Mount Rainier National Park may indeed have it all, but it clearly has more of some things than others.

There’s no shortage of trails, stop-in-your-track views or Mowich Lake mosquitoes. But if you’re looking for a parking spot or a campsite on a summer weekend, well, those are more scarce.

Rainier also isn’t exactly brimming with strenuous day loop hikes.

Admittedly, complaining about Rainier’s shortage of loop hikes is kind of like bemoaning Shaquille O’Neal’s 27,619 career points because he stinks at the free throw line.

Mount Rainier is home to two of the Northwest’s best multi-day loop hikes – the 93-mile Wonderland Trail and the 35-mile Northern Loop Trail – and a number of short, easy loops.

But if you’re looking for something in the middle – a challenging loop of 12 miles or more – you’re going to have to get creative.

Sometimes this means linking trails by hiking on the road, but if you want a big workout loop with lots of climbing away from the road you only have two choices.

Mother Mountain Loop is a 17.1-mile hike in the northwest corner of the park that requires climbing almost 5,000 vertical feet.

By comparison, the Burroughs Mountain Loop near Sunrise climbs a relatively easy 3,470 vertical feet over 12.8 miles. Still, “I would consider it to be a strenuous hike,” said Ron Duncan of the Tacoma Mountaineers.

“These are great hikes,” Duncan said. “If you are strong enough to do them.”

BURROUGHS LOOP

Amy Mann of the Tacoma Mountaineers calls this a “two-lunch hike” because you should plan on spending most of the day on the trail.

You can start at either Sunrise or the White River Campground, but if you want to get the climbing out of the way early, while your legs are still fresh, it’s best to start at the campground.

This hike links two popular day hikes – the Glacier Basin and the Burroughs Mountain trails.

Glacier Basin used to be a mellow walk to the Inter Glacier, but the 2006 flood made this trail a little more challenging. The first mile was wiped out by the floods and rangers have marked a route over the rocks and logs with yellow caution tape.

Wilderness ranger Jen Rudnick says the damaged section of trail is passable for most hikers who have good balance. Most who use this trail are mountaineers heading for Camp Schurman and above so the rugged route is the least of their challenges.

While Rudnick doesn’t like to recommend which direction to hike any loop trail – “I don’t want anybody to miss out on the experience and creativity,” she said – she does point out that hikers might want to get this section of trail out of the way at the beginning of their trip.

This means hiking the loop clockwise.

The primary benefit to hiking counterclockwise, Rudnick said, is that you get most of the climbing out of the way in the first 2.6 miles.

“But you’re getting the same vertical whichever way you go,” Rudnick said.

While Glacier Basin is an enjoyable hike in itself, once you climb out of the trees it’s easy to see why Burroughs Mountain is one of the most popular hikes in the park.

“You are so close to the mountain,” said Buz Baldwin, a Puyallup resident who has made the hike several times. “What can you say?”

The Burroughs Loop is brimming with side trip possibilities. You can hike up to Glacier Basin Camp for a closer view of the Inter Glacier. Or you can make any number of side trips at Sunrise.

The last time Duncan did the hike, he stopped for ice cream at the Sunrise Visitor Center before making the 3-mile decent back to the White River Campground.

Baldwin enjoys making the trip out to Third Burroughs. There is a footpath most of the way, but it is not an official trail.

“That is a great hike because the glacier is so close,” Baldwin said. “You can watch the climbers going up and down the mountain.”

MOTHER MOUNTAIN LOOP

Perhaps no day hike at Rainier has more to offer than this challenging loop in the northwest corner of the park.

There’s Spray Falls, the stunning view of the mountain from the alpine meadows of Spray and Seattle parks and the easy side trip to the snout of the Carbon Glacier. Then there’s the bouncy suspension bridge over the Carbon River, the steep climb up Ipsut Pass and the welcoming tranquility of Mowich Lake.

The hike starts and finishes at the lake and combines four popular day hikes – Carbon Glacier, Seattle Park, Spray Park and Ipsut Pass.

A ranger who asked not to be identified says picking which direction to hike depends mostly on the state of your knees.

“If you have bad knees you want to hike up Ipsut Pass,” the ranger said.

The drop from – or climb up – Ipsut Pass is only half a mile but it gains more than 1,100 feet. That’s torture on the knees.

Sure, downhill hiking is unavoidable, but the walk down from Seattle Park to the Carbon River is comparatively more gradual (About 3,200 feet over 4.1 miles).

Either direction, scenery will help you keep your mind off you knees.

“It’s just a riot of wildflowers (in Spray Park) in the summer time,” the ranger said.

Spray Park is also a good place to see bears.

“I’ve seen bears there two or three times,” Baldwin said. “They were a couple of hundred yards away and they looked busy. I wasn’t worried about them.”

The challenge of the Mother Mountain Loop might intimidate most hikers, but almost “anybody can make the trip if they take their time,” the ranger said.

The trail has three backcountry camps so many people take more than a day to finish the loop.

“No matter what you want to do,” Duncan said. “Mount Rainier is hard to beat.”

Craig Hill: 253-597-8497

Craig.hill@thenewstribune.com

Blogs.thenewstribune.com/adventure

RAINIER’S BIG LOOPS

MOTHER MOUNTAIN LOOP

Miles: 17.1

Vertical: 4,750 feet

Start: Mowich Lake

Map: Green Trails 269 – Mount Rainier West

What you’ll see: Spray Falls, Seattle and Spray parks, Carbon Glacier, views from Ipsut Pass and Mowich Lake.

Ease up: You can break up this hike over two days by using any of the three wilderness camps along the route or a fourth (Ipsut Creek) nearby. There is also camping at Mowich Lake. Reservations should be made at the Carbon River Ranger Station.

Add mileage: Add 3.4 miles to the hike by visiting Tolmie Lookout.

Info: 360-829-9639

GLACIER BASIN-BURROUGHS LOOP

Miles: 12.6

Vertical: 3,470 feet

Start: White River Campground or Sunrise.

Map: Green Trails 270 – Mount Rainier East

What you’ll see: Inter Glacier, Second Burroughs Mountain and Shadow Lake.

Ease up: Split the hike into two days by staying at Sunrise Camp. Reservations should be made at the Wilderness Information Center at the White River entrance.

Add mileage: Add 3.3 miles to the hike by visiting First Burrough Mountain, Fremont Lookout and Frozen Lake.

Info: 360-569-2211, ext. 6030

Craig Hill, The News Tribune RAINIER 110

Mount Rainier National Park celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. To commemorate the milestone, News Tribune writer Craig Hill set out to cover 110 miles in the park this hiking season. He logged 112.3 miles. Read his dispatches in the Adventure section and at blogs.thenewsthenewstribune.com/adventure.