Rampart Ridge
Mount Rainier National Park
| DECEMBER 31, 2007 - A Mountaineers snowshoe tour. It was a perfect day for this last
hike of the year--clear blue sky and powdery, dry snow. Our
initial trip plan to hike at Paradise was thwarted by the late opening
of the road, so we set off clockwise on the Rampart Ridge loop out
of Longmire. An excellent choice, and possibly a better outing
than the planned hike would have been. The trail climbs steadily
through beautiful forest where we saw many animal tracks but no animals
wilder than the aggressive grey jays who tried to take food right out of
our hands at lunch time. We chose a viewpoint at the top of the
ridge for our lunch spot, where the views of the surrounding peaks were
amazing. We had spectacular views of Mount Rainier as we continued
our hike.
4.5 miles 1200' elevation gain
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