July 26, 2014
I forgot how awesome the potholes are on the drive to the trail head. Slurmz made it up there with no problem. If you drive fast enough you can coast over them ;) Plenty of parking in the lower lot and you can pay for a permit at the TH.
The eight of us met up at 10 am on a beautiful Saturday morning. I've never hiked with so many people before! It was fun and there was so much conversation to keep my mind off the elevation gain during the last leg up to Rachel Lake. All the elevation gain is in the last half of the hike. It's great.
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| The Group at the beginning of the hike |
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| Waterfall |
This was Andy and my third time on this hike. We carried 26 and 23 pounds, respectively, because this is what we are expecting to carry at Rainier.
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| Lunch break at Rachel Lake |
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| The gals |
There are plenty of mosquitoes. Be prepared and bring your bug spray and clothing. Bleh. With some of us feeling good and not giving a choice to the others we climbed another 0.5 miles up to Rampart Lakes where we took naps, got eaten by more mosquitoes, ate some candy and took more pictures.
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| Rampart Lakes |
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| Andy's nap spot |
There were only a few patches of snow going up to Rampart Lakes. We had a few slips, but nothing to worry about. It's snow free around the lakes once you get there. So worth it for just a little extra effort.
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| On the way down letting others pass us |
A good experience was had by all - way to push yourselves through the hurt. Let's do another one!