Mount Rainier - Panhandle Gap (Wonderland Trail)

Music by Victor This Guy - Jammin' Gotta Run #12
https://soundcloud.com/user-282810137/victor-this-guy-o-vpr-jammin

Leaving the Summerland meadows behind, the Wonderland Trail ascends toward Panhandle Gap, the highest point in Mount Rainier National Park at 6,800 feet, revealing a rugged alpine wonderland. The path winds through rocky moraines, where small, shimmering tarns reflect the expansive sky and jagged peaks. Patches of snow cling to the slopes even in summer, creating a striking contrast with the stark, boulder-strewn terrain. Marmots scurry across the rocks, or they just lay there like lazy animals. On clear days, the gap unveils breathtaking vistas south to the snow-dusted summits of Mount Adams and the Goat Rocks, with Mount Rainier’s glistening glaciers dominating the western horizon. The crisp alpine air carries a quiet serenity, blending the raw beauty of rocky outcrops with the distant sparkle of ice and sky, making Panhandle Gap a captivating heart of the Pacific Northwest’s wilderness.