High point: 5900
Low point: 4900
Hiking season: mid July - Sept.
Total Elevation gain: 1345
Total Elevation lost: 384
6.5 miles Round Trip

The trail leads hikers 1.25 miles through the forest to a trail junction, first downhill, then steeply uphill 1.0 mile to Eunice Lake. The last mile from Eunice Lake to Tolmie Peak Lookout is steep but well worth the effort

Expect crowds on weekends. Tolmie Peak is a day-hiker's special. It's about the right distance and offers the right touch of outdoor magic at its destination. Once at the Lookout though, you are not actually on Tolmie Peak, one must ascend the ridge due East to the first hump to have reached the "summit"

Getting There

USGS Quad "Golden Lakes"
Latitude 46.958ºN
Longitude 121.876ºW

From Puyallup
1. Drive 13 miles east on state Route 410 to Buckley
2. Turn right (south) onto state Route 165 and proceed through Carbonado
3. Just beyond the Carbon River Gorge bridge, bear right onto Mowich Lake Road
4. Follow the road about 17 miles to its end
5. The trailhead is on the left (north) side of the road, near Mowich Lake

Note: Portions of state Route 123 (Cayuse Pass) and Route 410 (Chinook Pass), and all roads within Mount Rainier National Park, are closed in winter, except the road between the Nisqually entrance and Paradise, which is kept open as conditions permit. Contact the park, (360) 569-2211, for current road conditions.

Red Tape

Parking in Mt. Rainier National Park requires a parking pass. Passes can easily be purchased at ranger stations. Prices are as follows:
1. Individual Entry (Bike, Foot): $5.00 (Seven Day Pass)
2. Private Non-commercial Vehicle: $10.00 (Seven Day Pass)
3. Annual Pass: $30.00 (Good For One Year)
4. Gold Access Pass (Blind/permanently disabled): Free (good for life in all National Parks)
5. Golden Age Passport (62+ years of age): $10.00 (good for life in all National Parks)
6. Golden Ealge Passport: $50.00 (good for one year in all National Parks)

Crosscountry camping opportunities exist nearby for skilled minimum impact backpackers who prefer a primitive camping experience. Permits are required for camping. Permits and current trail conditions are available park-wide from Wilderness Information Centers, Ranger Stations, and Visitor Centers. Treat water before drinking. Fires are prohibited. No dogs, horses or mountain bikes are allowed. No wheelchair facilities.

When To Climb

June - October - Roads start to close after major snowfall (HWY 410 at Chinook Pass)

Camping

Neither Tolmie Peak nor Eunice Lake have wilderness camps.
The subalpine meadows and shore around Eunice Lake are easily damaged. Try to minimize your impact on this delicate environment by hiking only on the constructed trails and resting or picnicking on rocks near the trail. No camping is allowed.

No day-use permits are required, but you'll need a wilderness permit if you're camping in the backcountry. They're available for free October through May on a first-come, first-served basis at park visitor centers and ranger stations. From June 1 to Sept. 30, the wilderness permits cost $10, plus $5 for each person in the party 17 and older. There's also a $10-per-carload park entrance fee.

Mountain Conditions

Mount Rainier Weather Conditions

History

Surgeon, Hudson's Bay Company officer, politician and Board of Education member
William Fraser Tolmie was born on 3 February 1812 at Inverness, Scotland, oldest son of Alexander Tolmie and Marjory Fraser. He was educated at inexpensive private schools in Edinburgh, at Inverness Academy and at Perth Grammar School. He spent two years, 1829-1831, in medical school at the University of Glasgow. "Although almost invariably referred to as Dr. Tolmie, he was not an MD: during these two years he worked toward a diploma as licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, a body independent of the university."1

In September 1832, Tolmie signed a five-year contract with the Hudson's Bay Company [HBC]. He was hired to serve in the dual capacity of clerk and surgeon for the Columbia District. On 15 September 1832, Tolmie set sail for North America in the HBC supply ship, Ganymede2. Tolmie arrived at Fort Vancouver in May 1833, where he was greeted by the Chief Factor of the Columbia District, Dr. John McLoughlin. (A few months later, on 2 September 1833, Tolmie was the first white man to reach the summit of Mount Rainer, a point now known as Tolmie Peak.) From 1833-1840, Tolmie spent time at Fort Nisqually, Fort McLoughlin and Fort Vancouver. After a brief visit home in 1841-42, Tolmie returned to Fort Nisqually sometime shortly after May 1843. At Nisqually, Tolmie acted as medical officer and trader, and as manager of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, the HBC's farming subsidiary. On 26 November1855, Tolmie became chief Factor at Fort Nisqaully.3

Tolmie left Fort Nisqually for Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island in 1859. Afterwards, he "appears to have had little or no subsequent medical practice."4 At Victoria, Tolmie was appointed manager of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a position he held until his retirement in 1870.5 He was elected to the House of Assembly of Vancouver Island as member for Victoria in January 1860. He was re-elected in 1863, and remained a member until Vancouver Island was annexed by the mainland colony of British Columbia in 1866.6

On 15 May 1865, the Vancouver Island Assembly passed the Common Schools Act, legislation that provided for free, non-sectarian public schools. Under the terms of the act, colonial schools were administered by a General Board of Education. Dr. Tolmie served as chairman of the board from 1865 to 1867. Under the Common Schools Act, government expenditure on education doubled, rising from about $5000 to $10,000, and the number of pupils attending subsidized common schools increased from about 125 in 1865 to four hundred in 1867.7 However, in the economic depression that gripped the "united colony" of British Columbia, the schools were starved of funds. The liberal Common School Act was repealed and replaced by a more parsimonious Common School Ordinance of 1869.

Differences of opinion between the Board of Education and Governor Frederick Seymour, on the issues surrounding free schools, led to Dr. Tolmie's resignation as board chairman in June 1867. He was succeeded by Dr. Israel Wood Powell. However, Tolmie remained an active member of the board. Minutes of the board's meetings indicate that from the time he resigned as chairman, until the board was forced to disband on 9 March 1869, "he either moved or seconded most of the resolutions passed."8

Dr. Tolmie was afterwards a member of the provincial Board of Education, which operated from May 1872 until August 1878. He confirmed the appointment of John Jessop as the province's first Superintendent of Education and he recruited Stephen Daniel Pope, Jessop's successor.

Dr. Tolmie and Jane, the daughter of Chief Factor John Work, were married in February 1850. They had five daughters and seven sons, including Simon Fraser Tolmie who later became the premier of British Columbia. In 1859, Tolmie and his family moved to Cloverdale Farm, in Saanich, near Victoria. Their home was the first stone house ever built on Vancouver Island. Dr. Tolmie died at Cloverdale on 8 December 1886.

Tolmie was keenly interested in agriculture and in 1862 was elected the first president of the Victoria Agricultural Association. He was also interested in people and their languages. With Dr. George M. Dawson, he compiled and published The Comparative Vocabularies of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia in 1884.

Simon Fraser Tolmie recalled that his father was a serious man, who ingrained his children with studious habits. "We arose at 5 in the morning and foregathered in his library about 5:20 am, and there we would go over my lessons for the day - Euclid, Algebra, Latin, French and Greek. He was an excellent scholar in all these subjects." Dr. W. Kaye Lamb said that Tolmie was "puritanical, and extremely conservative in political and religious opinions. He seems to have totally lacked a sense of humour." But Lamb also noted that Tolmie was "a tireless worker" who played a significant part in British Columbia's history.

Dr. Tolmie is commemorated by several landmarks in Victoria, including Mt. Tolmie and Cloverdale Elementary School. Tolmie School, which now serves as the administrative centre for School District 63 (Greater Victoria), was also named after him.

External Links

Mount Rainier Information
Detailed Trip Information

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