Hiking Mt Rainier (Crystal Lakes Trail)

I was stuck in rainy Seattle this weekend (Nov 13-14, 2010). I make the most out of my work trips by bringing along adventure gear, just in case there is time for something cool and exciting to do! I figured I might be in Seattle over the weekend, so I brought along my hiking gear in anticipation of hiking Mt Rainier. I sort of neglected to consider the time of year and the amount of snow on Mt Rainier, but I did manage to get in a decent hike yesterday. My initial hiking plan was to drive to Yakima Park and do the 21 mile (round trip) Mystic Lake via Sunrise Trail. Unfortunately, there was too much snow on the road for my lame, 2-wheel drive rental car, so I exercised caution and turned around before I ended up sliding off the mountain and dying. I would have been a little more daring if I wasn't alone and without cell coverage! On the way back down the mountain on Highway 410, I ended up accidentally finding the trailhead for the Crystal Lakes Trail. This turned out to be an awesome hike.

Finding the Trailhead was a little tricky. Here's the official description:

The trailhead is located on SR 410 approximately 4 miles north of Cayuse Pass toward the north park boundary. It is on the east side of the road near Crystal Creek.

I simply saw a sign that had a picture of a hiker on it on the side of the road. Next to the sign was a parking lot, so I parked and went on the hike!

The Crystal Lakes Trailhead is about 1.5 hours from Seattle.

The views on this hike were spectacular. Both Crystal Lakes, frozen this time of year, were really cool. All the pine trees and snow reminded me of Christmas. The air was crisp and smelled like pine trees. It was also radically silent, except for the sound of the wind whirling through the trees. I stopped by both the Upper and Lower Crystal Lakes. I had lunch overlooking Upper Crystal Lake. It was surreal. I'm kind of glad I went this time of year because I was the only one there!

On the way to the hike and on the way back, I passed through the town of Enumclaw. Enumclaw looks like a pretty cool Northwestern town!  There is a great espresso shop with a drive through that I stopped at on the way back from my hike for a much needed quad tall cappuccino and macadamia nut cookie!