2014-08-12_EaglePeak

Eagle Peak Saddle Trail in Mt Rainier National park
IMG 9264xMarmot960 IMG 9190xVanParked960 Parked near the Community House building across the Nisqually River from the Longmire offices. IMG 9187xRainier960 View of Mt Rainier from the van. The clouds never lifted. Thunder showers and lighting began that same evening. IMG 9191xBerries960 Berries along the access road.
IMG 9195xBridgeEnd960 Nisqually River Suspension bridge IMG 9196xBridge960 IMG 9201xBridge960 Map-EaglePeakAll1920 This map was created using my own GPS data. I added my own trail steepness rating between the black dots. A portion of the trail that has an average 680 feet rise per mile is written as 680G. We know a grade of 500 or more will be a challange at our age. The 932G and 1270G grades I would call climbs not hikes.
IMG 9193xTrailSign960 The trailhead sign. The next 3.1 miles was all under the trees. IMG 9203xTrail960 IMG 9204xEars960 Tree mushrooms IMG 9208xTrail960
IMG 9212xSwitchBack960 IMG 9223xBigRock960 Large rock at this switchback can be seen on the map IMG 9227xBridge960 IMG 9237xTrees960
IMG 9238xStrawberries960 This is a carpet of strawberry plants. IMG 9242xMushrooms960 Mushroom grouping closeup along the trail IMG 9245xMushrooms960 Mushrooms along the trail IMG 9250xRockTrail960 View of hillsides shortly after exiting the tree canopy
IMG 9259xTrailSteps960 The log steps becoming steeper. I stopped here to get more insect repellant. The flies were biting too. IMG 9260xTrail960 Begining the last 1/3 mile was very steep. IMG 9262xMarmot960 This marmot had the perfect viewing spot. IMG 9265xMarot960
IMG 9271xTop960 The last 20 feet to the top. I had to hold my camera so it wouldn't bang into the rocks. IMG 9301xEaglePeak960 View of Mt Rainier at the end of the trail IMG 9288xJapanRugs960 These colorfull little banners were hanging between trees near the Saddle. The writing on them looked to be Chinese or Tibetan. IMG 9299xMeMtRainier960
IMG 9294xChopper960 Chinook Helicopter removing an injured hiker from the park. IMG 9309xDown960 Looking back down the trail. Note the tops of the trees below. This was steep. IMG 9311xMoreDown960 Short switchbacks. IMG 9319xCopter960 Another helicopter
IMG 9319yCopter460 If you look close you can see a rope hanging from the copter. I didn't see the rope until I was home editing the pictures. I didn't see a water bucket or stretcher? This shot was taken 45minutes after seeing the Chinook leaving. IMG 9322xFlower960 IMG 9326xTrailDown960 The trail on the way back. IMG 9333yTrail960