Webmaster
06-18-2007, 10:24 AM
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-01.jpg
Glacier Basin is at Mt Rainier National Park, on the Northeast side. The trail starts out at the White River Campground. To get there, take SR-410 to Mt. Rainier and turn onto Sunrise Road, through the entry gate to the park (note: you will need to either have a pass or pay an entry fee), and follow the roadway to the White River camp ground.
The Glacier Basin trail is a wonderful way to spend time on Mt. Rainier. The trail was originally carved as a mining road in the late 1800s. Later it was reworked for hiking. The trail was wide and guided you along the Inter Fork of the White River, past vistas and through 2nd growth and old growth forest for about 3.5 miles to the Glacier Basin camp area. (See here (http://www.nps.gov/archive/mora/trail/glacier.htm))
The Glacier Basin trail and a spur trail called the Emmons Moraine trail provided unique views of the base of the mighty Emmons Glacier. This glacier is said to the biggest in the contagious USA. Being so close, you can hear the sounds of the glacier snapping off blocks of rock encrusted ice, which then falls and melts into the river along with other escaping water. The transition point between a glacier and a river is something to be seen and heard. This process is called “calving.”
The Glacier Basin trail is a delight. If you are in fair shape you could take a bit over 2 hours and make it to the Glacier Basin Camp area, about 3.5 miles distant and about 1,280 feet above where you started. Note that the second half of the trail is steeper than the first half, which adds to the challenge. And if you were in really good shape you just might follow this trail as part of your ascent to the top of Mt Rainier. I've never been in really good shape or on top of Mt. Rainier, but I like spending time on the trails. Also if you want, you can get a permit from the Park Service to camp overnight in the wilderness. To find out more information about the regulations for Mt Rainier National Park, see here (http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/wilderness-camping-and-hiking.htm). Be sure to plan ahead!
The lower part of the Glacier Basin trail has suffered many injuries due to 18” of rain fall in the area over 36 abrasively stormy hours in November of ‘06. The trail has changed quite a bit. The trail is now a very challenging excursion into the back country. It is not the easy to walk nature trail it was in the past.
The river shredded most of about the first 1.5 miles of the trail. Where the trail formerly guided, now there are a series of yellow caution flags that guide you. Whoever secured the flags did an excellent job of marking the trail and they are to be commended! There is no space where you can stand by one flag and not see the next one.
Due to the variable terrain, the trail is not for the faint of heart nor is it for those lacking skills in rugged terrain. I'm a fan of a good challenge, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this rugged. The trail holds many dangers. It should not be attempted with out all the typical mountain going necessities, plus good boots, leather gloves, trekking poles, a very, very good sense of balance, and good health insurance.
The damaged section is about 1.5 miles long and passes along a new river basin. This river rock ranges in size from a few inches to several feet to massive. In many places the rock is unstable and can shift under your boot. In other areas you have to make your way past fast moving water. In some places you scramble past fast moving water and over the remains of recent land slides. The trail also leads over several fallen trees. In one instance these trees are stacked 3 high. There were countless areas where I had to perform a feat of balance called rock hopping. This is where I needed to carefully pick each step, and then make sure I had regained my balance completely before making the next step. Make no mistake, it is dangerous terrain.
I spoke with a Park Ranger about this trail and he said that members of the local Park Service were concerned about how to extract anyone suffering injuries from this trail. He said they had a wheeled litter, and I quickly added that this would be pretty useless on this trail. He agreed and then we talked about the problems of using a dozen or more willing people who would use a hand carry litter to make it possible to extract someone who was too injured to walk. There is so much terrain which does not permit two people across to support the litter, it would be an almost impossible process. He added that the Park service may be able to get an emergency status for the trial permit building the replacement trail and put the replacement into service as soon as possible. I hope they are able to do this! I've only been hiking for about 5 years, but even with my modest experience level, I am fairly certain that the average inexperienced camper or hiker coming to the White River Camp site will be at extreme risk of serious injury, should they follow this trail. Given the numbers of campers who visit this area, the Park Service is in for a trying camping season.
That was the warning. Do heed it.
If you like to get a real dynamic nature experience, you will be positively dazzled by this hike! The hike is nothing shy of awesome! Everything you’ve heard about the vast changes that occurred along the rivers leading away from Mt. Rainier are true and right under your feet on this trail. Glacier Basin has always been an enjoyable hike for a number of reasons. Now just as the old trail abruptly ends, but reappears occasionally -- almost to mock itself -- the lower part of the hike has become as defiant as an early season mogul run on nearby Crystal Mountain’s Lower Bull Run. Seriously, it is likely the most challenging hike you ever will make.
Barely out of the camp area there are places where the river carved a minor channel into the old trail. It reminded me of any street repair project I've seen.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-02.jpg
Later, it is no longer a street like project and instead, a layer of the earth has torn off and replaced with rock and shattered trees.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-03.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-04.jpg
In many places the flagged trail takes you within inches of the river. The river’s perimeter speaks to the huge volume of water that flowed. It would probably take the force equivalent to thousands of earth movers to reshape roughly 30 miles of river channels between here and Mud Mountain Dam, in a day and a half. But that is what happened.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-06.jpg
During my hike, I encountered and spoke with a few travelers on their way down the hill. Most were carrying a full pack and ropes. Several said that they were returning from the eleven thousand foot level of the mountain, where a blizzard would not let them pass beyond.
One of the people I spoke with said he was on his 10th ascent of Rainier. His climbing partner, his dad, was on his 2nd ascent. The son told me a story about a previous trip, when his group was about 8,000 feet up the mountain. He said that they experienced a deafening thunder and lightning storm taking place above them. And that as the storm rumbled above, another thunder and lightning storm was taking place below them. He said it was very impressive. I believe him.
The photo below is cool. It demonstrates part of how a phenomena called “river braiding” works. The river pushes huge amounts of rock and trees downstream. Eventually the parts become lodged and create something stronger than the river. The river then carves its way around the obstacles or, failing that, goes over the top. Here you can see the river moved directly downstream until the pile up of rock and logs redirected the water sideways then it continued down hill into another obstacle, where it changed direction again and….
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-07.jpg
… dropped down a very recently created roughly 5’ water fall. Eventually this pathway will change. The progression of this process is called “braiding.” Due to this, over time the river’s channel is very unpredictable. Anyone who comes to Greenwater should know that the braiding process causes frequent damage to anything next to the river, including trails, roadways, utilities, and homes.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-08.jpg
The photo below illustrates a glimpse of the current channel which is showing the effect of braiding, while on the bigger scale, we can see the broader channel recently cleared by the flood. In fact the roadway leading into the White River Camp site has lost one lane in several places due to this very process, as have many other roadways in the Park.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-09.jpg
Ah the diversity of Nature! Even with the huge changes due to the river the spring flowers are starting their display.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-10.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-11.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-12.jpg
It wouldn’t be Spring in Greenwater if there weren’t breathtaking waterfalls along the trail.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-05.jpg
And no sooner did the old trail resume than last winter’s lingering snow pack quickly increased in depth. Ironically, while I like to climb over logs and hop over rocks, I didn’t have the tools for safe travel on snow, so decided this would make for a good endpoint. It was a little over 2 hours after I got to the trailhead. I stopped for some food. No special treats this time, just an apple, some cured beef, and water.
Not too many years ago a friend taught me to take off my boots and socks and place my trail warmed bare feet into mountain streams. The water is brutally cold. Immersing my feet in can sometimes feel like stepping on a nail, especially when there is a sharp rock where I stepped…. But once through the cold shock, it is an interesting way to rest trailside. However I recommend that you start with one hand and save plunging both feet into a glacier cooled stream for a warm day!
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-13.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-14.jpg
The mountain was only showing a glimpse of itself, but still a very impressive glimpse! A glacier ends as a river begins.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-15.jpg
One of the gadgets I bring when hiking is called a heart rate monitor. This keeps track of a number of details, such as the amount of time spent on the activity, my pulse rate, how many calories I use while exercising and so on. At the end of this hike I’d been on the trail for a little over 4 hours and burned about 2,400 calories. I’d had a thoroughly entertaining workout, felt as good as after a day of skiing, and my legs were just a little tired.
Glacier Basin is at Mt Rainier National Park, on the Northeast side. The trail starts out at the White River Campground. To get there, take SR-410 to Mt. Rainier and turn onto Sunrise Road, through the entry gate to the park (note: you will need to either have a pass or pay an entry fee), and follow the roadway to the White River camp ground.
The Glacier Basin trail is a wonderful way to spend time on Mt. Rainier. The trail was originally carved as a mining road in the late 1800s. Later it was reworked for hiking. The trail was wide and guided you along the Inter Fork of the White River, past vistas and through 2nd growth and old growth forest for about 3.5 miles to the Glacier Basin camp area. (See here (http://www.nps.gov/archive/mora/trail/glacier.htm))
The Glacier Basin trail and a spur trail called the Emmons Moraine trail provided unique views of the base of the mighty Emmons Glacier. This glacier is said to the biggest in the contagious USA. Being so close, you can hear the sounds of the glacier snapping off blocks of rock encrusted ice, which then falls and melts into the river along with other escaping water. The transition point between a glacier and a river is something to be seen and heard. This process is called “calving.”
The Glacier Basin trail is a delight. If you are in fair shape you could take a bit over 2 hours and make it to the Glacier Basin Camp area, about 3.5 miles distant and about 1,280 feet above where you started. Note that the second half of the trail is steeper than the first half, which adds to the challenge. And if you were in really good shape you just might follow this trail as part of your ascent to the top of Mt Rainier. I've never been in really good shape or on top of Mt. Rainier, but I like spending time on the trails. Also if you want, you can get a permit from the Park Service to camp overnight in the wilderness. To find out more information about the regulations for Mt Rainier National Park, see here (http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/wilderness-camping-and-hiking.htm). Be sure to plan ahead!
The lower part of the Glacier Basin trail has suffered many injuries due to 18” of rain fall in the area over 36 abrasively stormy hours in November of ‘06. The trail has changed quite a bit. The trail is now a very challenging excursion into the back country. It is not the easy to walk nature trail it was in the past.
The river shredded most of about the first 1.5 miles of the trail. Where the trail formerly guided, now there are a series of yellow caution flags that guide you. Whoever secured the flags did an excellent job of marking the trail and they are to be commended! There is no space where you can stand by one flag and not see the next one.
Due to the variable terrain, the trail is not for the faint of heart nor is it for those lacking skills in rugged terrain. I'm a fan of a good challenge, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this rugged. The trail holds many dangers. It should not be attempted with out all the typical mountain going necessities, plus good boots, leather gloves, trekking poles, a very, very good sense of balance, and good health insurance.
The damaged section is about 1.5 miles long and passes along a new river basin. This river rock ranges in size from a few inches to several feet to massive. In many places the rock is unstable and can shift under your boot. In other areas you have to make your way past fast moving water. In some places you scramble past fast moving water and over the remains of recent land slides. The trail also leads over several fallen trees. In one instance these trees are stacked 3 high. There were countless areas where I had to perform a feat of balance called rock hopping. This is where I needed to carefully pick each step, and then make sure I had regained my balance completely before making the next step. Make no mistake, it is dangerous terrain.
I spoke with a Park Ranger about this trail and he said that members of the local Park Service were concerned about how to extract anyone suffering injuries from this trail. He said they had a wheeled litter, and I quickly added that this would be pretty useless on this trail. He agreed and then we talked about the problems of using a dozen or more willing people who would use a hand carry litter to make it possible to extract someone who was too injured to walk. There is so much terrain which does not permit two people across to support the litter, it would be an almost impossible process. He added that the Park service may be able to get an emergency status for the trial permit building the replacement trail and put the replacement into service as soon as possible. I hope they are able to do this! I've only been hiking for about 5 years, but even with my modest experience level, I am fairly certain that the average inexperienced camper or hiker coming to the White River Camp site will be at extreme risk of serious injury, should they follow this trail. Given the numbers of campers who visit this area, the Park Service is in for a trying camping season.
That was the warning. Do heed it.
If you like to get a real dynamic nature experience, you will be positively dazzled by this hike! The hike is nothing shy of awesome! Everything you’ve heard about the vast changes that occurred along the rivers leading away from Mt. Rainier are true and right under your feet on this trail. Glacier Basin has always been an enjoyable hike for a number of reasons. Now just as the old trail abruptly ends, but reappears occasionally -- almost to mock itself -- the lower part of the hike has become as defiant as an early season mogul run on nearby Crystal Mountain’s Lower Bull Run. Seriously, it is likely the most challenging hike you ever will make.
Barely out of the camp area there are places where the river carved a minor channel into the old trail. It reminded me of any street repair project I've seen.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-02.jpg
Later, it is no longer a street like project and instead, a layer of the earth has torn off and replaced with rock and shattered trees.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-03.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-04.jpg
In many places the flagged trail takes you within inches of the river. The river’s perimeter speaks to the huge volume of water that flowed. It would probably take the force equivalent to thousands of earth movers to reshape roughly 30 miles of river channels between here and Mud Mountain Dam, in a day and a half. But that is what happened.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-06.jpg
During my hike, I encountered and spoke with a few travelers on their way down the hill. Most were carrying a full pack and ropes. Several said that they were returning from the eleven thousand foot level of the mountain, where a blizzard would not let them pass beyond.
One of the people I spoke with said he was on his 10th ascent of Rainier. His climbing partner, his dad, was on his 2nd ascent. The son told me a story about a previous trip, when his group was about 8,000 feet up the mountain. He said that they experienced a deafening thunder and lightning storm taking place above them. And that as the storm rumbled above, another thunder and lightning storm was taking place below them. He said it was very impressive. I believe him.
The photo below is cool. It demonstrates part of how a phenomena called “river braiding” works. The river pushes huge amounts of rock and trees downstream. Eventually the parts become lodged and create something stronger than the river. The river then carves its way around the obstacles or, failing that, goes over the top. Here you can see the river moved directly downstream until the pile up of rock and logs redirected the water sideways then it continued down hill into another obstacle, where it changed direction again and….
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-07.jpg
… dropped down a very recently created roughly 5’ water fall. Eventually this pathway will change. The progression of this process is called “braiding.” Due to this, over time the river’s channel is very unpredictable. Anyone who comes to Greenwater should know that the braiding process causes frequent damage to anything next to the river, including trails, roadways, utilities, and homes.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-08.jpg
The photo below illustrates a glimpse of the current channel which is showing the effect of braiding, while on the bigger scale, we can see the broader channel recently cleared by the flood. In fact the roadway leading into the White River Camp site has lost one lane in several places due to this very process, as have many other roadways in the Park.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-09.jpg
Ah the diversity of Nature! Even with the huge changes due to the river the spring flowers are starting their display.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-10.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-11.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-12.jpg
It wouldn’t be Spring in Greenwater if there weren’t breathtaking waterfalls along the trail.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-05.jpg
And no sooner did the old trail resume than last winter’s lingering snow pack quickly increased in depth. Ironically, while I like to climb over logs and hop over rocks, I didn’t have the tools for safe travel on snow, so decided this would make for a good endpoint. It was a little over 2 hours after I got to the trailhead. I stopped for some food. No special treats this time, just an apple, some cured beef, and water.
Not too many years ago a friend taught me to take off my boots and socks and place my trail warmed bare feet into mountain streams. The water is brutally cold. Immersing my feet in can sometimes feel like stepping on a nail, especially when there is a sharp rock where I stepped…. But once through the cold shock, it is an interesting way to rest trailside. However I recommend that you start with one hand and save plunging both feet into a glacier cooled stream for a warm day!
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-13.jpg
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-14.jpg
The mountain was only showing a glimpse of itself, but still a very impressive glimpse! A glacier ends as a river begins.
http://www.explore-greenwater.com/pix/GB-15.jpg
One of the gadgets I bring when hiking is called a heart rate monitor. This keeps track of a number of details, such as the amount of time spent on the activity, my pulse rate, how many calories I use while exercising and so on. At the end of this hike I’d been on the trail for a little over 4 hours and burned about 2,400 calories. I’d had a thoroughly entertaining workout, felt as good as after a day of skiing, and my legs were just a little tired.