Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - The Palisades & Marcus Peak
Palisades and Marcus Peaks from Sunrise Point. Wildflowers were in full bloom, bugs were minimal, and aside from a wasp encounter on the flank of Palisades, conditions were excellent with plenty of water along the route.
Michelle Peterson
- Sun, Jul 27, 2025
- Alpine Scramble - The Palisades & Marcus Peak
- The Palisades & Marcus Peak
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Conditions
- White River entrance calm and easy at 6:45 AM.
- Flush toilets at the ranger station were working, though not cleaned or stocked.
- Parking was easy at Sunrise Point, arriving around 7:15 AM.
- A volunteer ranger was already posted at the trailhead.
- Fog on arrival burned off by about 10:30 AM, leaving partly cloudy skies the rest of the day.
- Wildflowers in full bloom along the lakes and meadows.
Photos by Kari Owen - Bugs hardly noticeable in the morning, except for wasps encountered on the flank of Palisades.
- Lakes, streams, and tarns calm and clear.
Hidden Lk Photo by Kari Owen - No big wildlife sightings, though Hidden Lake had some impressively large amphibians.
- Stats: ~9 miles, ~3400 ft gain
- Time: 7:30 AM start – 3:30 PM return
- Peaks: Palisades (first), Marcus (second)
- Route & Travel Style
We left Sunrise Point at 7:30 AM. First bio break was at Clover Lake around 8:15 AM, then we continued on to Hidden Lake where we fueled up at 9:15 AM before the grind uphill. At the crest of Green Park Saddle, we got distracted by animal scat and boot trails that led us north too soon. After an attempt to bushwhack back to our intended route, we decided retracing and finding the actual pass into Green Park was the better call. Once we looked for it, it was obvious (though it nearly eluded us again on the return!).
With the sun emerging, we headed up the slope toward Palisades, stirring up ground wasps midway. The second participant in line took a sting for the team, and we detoured around the stand of trees protecting the nest. The upper slope had many braided goat and boot paths, giving us plenty of options. We topped out on Palisades just after 11:00 AM, took a 15-minute snack break, and scoped the route across to Marcus, which we had a clear view of.
Descending quickly toward the tarn, we stayed in the meadow and spread out as best we could until we reached the lava sand and gullies. The gully ascent was spicy—helmets on by then—we used a mix of meadow steps and rocky holds to gain the slope below Marcus’s summit block.
After stashing half our trekking poles, we scrambled up the southwest side, which looked the most reasonable.
We reached Marcus’s summit just after 12:30 PM, enjoying a luxurious 30 minutes of lunch, photos, map work, and Rainier 100 peak ID.
The descent was mostly the way we came.
We made some gear adjustments en route and had a fun return, with plenty of oohing and aahing over wildflowers, arriving back at Sunrise Point by 3:30 PM.