our treats in (plastic) Adirondack chairs on the lawn behind the store. Then we went back in and purchased a 12 oz jar of "mountain berry" honey, mostly because it came in a bear-shaped glass jar. Back on the road we only went a few miles before stopping to see what the Federation Forest State Park might have in their visitor center. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation and we skipped the chance to walk the short interpretive trails. 

G at the Flaming Geyser

Since we had never been to Flaming Geyser State Park on the Green River, we drove down into the park and walked a short distance to the small flame which was burning methane gas generated by a thin coal seam nearly a thousand feet underground. We also walked up a second trail to a spot where another exploratory drilling had reached a different layer of coal and allowed methane to bubble up through a stream. Afterward we walked along a trail with informational signs about salmon migration. We got as far as the put-in point for many of the folks who were here for the day to float down to the end of the park on various inflatable gizmos. The water was cold but the river looked mellow enough - maybe we should bring our Sevylor inflatable kayak down there some time.

We stopped one last time in Covington to get some groceries at Costco and Fred Meyer. We were home around 1700 or so.