29.5 miles of hiking • 8500' elevation gain • 3 nights
Three nights at Bear Camp in the Mt. Margaret Backcountry with day hikes to Mt. Margaret and Coldwater Peak and a Lakes Basin / Whittier Traverse Loop. Fantastic scenery, lots of huckleberries, and daily mountain goat sightings.
Day 1 - Norway Pass TH to Bear Camp (4.4 miles, 1980' EG) Left PDX around 11am. Hiked to camp under overcast skies and light drizzle.
Day 2 - Day hike to Mt. Margaret and Coldwater Peak (11.5 miles, 3240' EG) Woke up to sunny skies and fabulous views of Mt. Rainier and MSH. Hiked the Boundary Trail to Mt. Margaret and Coldwater Peak. Fantastic views from Mt. Margaret, but Coldwater Peak stayed stubbornly fogged in. Scoped out both Margaret Camp and Dome Camp for a potential future trip, and could not find water at either location.
Day 3 - Day hike - Lakes Basin and Whittier Traverse Loop (9.3 miles, 3000' EG) Headed back towards Bear Pass on the Boundary Trail where we took the Lakes Trail to Grizzly, Obscurity, Panhandle, and Shovel Lakes. We sat and watched the tadpoles for awhile in Obscurity Lake before continuing. We decided to take the Whittier Trail back to camp, and its was FUN! Just as it's known for, lots of exposure, narrow trail, and steeps. If you're comfortable with Ruckel Ridge, you might be ok with Whittier...
Day 4 - Out - 4.4 miles, 160' EG Sadly, time to go home. I did not want to leave this beautiful place...
