Panhandle gap towards Indian Bar

Park: Mt Rainier National Park, Sunrise region, Mt Rainier

Terrain: Intermediate

Elevations (in meters)
Net Gain:		Cumulative Gain:

Trailheads

This trail is reached via the Summerland trail.

Fryingpan Creek Bridge Trailhead: From Enumclaw, drive east on Highway 410 to the White River entrance of the park. Continue on for another 5km to the Fryingpan Creek Bridge and you"ll find the trailhead on the other side of the road.

Uses

Dayhike

Moderate(attached to Summerland).

Description

The length for this trail is indeterminate as you can go along the ridge and meadows for quite a ways before turning around. The length and elevation figures quoted are for day hiking this trail from the Summerland campsite, if you are starting from the Fryingpan Creek trailhead add the distance and elevation gain figures for the Summerland trail.

This trail can be hiked as a day hike from the Summerland campsite or, with an early start, as a continuation of the Summerland day hike. The trail is part of the Wonderland Trail that encircles Mt Rainier. If you are doing this as a dayhike from the Fryingpan Creek trailhead then follow the initial directions for the Summerland hike.

From the Summerland campsite descend through the meadow to a minor creek crossing (watch the meadowss for marrmots and mountain goats). The trail then climbs beside the creek and soon enters talus areas. You will cross several melt water creeks along the way, most are bridged, those that aren"t are very easy rock hops. The trail then passes beside a small lake at the base of a snowfield before angling away and continuing to climb. Snow can linger in these areas into the late summer. The final push to the pass has only minor exposure and should be doable by most if not all club members.

Once you are at the gap the views suddenly expand to include the mountains of the Cascade range. This includes Mt Adams prominently showing it"s volcanic dome to the southeast. Continue along the trail as far as your time allows, this is gorgeous country well worth lingering in. Keep an eye on the weather, should it look like cloud and fog will descend quickly make your way back over the pass and head to lower ground. Should a thunderstorm strike you do not want to be on the pass!

Features

This trail features animals (Marmot, Mountain goat), flowers (Alpine Aster, Cinquefoil, Indian paintbrush, Lupine, Pasqueflower and Pink Mountain Heather), glacial views, lakes, meadows, mountains, views and waterfalls.

Hazards

Some streams are crossed on footlogs
trail crosses a lake, river or stream on ice. Use extreme caution, make sure the ice is thick enough. Check local resources to determine if the temperatures have been cold enough and to locate any springs that could affect ice stability.
route-finding skills are required

Campsites along the trail

Summerland

6.9 km

1809 meters

Bear cache/wire
Shelter
Composting toilet

Water is available quality is good.

Water

There are streams along the way. These are melt water from snowfields and glaciers, the amount of water in some may depend on the temperature.

Last hiked:August 1, 2009

Other trails in Mt Rainier National Park

1st Burroughs Mountain
Alta Vista (via Skyline)
Bench and Snow Lakes
Crystal Lakes
Curtis Ridge
Dead Horse Creek Trail and Moraine Trail
Emmons Moraine
Gobbler's Knob
Naches Peak Loop
Nisqually Vista
Panorama Point via Skyline and Golden Gate Trails
Pinnacle Peak
Silver Forest
Skyline Loop via High Skyline Trail
Skyline Trail to Myrtle Falls
Skyscraper Peak
Sourdough Ridge (East to Dege Peak)
Sourdough Ridge (West to Frozen Lake)
Spray Park
Summerland
Sunrise Nature Trail
The Lakes Loop (via Reflection Lake)
Wonderland Trail

Trail-conditions

View trail condition reports for this trail.