Reflection Lake '06,  Mt Rainier National Park,  February 21, 2006     page 6 / 8

We had a quick lunch then continued up the hill, along the northwest face of Pinnacle Peak. Here the forest is somewhat open, allowing us to gain glimpses of the surrounding area. We generally followed tracks in the snow made by prior hikers. As we climbed, the wind from the southwest seemed stronger and cooler. The peaks in the Tatoosh Range appeared to be clouding up, as well. We chose not to continue all the way to the saddle. Instead, we rose to a point around 5500 feet, looked around, then began the hike back down.

Glimpses of Mt. Rainier could occasionally be seen through breaks in the cloud cover.

We returned along the road to complete our loop to the car. We marveled at the snowscape, particularly along the creek beds.