4-day Mt. Rainier Backpacking Trip | Miyar Adventures
DETAILS

Join us for 4 days of backpacking in Mount Rainier National Park!

On this trip you will learn fundamental skills necessary for backcountry travel such as packing, backpack fitting, and leave no trace all while enjoying one of the most pristine and rugged wildernesses the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Mount Rainier National Park offers a one of a kind experience for backpackers that choose to take part in the adventure of this 4-day trip.

As we hike through the Sunrise region of Mount Rainier National Park, we will witness the awesome powers of water, glaciers, volcanoes, and nature. This trip has it all: rivers, glaciers, meadows, wildlife and breathtaking views of Mount Rainier, and an amazing opportunity to learn and practice the do’s and don’ts of backpacking. The scenery is so stunning you will probably start planning your next trip before you leave the park! /p>

The hiking trail itself is of moderate difficulty overall with challenging uphill sections and some easier stretches that will allow you to keep your eyes fixed on the vistas, glaciers, and Mount Rainier. We plan to enjoy our time in the park at a comfortable pace, since half the fun of being outdoors is escaping our busy lives! There are some tough sections, however, so be prepared for a few challenges and many breath-taking rewards!

SKILLS TAUGHT
  • How to pack and fit a backpack
  • Camping Techniques
  • Leave-No-Trace Travel
  • Campsite selection
  • Self-care in the backcountry
  • Camp cooking
  • Water management
  • Pacing


Please note: Gear checks are a must and should be scheduled before your trip. Join us every Thursday 06-08PM at our sister store, Ascent Outdoors, for a thorough gear check. This way, we ensure you have the right equipment and all the items on your gear checklist. If your trip doesn't start on Friday, we can check for a custom gear check day/time with guides if needed.

PRICE BASIS
PRICE INCLUDES

  • Backcountry permit fees
  • Breakfast, dinner & hot drinks
  • Guiding fees
  • Group gear: tents, cookware
  • Pre-trip planning information
  • Backpacking and outdoor skills

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

  • Transportation
  • Personal backpacking equipment and clothing
  • Travel and evacuation insurance
  • Gratuities for guides
  • National Park Entrance Fess
  • Lunches and snacks

ITINERARY
Day 1 :Hike to Berkeley Camp | Distance: 3.8miles | Elevation: 580 gain/1300 loss
We will meet and go to the Sunrise trailhead of Mount Rainier National Park. Along the drive, we’ll get our first incredible views of Mount Rainier. Once we park, we’ll finish dividing group gear and finalize our packs. Then we’ll begin our backpacking trip with a steady uphill toward the beautiful Frozen Lake. At the lake, we can stop and readjust our packs making sure that they are well-fitted while taking in the views. Then we’ll start our descent to Berkeley Camp. We’ll see colorful wildflowers alongside trickling, clear streams on route to camp. When we arrive at Berkeley Camp, we will settle in by learning about how to set up camp, proper food storage and leave no trace principles. Then we will gather water and enjoy a well deserved meal.
Day 2 : Hike to Glacier Basin Camp | Distance: 6.2miles | Elevation: 2350 gain/2000 loss
We begin one of our harder days of our Mount Rainer Backpacking trip by hiking up toward the Burroughs, soaking in views of vibrant wildflowers and keeping an eye out for wildlife such as mountain goats and black bears. Once we reach the trail heading up the Burroughs, we’ll talk about our group strategy on how we’ll head up the narrow and sometimes popular trail. After a challenging uphill stretch, we’ll be rewarded with beautiful up-close views of Mount Rainier. We’ll stop for lunch and then begin descending to Glacier Basin Camp. Once we get to camp, we’ll set up tents, gather water, and dinner.
Day 3 : Hike to Sunrise Camp | Distance: 6.2miles | Elevation: 2350 gain/2000 loss
On today’s hike we will enjoy a series of small ups and downs as we hike along the White River. We’ll again enjoy a show of wildflowers. After reaching the White River Campground, we’ll head up a challenging section of the Wonderland Trail that will surely leave you with the desire to complete its 93-mile loop around the volcano on your next visit. Once we reach the top of the switchbacks, we’ll be rewarded with running water, luscious meadows, and another chance to glimpse the wildlife that frequents the park. We’ll pass by Shadow Lake before reaching our group campsite at Sunrise Campground.
Day 4 :Hike to Sunrise Trailhead | Distance: 1.3 miles | Elevation: 250 gain/150 loss
Today allows us to rest and enjoy a leisurely morning at camp after two strenuous days on the move. There will be opportunity to sleep in, take photos, and hike up to a viewpoint to take in another amazing view of Mount Rainier. After taking down camp, we’ll enjoy a relatively flat hike out to the Sunrise trailhead. This will conclude our amazing journey through Mount Rainier National Park.
FAQs
What is the best way to get to the trip start location?
Transportation is not provided so the group will usually meet at a park n’ ride and then caravan to the trailhead.
What are the accommodations like?
Single person Tent Accommodation
If included, what is the food like?
Mix of mountain freeze dried food along with fresh food.
How much extra money should people budget?
$135-$180/person for Gratuities, $40 for lunches + snacks on trail, $20-40 for food/snacks to and from the trailhead on first and last day.
What should people bring? Do you have a packing list?
Here is a sample packing list: https://www.miyaradventures.com/backpacking-gear-list-2/

We’ll provide a complete and detailed list once registration is complete.
How much deposit I need to make to register for this trip? What are your cancellation and refund policies?
For information about cancellation policy and Minimum amount required to deposit Click Here

Reviews

Testimonials
  • Reflection of Mt Rainier in a lake

    Went on a 4-day backpacking trip to Mount Rainier with Miyar Advantures and Sandeep. It was a great experience! Sandeep was a great guide who was not only knowledgeable and helpful but genuinely fun to be around. The trip has sparked my interest in further challenges and adventures, and I think it is safe to say that Miyar Adventures is the first place I will look for my next big one!

    David M.
  • Misty Forest in Mt Rainier National Park

    Sandeep and all of his guides are very personable, knowledgeable, safety conscious and a WHOLE lot of FUN to climb with! I am a beginning climber/backpacker and I enjoyed climbing/Backpacking Rainier with Miyar Adventures. They prepared me well for a successful experience. In fact, I am looking forward to climbing Kilimanjaro with Miyar in December! 

    Lisa W.
  • A trail leading to Mt Rainer

    I joined Miyar Adventures for a 4 day backpacking trip at Mt. Rainier. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Sandeep is a very knowledgeable guide that is willing to go the extra mile in order to make sure everyone in the group has a good time. I'm looking forward to joining them for another adventure in the future! 

    Min L.
  • Reflection of Mt Rainier in a lake

    I had the good fortune to go with Miyar Adventures for a four day backpacking trip in Mt Rainier this past August. I found the guides intelligent, accomplished, kind, patient and hard working. After talking to them about their experience and medical knowledge I felt safer than I have on any adventure I've ever been on. The food was good and the Fireball Whiskey superb! I look forward to more trips with them. Maybe even Kilimanjaro! 

    Kathy E.
  • A trail leading to Mt Rainer

    I have been on several climbs with Miyar Adventures (including Mt. Rainier, Mt. Shasta) and its always been an awesome experience.The leads are great and make you feel safe, will encourage you all through the climb and will make sure that everyone in the group is having a great time. Miyar Adventures is definitely my first choice when I want to go for a big climb.

    Siddarth V.
  • Reflection of Mt Rainier in a lake

    I have been training with Sandeep and his group of experienced guides for more than 3 months, especially to prepare myself to summit the big one - Rainier. Many people dream of climbing big mountains and have the ability too, but sometimes just have a little doubt whether they can do it. Sandeep has this unique quality to build up that confidence in such dreamers. He makes you believe in yourself and your abilities. He is very passionate about engaging more and more people with mountaineering and rock climbing.

    We sumitted Rainier last weekend, and Miyar adventures played a significant role in our climb. The practise climbs, pre-climb and glacier informative sessions, gear check meetings - were all planned meticulously and each team members questions were answered satisfactorily. I would definitely recommend going with Sandeep and his team for any adventures offered by Miyar. Note: Look out for their trip to Mt Kilimanjaro later this year. I am sure it would be a lot of fun.
    Ajay M.
  • Star Trails over Mt Baker

    I've climbed Rainier and Baker (+several other training hikes) with Sandeep and other guides from Miyar Adventures. The climbs were made super fun, safe, and informational. With Sandeep's detailed prior planning, extensive know-how of the mountaineering practices, and long climbing experience, you know the climb is going to be safe with great chances of summit. Before all big climbs, Sandeep does an indoor session to discuss the itinerary and answer any concerns. You'll definitely learn a lot whenever you spend time with Sandeep. He has expertise in all forms of climbing: mountaineering, rock and ice. So it also makes it easy to try other activities because you already know the guide well. I've taken instructions from few other guides as well and I wouldn't doubt to state that Sandeep is the best guide I've climbed with! He'll keep you motivated and answer your questions with patience. He'd have fun stories to tell from his rescue ops, first ascents, or other hard climbs. He is ready to make adjustments based on the preferences of the group which is a key in making the trip not only successful but also enjoyable. I can't recommend Miyar Adventures enough! Give them a try and you'll be glad you did.

    Prateek Sharma
  • Mt Rainier reflected

    Climbing Rainier was an incredible experience and a life changer for me having spent the previous 5 years recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Sandeep, prepared me. -- star 1 Training -- He got me to the summit -- star 2 Encouragement -- Even with high altitude sickness, he got me down again -- star 3 and 4 Safety, Knowledge -- I received an absolutely amazing experience I will never forget resulting in lasting friendships and the return of a confidence that I wasn't sure I'd ever have again -- star 5 -- Thanks Sandeep!

    Ari T.
  • Reflection of Mt Rainier in a lake

    I've been on several trips with Sandeep, from day hikes to mount Rainier climbs and have always had an enjoyable time. I can say by experience that he genuinely wants his clients to have a safe, enjoyable and educational experience, no matter who they are. Safety has always been the top priority on his trips and as far as education and fun, I've always gotten more than expected out of them. His level of patience and ability to lead is really unmatched, and he demands the same standards of his guides. I would definitely recommend Miyar for anyone who wants a real, hands on climbing or wilderness experience!

    Lawrence P.
  • Alpine Glow on Mt Rainer

    I joined Miyar Adventures for a 4 day backpacking trip at Mt. Rainier. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Sandeep is a very knowledgeable guide that is willing to go the extra mile in order to make sure everyone in the group has a good time. I'm looking forward to joining them for another adventure in the future!

    Min W
  • Misty Forest in Mt Rainier National Park

    Climbed Mount Rainier with Miyar Adventures. What an incredible experience! I hadn't hiked for 9 years, but was able to train for Mount Rainier under Sandeep's guidance. Thanks to Miyar's guides (Alexis, Chris, Ben) the final climb to summit felt so safe and non-strenuous. During our climb RMI group crossed us just after Camp Miur and I could hear people already panting and breathing heavily. After sometime I saw few people from RMI group returning back as they couldn't keep pace. However with Sandeep and his team of guides, all of us summited without any pressure. Sandeep and his team have many years of mountaineering experience, and they know how to make it not only safe but also enjoyable.

    Anand Sarda
  • Three climbers in front of cloud on Mt Baker

    Went on a 4-day backpacking trip to Mount Rainier with Miyar Advantures and Sandeep.  It was a great experience! Sandeep was a great guide who was not only knowledgeable and helpful but genuinely fun to be around.  The trip has sparked my interest in further challenges and adventures, and I think it is safe to say that Miyar Adventures is the first place I will look for my next big one!

    David Magana
  • Glaciers on Mt Rainer

    Sandeep and all of his guides are very personable, knowledgeable, safety conscious and a WHOLE lot of FUN to climb with! I am a beginning climber/backpacker and I enjoyed climbing/Backpacking Rainier with Miyar Adventures. They prepared me well for a successful experience. In fact, I am looking forward to climbing Kilimanjaro with Miyar in December!

    Lisa Walker
  • Misty Forest in Mt Rainier National Park

    I am new to mountaineering, and Sandeep made the learning experience FUN, safe and informative. He goes the extra mile to make sure you are comfortable and get the most from the experience. I climbed with two of his EXCELLENT guides on Mt Adams, and with Sandeep on Mt Rainer. I look forward to Kilimanjaro this December. A TOP NOTCH company!

    Lisa Walker
  • Star trails over Mt Shuksan

    I was part of the group that summited Mt. Rainier on 7/20/15 led by Miyar Adventures and its guides. I had a great experience training and finally climbing with Miyar and Sandeep Nain. Miyar Adventures has an experienced team of guides with most guides being a part of some or the other mountain rescue group (as an added perk, you can just sit and listen to these guys tell stories). I felt that all the guides shared common mountaineering principles which is very important in case of a mishap. Sandeep and his team believe that "getting to the summit is optional, but getting back to the parking lot is mandatory" - safety first, mountain is not going anywhere. Another thing that I particularly liked about the guides was they set strict timelines and also inspired discipline in us to adhere to those timelines. As pre-climb training, we did a lot of hikes around the area and also climbed Mt. Ruth. Sandeep would try and accompany us on our training hikes as much as he could and answered any dumb and dumber questions that we had with patience and precision. You always learn something new when you talk mountaineering with Sandeep Nain. The Mt. Ruth climb was a very good precursor to Mt. Rainier in terms of learning and practicing the basics of snow and glacier travel. Both the Mt. Rainier and Mt. Ruth training climbs were very meticulously planned. The gear distribution was done well before the actual climb so that any changes were easily accommodated. Sandeep and Ben gave us a detailed briefing about the itinerary and risks before the climb and were available to clear any doubts during and after the session. The guides Sandeep Nain teaches you, inspires you, and pushes you to your limits and lets you redefine them, I highly recommend giving Miyar Adventures a try for your next backpacking/mountaineering/climbing adventure. You will thank me!!

    Rajat Dua
  • Mt Rainier reflected

    A friend once remarked, "if you have any questions about your mountain climbing abilities, the person you need to talk to is Sandeep from Miyar adventures." It can't be more precise than that. I met Sandeep through "asha for education" with an interest to climb Mt. Rainier. My first hike with Sandeep was up tiger mountains. A small and easy hike but I reached the top a solid 30 mins after the rest of the group. That got me thinking if I should back off from climbing Rainier. But Sandeep didn't let me do so. He was confident that I could climb Rainier with some training, when I myself had very few reasons to believe so. The next 4 months, we had training hikes almost every weekend organized by Sandeep which were so much fun to call them "trainings". And fast forward to today, I'm home cherishing the feeling of having summited mount Rainier. This would not have been possible but for Sandeep and his team. Guides are super knowledgeable and amicable, the trips are very well organized, any questions about gears, health, trip details etc, answers are just an email or call away. The extent to which Sandeep and his team go to make a trip, an enjoyable experience and more importantly safe is quite admirable. Looking forward to joining Miyar adventures for more such 5-star experiences in future.

    Saraswathy Srinivasan
  • Alpine Glow on Mt Rainer

    I have been training with Sandeep from Miyar Adventures for the past 6 months for a fundraiser Mt.Rainier climb. I have never done any activity on snow and I am a newbie hiker. So I had my reservations when I started training. So starting from how to get better at hiking to improving my snow skills, being my sounding board, whenever I expressed any doubts in my mind, and pushing me a little harder every time so I can get some confidence that I can accomplish this, he has been an great guide. It is unbelievable that I actually got to climb Rainier, starting from where I was. I give all the credit to Sandeep. He makes beginners like me get comfortable and build up on the skills and make their dreams become achievable. The way he organized the whole climb from picking food, group gear and personal gear for everyone, to picking great rope leads for glacier travel for us to lead the way, he has done a phenomenal job. He is very efficient about trip planning and ensures everyone summits and gets back home safely. If you ever want to climb any mountain, I strongly recommend Miyar Adventures, without any doubt.

    Prema Grandhi
  • Reflection of Mt Rainier in a lake

    Loved the experience training and climbing for Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker. I highly recommend going via them. The climb was very well managed with experienced guides. Sandeep assisted me and guided me for several months while training.

    Ravi Jaiswal