Mt Fremont Lookout Tower (7,181') is located 2.8 miles from the Sunrise Visitor Center in Mount Rainier National Park. This 1930s fire tower features panoramic views across the Burroughs, Berkeley Park, Loch Creek, West Fork White River, Grand Park, Huckleberry Creek and Cascades.

As many as 685 fire lookout towers were built in Washington State at the system's peak, but most were abandoned decades later as technology and reconnaissance improved

Bistort, a member of the Buckwheat family, is nicknamed 'miner's socks' for the pungency of its flowers

The alpine zone is divided into 4 general vegetation types: fell fields, talus slopes, snow beds, and heather communities

The Mt Fremont Lookout Tower (7,181') caps a high ridge overlooking the Huckleberry Creek and West Fork White River valleys

Mount Rainier experiences about 20 small earthquakes a year, making it the second most seismically active volcano in the northern Cascade Range after Mount St. Helens (courtesy, NPS)

The trail skirts Frozen Lake, a public water source with restricted access

Room with a view! Fire lookout towers were designed to proactively spot fires and dispatch resources

Subalpine parklands ring Mount Rainier from 5,000' - 7,000', an ecosystem between forest line and treeline characterized by isolated 'tree islands' surrounded by herbaceous meadows

Lousewort derives its name from the Latin word pediculus (a louse), an old misconception that stock could become infested with lice when grazing on the plants

The trail runs over the top of Loch Creek, which feeds the West Fork White River

Winthrop Glacier is the 2nd largest on Rainier, extending from the summit to the 4700' level* of the West Fork White River (*Courtesy NPS)

View across Huckleberry Basin to McNeeley Peak (6,786') from Sourdough Ridge

Talus slopes and ridge tops are among the first alpine areas to be free of snow and thus have the longest growing season in the zone

The final approach runs along a narrow path through loose scree