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| Tolmie Peak   | 
| Page Type: Mountain/Rock Location: Washington, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 46.99372°N / 121.67152°W Activities: Hiking Elevation: 5939 ft / 1810 m | Page By: k2glfpro Created/Edited: Oct 1, 2001 / Mar 20, 2009 Object ID: 150593 Hits: 3226 Loading... Page Score: 17.62% - 12 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
OverviewTolmie Peak is located in the NW corner of Mount Rainier National Park, overlooking Eunice Lake, which occupies a bedrock basin scoured by ice approximately 15,000-20,000 years ago. Tolmie Peak is a great day-hiker's destination and offers just the right mix of splendor and accessibility to attract summertime crowds, particularly on weekends.Getting ThereUSGS - Golden Lakes & Mowich Lake
Green Trails - Mt. Rainier West - No. 269
Latitude 46.958ºN
Longitude 121.876ºW
Mowich Road Park Entrance:
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 (CAUTION: Watch for logging trucks - The road is narrow in places)
5. The trailhead is on the left (north) side of the road, near Mowich Lake
Carbon River Park Entrance:
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. Continue straight on the Carbon River Road to the entrance.
*3/06/2009 Update -- The road is open to the entrance. The closure from the entrance to vehicles remains in effect. Bicycle and pedestrian traffic is permitted beyond the entrance.*
Great page providing information about the November 2006 flood damage and the future of the Carbon River Road
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. The one exception is the road between the Nisqually entrance and Paradise, which is kept open as conditions permit. For current road conditions, contact the Park at (360) 569-2211 or visit the link below:
Mt. Rainier National Park Road Status page
WA State Pass ReportRed TapeEntry to Mt. Rainier National Park usually requires a fee. Passes can easily be purchased at ranger stations. Prices as of November 2008:
-Individual Entry (Bike, Foot): $5 (7 Day Pass)
-Private Non-commercial Vehicle: $15 (7 Day Pass)
-Annual Pass (This park only): $30 (Good for 1 Year)
-Annual National Parks Pass: $80 (Good for 1 Year)
-Access Pass (Blind/permanently disabled): Free (Good for life in all National Parks)
-Senior Pass (62+ years of age): $10 (good for life in all National Parks)
Permits are not required for day hiking. However, camping overnight in the wilderness at Mount Rainier requires a permit. In the summer, permits can be obtained at any ranger station in the park during their hours of operation.
Obtain permits at: the Longmire Wilderness Information Center at Longmire, the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise, the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center at Ohanepecosh, the White River Wilderness Information Center at the White River Entrance, the Sunrise Visitor Center at Sunrise and the Carbon River Ranger Station at the Carbon River Entrance.
In the winter, permits are available at the Longmire Museum every day and the Jackson Visitor Center on weekends. Self-registration during the winter is available at the Carbon River Ranger Station, Ohanapecosh Ranger Station, and the Highway 410 entrance arch at the park's north boundary.When To ClimbJune - October:
Mowich Lake Road opens each spring/summer when the snow is clear and closes in the fall. Please see "Getting There" section for a link to road conditions in Mount Rainier National Park.CampingNeither Tolmie Peak nor Eunice Lake have wilderness camps.
The subalpine meadows and shore around Eunice Lake are easily damaged. Some of the heather communities in Mount Rainier National Park have been carbon dated to 10,000 years old! PLEASE 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 elsewhere 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.Mountain ConditionsMt. Rainier Text Forecast
Longmire Conditions & Forecast
HistorySurgeon, 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.
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