"The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are."
- John Burroughs
We have naturalist John Burroughs to thanks for this location's name. It is a fantastic hike with unparalleled views of Mt Rainier. The three distinct mountains making up the Burroughs range from 7000 to 7800 ft in elevation and are all but barren landscapes with nothing to impede your views. You are likely to see mountain goats, marmot, pikas and other critters while visiting this area near Sunrise on the north side of Mt Rainier National Park.
Not wanting to hike with crowds, I started at the White River Campground and took the Glacier Basin trail to the trail heading up the mountain to the Burroughs (with a side trip to Emmons Moraine). Sure enough, there was nobody doing this besides me. Maybe that's because the trail is insane and switchbacks right up the side of the mountain.
After visiting the Burroughs I took a side trip to Frozen Lake and up to the Mount Fremont Lookout before doubling back around Shadow Lake and connecting with the Wonderland Trail back to the campground. That's a tough hike, so if you want to do the loop like I did then you might want to reverse the direction.
