Trip Report
Basic Backpack - Lake George and Side Trip to Pinnacle Peak
A foggy evening at Lake George and a socked in view at Gobblers Knob Fire Lookout gave us opportunity for Plan B the next day. As a backpack leader it's a great thing to set the "flexibility vibe" early when on a trip.
Lisa Elliott
- Fri, Sep 20, 2024 — Sat, Sep 21, 2024
- Basic Backpack - Lake George
- Lake George
- Backpacking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Entrance: National Park Pass, Interagency, photo ID, and a backcountry permit obtained at the wilderness information center at Longmire. I also made a reservation for the permit at recreation.gov in advance $26 fee.
***Reservation System is no longer in effect for this year but the lines were long later in the afternoon leaving the park.
Parking: Westside Road always has parking but the restroom is the trees. Please remember LNT.
Weather: The weather for backpacking has remained cool with intermittent showers the past 6 weeks. It is a weather pattern I don't particularly prefer after canceling my 10 day Wonderland trip during the August deluge. With that being said, I am thankful for the clean air and greenery that surrounded us this past weekend.
When you're backpacking it's all about problem solving. Where are you going to find water, how much do you need? The list goes on and on. You can plan for almost every kind of unexpected but when it comes to the weather, you just can't change it. That's when plan B comes in as a hike and backpack leader.
Trail: The trail to Lake George is a service road that used to be open to the public. Now you can bike or walk it only. Bikes are not allowed on trails within the national park but you can bike to the trail heads.
Lake George requires a backcountry permit. The hike in from the service road was an easy 4.75 miles with +1500' elevation gain. We stayed at campsite #4, the first one which we thought was pretty big for Rainier's campsites and had a bear pole for hanging toiletries and food. There are a lot of mice, squirrels, and even an owl that kept a watchful eye out in the evening so hang it all or you'll have friends chewing their way through your tent.
Gobblers Knob: After setting up camp, we hiked to Gobblers Knob fire lookout for the evening and a sunset an additional 3.66 miles +1200'. At 5485' elevation, it was socked in with fog and low clouds.
Water: After returning to camp we cooked next to the lake for a beautiful lakeside sunset.
Critter Story and Camp Screams: After hanging all my food and toiletries, I settled down in bed reading and half asleep; I was startled when a cute little mouse gained entry into my camera bag under the vestibule and ate through it for a Laffy Taffy and a prune pit. After carting off the remains, a squirrel and an owl (I think, heard it hooting earlier) came in for possible leftovers. One running up the side of the tent the other crashing into the top wings and all. After that upset was over, the mouse was found under my backpack, my second scream of the evening. Eventually, I ended up hanging pretty much everything on the bear pole thinking a bigger critter like a bear was next.
Mushrooms: Such a display of mushrooms both in diversity and abundance.
Overnight: The temps were down into the low 40's. My battery operated socks I wear skiing were a nice addition overnight.
At morning breakfast we discussed options for the day. If we really wanted to see if we could break through the clouds with a short drive up the road and avoid the Paradise crowds. Everyone was in agreement for option B, head up the hill.
Day #1 8.5 miles +2700 gain
Day #2 Hike back to the car and drove to Pinnacle Peak.
The early morning dew gave us lovely sparkles on early autumn colors. Reflection Lakes was above the layer below and as luck had we had majestic views of Tahoma for a short hike.
That's what I love about backpacking and backpackers; they are generally a more go with the flow types, that follow your vibe of flexibility if you can create that from the start.
Total Trip 13 miles with additional trip to Pinnacle Peak.
Everyone went home happy and relaxed; just as it should be.