Mt. Rainier

We just returned from a couple of days up at Mt. Rainier National Park - located about two hours north of us here in Vancouver. We hadn't been to that area before even though it's pretty nearby, so when the forecast called for clear weather for a few days we decided to give it a go. Glad we did. Although it was cloudy the afternoon we arrived it started clearing later on and, as advertised, "the mountain was out" (as the locals say) by the next morning.



Here's the view of the mountain from the north-east side, taken on one of our hikes back up into the hills above Sunrise - one of the popular though remote areas of the park. You can just see one or two of the glaciers peeking thru the clouds. The rolling clouds made for some very dramatic scenes as the curtain rose and fell.



By the next morning it was spectacular as you can see from the photo above. This time we set off from the Paradise Lodge - on the south side - which is by far the most visited section of the park. Rainier is located about an hour and a half from downtown Seattle so it's a popular day trip. Saw several tour buses pulling up just as we were leaving after our morning hike.

One of several pretty alpine valleys we passed thru.



Never thought I'd be saying this, but the hikes in and around Mt. Rainier are even prettier than New Zealand or Ireland, which is saying plenty. The combination of the mountain, the surrounding Alpine valleys and the beautiful weather made for one of the prettiest hikes we've ever done. There were even some wildflowers still blooming further up the slope. Although it was mid-September, and with the first snow of the winter only a few weeks away, we actually had to pass by several of last years snow drifts further up the mountain.

Our loop began behind the Paradise Lodge - at around 6000 ft - and wound its way up to the 8000 ft level before heading back downhill along the Nisqually glacier and then the Nisqually River. It was a weekday after Labor Day so the crowds were down as compared to the peak of summer when it apparently gets pretty clobbered. As usual, however, if you just walk 5 minutes up the hiking trails the crowds melt away fast and you have the place - and all of this gorgeous scenery - to yourself.



A rest stop & photo op on the way up the trail.



This was our lunch stop near the top of the pass - just across from the Nisqually Glacier. The waterfall you see passes underneath the glacier below until it emerges about a mile downhill...and forms the headwater of the Nisqually River in the valley below.



As we sat there eating our sandwiches we were startled by this fat little ground hog as he came around the corner, obviously having scavenged some grass to line his burrow for the coming winter. We were just off the well-travelled trail, at the 8000 ft level, sitting on some rocks and so didn't expect to see any wildlife at all. Actually heard him before we saw him. He was a pretty big guy - must have weighed about 25 lbs., and sounded like a person running up the path. He saw us at about the same time we saw him about 20 ft away., and stopped to size us up before continuing (and to allow us time to grab the camera).



This is a view of Mt. Adams from the top of the pass. Off to the lower right you can just see Mt. Hood in Oregon...about 95 miles away.




Stopped on the way back to go on a short hike thru the woods to an Old Growth forest. This Pacific Red Cedar is 1,000 years old and was surrounded by similarly aged Douglas Firs and Western Hemlock trees - all between 600 and 1,000 years old. Really a neat place.

On our way downhill from one of our hikes we came across this little chipmunk chowing down on the seed pods from whatever plant this is. We didn't seem to bother him at all as we stood there on the path about 10 ft away - he was pretty intent on what he was doing. Anyway, he was so cute that Rita shot the footage below as a present for our Granddaughter Makenna.