Mt. Rainier – Mount Fremont Lookout

Hiked On: July 28, 2007′
Weather Conditions: Approximately 65°F-75°F, mostly sunny skies
Elevation: 6400-7181′
Distance from Seattle: Just over 90 miles
Pictures: [Here](http://www.marius.org/gallery/v/living/seattle/hikes/rainier/fremont/)
National Park Service: Mt. Rainier National Park

Well, after a long hiatus from hiking in general, and Mt. Rainier specifically, Diann and I made the 2 hour drive to Sunrise for a hike. We hadn’t been to Rainier in a long time because of the devastation that was caused there during [November 2006](http://www.nps.gov/mora/parknews/november-2006-flooding.htm).

Saturday we had beautiful weather, so we headed up to the Sunrise visitor center and struck out. Last year, we hit the [Dege Peak](http://www.marius.org/2005/08/08/mt_rainier_-_de.php) hike, which heads to the right from Sunrise – this year, we did Mount Fremont, which heads … Left.

Great hike, a little over a mile to Frozen Lake, which is the domestic drinking water supply for the Sunrise visitor center. A right turn from there brought us up another 500′ of elevation and 1.3 miles of trail up to the Mount Fremont lookout. Amazing talus slopes, great views to the north, and not many people on the trail. The lookout itself was heavily damaged in a recent windstorm, and there’s two NPS fellows up there rebuilding it. They camp out there at night, and build during the day. We did see a few extension cords, so presumably there’s some power available up there — or they had a generator. Either way, talk about a workshop with a view.

On the way back down, we debated heading up to the Burroughs Ridge trail, but our rumbling stomaches made us go back to the car and our sandwiches. Note to selves: bring sandwiches with us next time.

Total distance hiked: 5.8 miles (3 hours, 20 minutes), total elevation gain: 800', total accumulated elevation: unknown (altimeter watch battery dead).