This is the tarn below Plummer Peak. I decided that I wanted an easy day so this hike won out over Tatoosh Ridge/Lookout. I took my time and explored the social paths up there. The view from Plummer Peak was amazing. While I was scrambling up to the peak (a relatively easy task), I heard an exclamation from above. "No way!" The guy who was coming down is the same gent that I met and filtered water for when we were hiking to Panhandle Gap. He's flying back to Chicago on Monday. Who knows if I'll run into him again today.

I didn't expect that the trail would be crowded. My assumption was that most people just spend one or maybe a few days in the park and only hike the marquee trails. I thought that this was a hike that most people wouldn't have even heard of, with the disclaimer that the trail head is right across the road from one of the highlight stops. Since I started early I had the trail to myself all the way to the saddle. Later in the day there were so many people up there.


I was thinking about hiking to Snow Lake in the afternoon, but my knees were hurting too much when I hiked back down to the trail head. It wouldn't have mattered much anyway. Apparently Friday is already the weekend. I was surprised at how many people were at Reflection Lakes (which is the trail head for the hike.) I drove past the Snow Lake parking lot, which was full. I've been reading about how much more crowded National Parks have been this year, perhaps because of the centennial. Mount Rainier rangers just posted a notice of two hour waits at the Longmire and White River entrances. I've been arriving early and have had either one or no cars in front of me. Maybe it'll be different on a Saturday.