Mount Rae Hike Zia Tahir Sep 28, 2025

Disclaimer:- The review is totally based on my personal physical fitness and skill level which could be different from any other individual hiker. So use this review in conjunction with other resources if you are planning to take this hike. Being one of those 3,000ers, this mountain stands to its reputation. Don’t underestimate it. We started off the trail head around 8:30 AM. The trail was a bit busy till the second waterfall but after that it was me, my partner and one father and little daughter duo. Around about half an hour continuing a rocky trail after the waterfall, scramble section starts. There are multiple gullies, ribs, scree sections to go up. You can pick your comfort level. If you stay on hiker’s right, you can switch lanes/ribs from place to place when you feel uncomfortable. However, if you stay on the far hiker’s left, close to the mountain wall, you are limited in your options. We picked up this route and it was not bad. It was treacherous, very treacherous, but we managed it. Sometimes poles are helpful and sometimes those become liabilities as you need both hand free to hold the rocks. Helmets and partners coordination is important in this section as rock fall is the biggest hazard here, no matter which route you take, especially if the trail is busy. Once you reach the lip of the bowl, it’s quite narrow ridge. You can relax here and look behind to enjoy the valley where you came from and the valley on the other side as well. Awesome views from late September day. You can have a bite here and plan for next moves towards Mount Rae ridge. Start ascending the ridge and soon you will be presented with a clear trail on your left. From here there are multiple options. Either go left traverse all the way till wherever you can and then start climbing up picking up the suitable spot or scramble up the ridge straight or go right of the false summit and scramble up and then take the ridge. We did the first option and went all the way until we could follow the trail. There are three four parallel trails traversing. We took the most bottom one. Then climbing up through the scree and rocks and lips was another battle which we had to do when going up. We took the ridge just before three green vertical wall of rocks. Then the ridge walk starts, which is a challenge in itself. Quite exposed and sketchy at some sections and you have to be on your fours most of the time. Fold the poles on the ridge. There are good handholds though. Once you reach the summit, you’ll look around and the views are totally worth it. It’s quite windy as soon as you start from the top of the bowl, so bring layers accordingly. Rocky Mountains view from the top, takes your breath away and leaves you in a real awe. Only problem is that you can’t stay for too long up there due to wind. We reached the summit around 1 PM. The way back was the same. Only difference is that from the bowl top, we started down a bit early and took the scree and ribs and it was mostly bum walk. Very sketchy and again rock fall hazard. The cirque was busy as any funfair in town. Hundreds of families, it was amazing. We took our time the entire way taking pictures and taking it slow. Below is our time line: Start of the hike: 8:30 AM, Second Waterfall at 9:20 AM, At the Top of Bowl: 11:25 AM, At the summit: 1:05 PM; Starting from the summit: 1:25 PM; At the top of the bowl: 2:20 PM; At the second waterfall 3:45 PM, Back to the parking lot: 4:40 PM