Crystal Mtn Loop,  Snoqualmie National Forest,  July 30, 2010     page 1 / 16

Each summer, as a community service, our Explorer Search and Rescue group provides communications support for the White River run. This is a 50-mile run on the northeast side of Mt. Rainier. The run begins early on Saturday morning, but much of the set-up begins Friday evening.

During recent years, prior to arrival at the race site on Friday, some ESAR members have participated in a day hike on a nearby trail, simply for fun. Though our hiking group this year was fairly small, we had a great hike.

We chose a loop hike beginning at the Crystal Mountain Ski area. It proceeded south to Hen Skin Lake, then up the hill, along the Pacific Crest Trail to Crown Point, Blue Bell Pass, and Bullion Basin (see map). As you can see from the photos, the weather was excellent for this 7.3 mile hike.