Panhandle Gap

Panhandle Gap is a high pass in the U.S. state of Washington,[1] on a ridge to the east of Mount Rainier, lying near the low point between Little Tahoma Peak and the Cowlitz Chimneys.

[7] Some through-hikers deviate to the Eastside Trail, an alternate route to avoid snow and potentially dangerous conditions around the gap.

[7] Panhandle Gap is above the tree line and the terrain largely consists of rock and ice past Summerland.

[9][4] The rock around the gap—partly consisting of hypersthene hornblende dacite that may have formed by Tatoosh intrusion[10] as well as andesite[11]—is more red than that found a short distance to the north, closer to Summerland.

[12][2][6] Species found at the gap include horned lark, ptarmigan, mountain goats, Smelowskia, and Tolmie's saxifrage.