Mt. Rainier - Skyscraper Pass to Burroughs Mountains

Having been to the Sunrise side of Mt. Rainier three times in nearly as many weeks; I'm beginning to feel like I know the area like the back of my hand. It's a rather nice feeling actually. The very first time I went to Sunrise yeas ago, I was checking and double checking my map at every trail junction. Now, I just seem to know where all the trails go. There is a vast network of trails I have yet to explore though... in due time.

After my last visit to Sunrise, I almost immediately felt a desire to return. I expressed that thought on facebook, and my friend who is also an avid hiker said, "let's go Sunday." So, we did!

The weather forecast wasn't looking good, but we took our chances and went anyways. When we arrived, the skies were mostly cloudy with a few sun breaks and the temperature was in the mid 30's (yikes!). But no precipitation... yet. The forecast called for a 40% chance of precipitation, but all we got was a few brief and very light snow flurries... yes, I said snow! As the day went on, the weather got better and better.

Onwards, to the hike. Like all my hikes so far that start at the Sunrise Visitor Center; the first destination is Frozen Lake. A 1.5 mile hike gaining about 400 feet. From here, you get to make a decision as to where you go... as you have 5 options! Today, we took the Wonderland Trail west towards Skyscraper Pass. Our original plan was to hike to Skyscraper Pass, and scurry up to Skyscraper Peak. But the clouds weren't exactly cooperating at the time we summitted the pass, and the peak was completely covered! So we skipped that and continued down the other side of the pass for a quarter mile or so... at which point, our slightly crazy journey began!

We decided to leave the trail here, and planned to trek around and up the west side of the Burroughs Mountains. Cliffs and unstable steep slopes covered in ginormous rocks impeded our path along the ridge, so we cut down into the valley through a little forest. A quarter mile jaunt across the valley floor brought us to a VERY steep (but still safe) hill to climb. My GPS charted this hill as being about 600 feet in a 1/3 of a mile. After that workout and a half, we were too worn out to take on Third Burroughs Mountain, so we continued up another 400 feet to Second Burroughs Mountain.

After a few minutes of taking in the views, we started making our way back to Sunrise via familiar trails... The Burroughs Mountain Trail to Frozen Lake, then back to Sunrise via the Sourdough Ridge Trail. All in all, we covered 8.5 miles (1 mile of which was off trail) in 4 hours and 45 minutes. The weather, while cold, offered up some spectacular views of Mt. Rainier and surrounding peaks and valleys. If you're adventurous, definitely give this route a try!! I can't wait to go back :)