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       Highlights

      Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground is one of the most famous backcountry beauty spots in Mount Rainier National Park. This glorious meadow, with its bonanza of wildflowers, scenic ponds, and drop-dead-gorgeous views of Mount Rainier, certainly deserves the fame, but all that popularity has forced the park to protect this fragile area by closing the meadow to camping. Most hikers approach Indian Henry’s along the Wonderland Trail from Longmire and spend the night at crowded Devils Dream Camp, a little over 1 mile south. But for adventuresome hikers who are willing to do some moderate cross-country hiking, there is a better and less crowded option. By hiking into Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground on the little-used Kautz Creek Trail and continuing up to spectacular but off-trail Pyramid Park, you can avoid the crowds and spend the night at an amazingly beautiful alpine retreat with a dramatic up-close look at the rugged west face of Mount Rainier.

       Getting There

      From I-5, 67 miles north of Vancouver, Washington, take Exit 68 and travel 31 miles east on US 12 to a junction at the town of Morton. Turn left on WA 7 and drive 17 miles to a junction with WA 706. Turn right (east), enter Mount Rainier National Park after 14 miles, and continue another 3.4 miles to the Kautz Creek Trailhead. The parking lot is on the right. To obtain a permit (or to pick up your reserved permit), you will need to continue driving another 3 miles to Longmire and stop at the wilderness information center.

      GPS COORDINATES N46° 44.227' W121° 51.614'

       Hiking It

      The trail starts next to a small sign on the north side of the highway across from the parking lot. Initially the path takes you over the remains of a massive debris and mud flow that devastated this valley in October 1947. The flow was triggered by heavy rains, which caused a partial collapse of the Kautz Glacier. Landslide events like this are fairly common on Mount Rainier, although they are usually smaller in size—a major one can cause extensive damage to park roads and trails, even forcing closures, so be sure to check conditions before hiking this route. On the remains of the 1947 slide, trees now crowd the area (mostly western hemlocks and western red cedars), but in more open and sunny areas, deciduous trees—especially red alders—predominate. The dense undergrowth is mostly composed of salal, along with various ferns and mosses.

      Initially the trail is gentle, wide, and strewn with gravel to accommodate tourists interested in exploring the geology of the mudflow. At 1 mile, however, the trail crosses silty Kautz Creek on a seasonally installed log bridge and becomes a wilderness trail. The much narrower path now enters an old-growth forest unaffected by the 1947 mudflow and begins a long, persistent, and at times moderately steep climb. The way is viewless but shady and pleasant throughout. Numerous short switchbacks help keep the climb from becoming overly steep. You cross a trickling creek at about 3 miles (the first reliable source of clear water) then continue climbing in a series of short, steep switchbacks. Still not done with the uphill section, you ascend at a gentler grade on a wide ridge and slowly enter more open high-elevation terrain. Mount Rainier is frequently in view, while closer at hand are rocky buttes and increasing numbers of heather, huckleberries, and various wildflowers. A final short, steep uphill leads to a high point on the southeast shoulder of Mount Ararat (a name that significantly overstates the size of this small butte), and then you descend about 150 feet to a junction at 5.7 miles with the Wonderland Trail.

      You are now smack in the middle of Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground, a spectacular mountain meadow with acres of

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