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5	Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground and Pyramid Park

RATINGS	Scenery 9 Difficulty 9 Solitude 5
ROUND-TRIP DISTANCE	18 miles
ELEVATION GAIN	4,900'
OPTIONAL MAP	Green Trails Mount Rainier West (No. 269)
USUALLY OPEN	Late July–October
BEST TIME	Late July–October
AGENCY	Mount Rainier National Park, nps.gov/mora
PERMIT	Required. All cars must also display an entry permit for the national park. Reservations are strongly advised: Mount Rainier National Park makes only 30% of its backcountry permits available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The rest are for hikers who made advance reservations. Because obtaining a permit for popular areas, especially on summer weekends, is extremely difficult, it is highly recommended that you reserve a permit in advance. Reservations are accepted starting on March 15, through the online request system only; you cannot make a reservation by phone. Cost is $20 per group and is nonrefundable. To obtain a reservation form, go to nps.gov/mora/ planyourvisit/ wilderness-permit.htm.

Highlights

Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground is one of the most famous backcountry beauty spots in Mount Rainier National Park. This glorious meadow, with its bonanza of wildflowers, scenic ponds, and drop-dead-gorgeous views of Mount Rainier, certainly deserves the fame, but all that popularity has forced the park to protect this fragile area by closing the meadow to camping. Most hikers approach Indian Henry’s along the Wonderland Trail from Longmire and spend the night at crowded Devils Dream Camp, a little over 1 mile south. But for adventuresome hikers who are willing to do some moderate cross-country hiking, there is a better and less crowded option. By hiking into Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground on the little-used Kautz Creek Trail and continuing up to spectacular but off-trail Pyramid Park, you can avoid the crowds and spend the night at an amazingly beautiful alpine retreat with a dramatic up-close look at the rugged west face of Mount Rainier.

Getting There

From I-5, 67 miles north of Vancouver, Washington, take Exit 68 and travel 31 miles east on US 12 to a junction at the town of Morton. Turn left on WA 7 and drive 17 miles to a junction with WA 706. Turn right (east), enter Mount Rainier National Park after 14 miles, and continue another 3.4 miles to the Kautz Creek Trailhead. The parking lot is on the right. To obtain a permit (or to pick up your reserved permit), you will need to continue driving another 3 miles to Longmire and stop at the wilderness information center.

GPS COORDINATES N46° 44.227' W121° 51.614'

Hiking It

The trail starts next to a small sign on the north side of the highway across from the parking lot. Initially the path takes you over the remains of a massive debris and mud flow that devastated this valley in October 1947. The flow was triggered by heavy rains, which caused a partial collapse of the Kautz Glacier. Landslide events like this are fairly common on Mount Rainier, although they are usually smaller in size—a major one can cause extensive damage to park roads and trails, even forcing closures, so be sure to check conditions before hiking this route. On the remains of the 1947 slide, trees now crowd the area (mostly western hemlocks and western red cedars), but in more open and sunny areas, deciduous trees—especially red alders—predominate. The dense undergrowth is mostly composed of salal, along with various ferns and mosses.

Initially the trail is gentle, wide, and strewn with gravel to accommodate tourists interested in exploring the geology of the mudflow. At 1 mile, however, the trail crosses silty Kautz Creek on a seasonally installed log bridge and becomes a wilderness trail. The much narrower path now enters an old-growth forest unaffected by the 1947 mudflow and begins a long, persistent, and at times moderately steep climb. The way is viewless but shady and pleasant throughout. Numerous short switchbacks help keep the climb from becoming overly steep. You cross a trickling creek at about 3 miles (the first reliable source of clear water) then continue climbing in a series of short, steep switchbacks. Still not done with the uphill section, you ascend at a gentler grade on a wide ridge and slowly enter more open high-elevation terrain. Mount Rainier is frequently in view, while closer at hand are rocky buttes and increasing numbers of heather, huckleberries, and various wildflowers. A final short, steep uphill leads to a high point on the southeast shoulder of Mount Ararat (a name that significantly overstates the size of this small butte), and then you descend about 150 feet to a junction at 5.7 miles with the Wonderland Trail.

You are now smack in the middle of Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground, a spectacular mountain meadow with acres of colorful wildflowers, several tiny ponds, a small ranger cabin, and some of the most photogenic views of Mount Rainier in the entire park. You turn left at the junction, almost immediately pass a spur trail to the ranger cabin, and 0.2 mile later come to a junction with the Mirror Lakes Trail. Turn right and gradually ascend 0.7 mile in rolling, wildflower-filled meadows to shallow Mirror Lake. Asahel Curtis made this view famous when he painted it for a postage stamp commemorating the national park in 1934. The scene is just as impressive today.

The trail rounds the right side of the tiny lake and then goes 100 yards to a sign saying END OF MAINTAINED TRAIL. Despite its now unofficial status, the trail remains very good and easy to follow as it climbs 0.4 mile and then descends a bit to a meadow-filled saddle with a great view of aptly named Pyramid Peak to the northeast. From here the trail continues to the top of Pyramid Peak, where you’ll enjoy an absolutely out-of-this-world view of nearby Mount Rainier.

There is nowhere to camp on Pyramid Peak, so backpackers should go instead to Pyramid Park, a more-difficult-to-reach but equally spectacular destination. To reach it, follow the trail toward Pyramid Peak from the meadowy saddle about 0.3 mile, and then go cross-country to the left, angling moderately steeply uphill to a rocky, above-timberline ledge on the northeast side of Pyramid Peak. Follow this rugged ledge about 0.8 mile to a high, often windy saddle north of the peak, where you will enjoy up-close-and-personal views of Mount Rainier that are so incredible the word great just doesn’t do them justice.

From this rocky saddle you scramble steeply downhill, going southeast across boulder fields, meadows, and scree slopes to the rolling meadowlands, springs, and tree islands of Pyramid Park. Tall but unnamed waterfalls drop into and off the edge of this alpine parkland, while the banks of the gently meandering creeks that cross the flats are choked with yellow monkey flower, western anemone, grass-of-Parnassus, and other wildflowers. There are also great views west of Pyramid Peak and northeast to Mount Rainier, which has a rather lopsided appearance from this angle. More distant views extend to the south and southeast, of the Tatoosh Range, Mount Adams, the Goat Rocks, and Mount St. Helens. You can camp almost anywhere in this parkland, although, as always, you should select a rocky or sandy area that is well away from the delicate alpine wildflowers and grasses. If you schedule more than one night here, you can visit all the waterfalls and enjoy the excellent scenery.

Hike to the top of Pyramid Peak for incredible views of Mount Rainier.

photo by Douglas Lorain