Our second hike of the season was to Owyhigh Lakes. It was mostly a cool day with a little sun, perfect for our first serious hike. We started on the Owyhigh Lakes Trail from White River Rd and walked past the lakes, over the pass for about one half mile, which accounts for our 9+ miles and the WTA page for the hike reporting 8 miles round trip. We saw just a few patches of snow near the top, nothing significant.
The star flowers in the meadows around the lakes were anemones (Anemone occidentalis) and glacier lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum). Other usual flowers typical of the altitude and late spring/early summer were also observed include Alpine Springbeauty (Claytonia megarhiza) and violets.
Hike Notes
Length: 9.32 miles (according to our Garmin HCX)
Duration: 5.5 hours (10:00 am – 3:30 pm), includes 30 min lunch break
Elevation Gain: 1,650 ft. 3,750 ft @ parking lot, 5,396 (5,400 according to guide book) ft @ pass over to Kotsuck Creek
Location: Mt. Rainier -- NE - Sunrise / White River, Mount Rainier National Park
Plants and Animals
Anemone occidentalis (Western Pasqueflower)
Claytonia megarhiza (Alpine Springbeauty)
Viola orbiculata (Dark Woods Violet) OR Viola sempervirens (Redwood Violet)
Viola adunca (Hookedspur Violet)
Potentilla flabelifolia (High Mountain Cinquefoil)
Erythronium grandiflorum (Glacier Lily)
Lipstick Cladonia lichen
Dacrymyces palmatus - Jelly fungus
Guepiniopsis alpina - Jelly cup
Perisoreus canadensis - Gray Jay
Anemones – Upper Left: Top Down; Upper Right: Side View; Lower Left: Old One Flower with Spider; Lower Right: Pushing out the Ground
Springbeauty and Columbine Bud
Glacier Lily Bud and Full Flower
Potentilla - Potentilla flabelifolia 
Veratrum Shoots and Meadow with Paint Brush
Trail Pictures – Left: The lakes looking a little empty; Center: Starting off; Right: Meadow trail near the lakes.
Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)
Interesting Wood Structures (One on the left reminds of a Pomodoro scultpure)
Fungus, Left: Guepiniopsis alpina - Jelly cup; Right: Dacrymyces palmatus – Jelly fungus
Lichen – Lipstick Cladonia
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