Dave & Alisha: Amazing! Summerland to Panhandle Gap Hiking

Monday, July 21, 2014

Amazing! Summerland to Panhandle Gap Hiking

Alisha says: We have been itching to get to Mt. Rainier National Park and do some hiking. The hike I picked out for us I found on a web site that listed ten best day hikes in North America (by the end of the summer we will have hiked 5 of them). The sky was cloudy as we left the house bright and early and I was nervous that it was going to be cloudy all day and we would miss out on some great views but it turned out to be a spectacular day! The trail we hiked was the Summerland portion of the Wonderland trail to Panhandle Gap.

The first few miles was a gradual climb through the forest with a few sneak peaks of the peaks that were to come. Once we crossed frying pan creek and climbed some switchbacks we entered the beautiful Summerland meadows. Lots of wildflowers were in bloom.

After a quick rest stop and a snack the trail continued above the tree line. The next few miles were rocky old glacier fields. There were still some snow patches covering the trail, especially as we got closer to Panhandle Gap. Once at the Gap we still felt good so we decided to take a side trip to the edge of a plateau. We even saw a small group of goats that we followed for a little bit until they disappeared at our turn around spot which was the edge of a cliff. The views all along the way were absolutely spectacular. You feel like you are close to Mt. Rainier as you can see all the snow fields and glacier ice but it still towers another 7,000+ feet above you.

After enjoying the scenery for awhile. We began to trace our footsteps back down the trail. We found that it was easier and more efficient and not to mention just fun to sit and slide down some of the snowy parts. We found a perfect rock to have a little rest on just before the meadow. When we got back to the car we had put in 14 miles and couldn't stop talking about how great it was.