Summerland
Park: Mt Rainier National Park, White River region
7.2 km one way.
Terrain: Moderately gentle
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Elevations (in meters) |
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| Start: | 1142 | End: | 1815 | | Minimum: | 1142 | Maximum: | 1815 | | Net Gain: | 673 | Cumulative Gain: | 700 |
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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
| Backpack | Easy to moderate. | 3 days round trip. | Best from July thru September. |
| Dayhike | 3 boot (moderate). | | Best from July thru September. |
Description
This trail is a section of the Wonderland Trail. It is considered one of the best day hikes in Mt Rainier National Park.
The trail starts from the Fryingpan Creek trailhead. After about 100m it joins the Wonderland Trail. The trail continues more or less level for awhile and then begins to climb. The first 2/3 of the trail are in the forest before you break out into a valley. There is a stream crossing on a footlog that may cause an issue for those unaccustomed to crossing fast flowing water on narrow logs, this is not a difficult crossing. The trail then continues to climb in the open before reaching some switchbacks. After a few switchbacks you reach the campsite.
Features
This trail features animals (Black bear, Chipmunk, Marmot, Mountain goat), birds (Oregon junco, Raven), flowers (Alpine aster, Cinquefoil, Elephandhead, Fireweed, Hardhack, Heartleaf arnica, Indian paintbrush, Lupine, Pasqueflower, Pearly Everlasting, Pink Mountain Heather, Red columbine, Spreading phlox, Vanilla leaf and Yellow monkey flower), forests, geographical (Glaciers, Meadows, Mountains, Waterfalls), glacial views, miscellaneous (Views), shrubs (Bunchberry dogwood) and views.
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.. The trail beyond the camp over Panhandle Gap.(2055m) is subject to ice and snow. It often does not melt out until well into the summer season.
- route-finding skills are required. For those venturing beyond Panhandle Gap, between the gap and Indian Bar the route is marked with cairns and can be shrouded in fog. This is the highest secton of the Wonderland trail and may not melt out until well into the summer.
Comments
For the best wildflower displays the BC Day long weekend appears to be a very good choice.
Club Comments
Provided reservations at the Summerland campsite can be secured this makes a superb 2 night backpack for the club. For this to work you would need to leave on the earliest Coho sailing (reservations recommended). By breaking camp early and being on the trail no later than 8am it should be easy to make the 5:15 return ferry (reservations almost essential). Make sure you inform the White River Ranger Station that you will be arriving late on your start day as without notice unclaimed reservations will be forfeit at 10am.
The trail can also be done as a day hike while based at White River Campground. If doing this we recommend going beyond the Summerland campsite to Panhandle Gap (and beyond). The difficulty in this option for club members is that reservations are not accepted at the White River Campground so it is advised to send someone in advance to secure the sites if the trip is planned for a weekend.
Campsites along the trail
| Summerland | 6.9 km | 1809 meters | - Bear cache/wire
- Outhouse
- Shelter
| Water is available. |
The trail crosses a few streams enroute. The last being the bridged foot-log type crossing once you've left the forest.
It is a fair walk from the campsite to the water source, you may want to bring a bucket.
The following trails can be accessed from this trail:
For additional information see:
Last hiked:August 2, 2009
Trail-conditions
View trail condition reports for this trail.
