2011-39 Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington
Hello All,
Our next adventure in the Pacific Northwest was to the monarch of the Cascade Mountain Range--14,410’ Mt. Rainier. It has been called the Great Pyramid of the United States. No other mountain on the continent exceeds Rainier in bulk of rock masses, number of glaciers, (26 active) and extent of its base. Nearly all of Mt. Rainier National Park’s 337 square miles belongs to the mighty mountain. Geologists believe the original peak lost 2,000’ in a volcanic blast, creating a three-mile crater. Three cylinder cones grew together surrounding the crater rim--Columbia Crest the central snowy dome, Point Success to the south, and Liberty Crest to the north.
Our next adventure in the Pacific Northwest was to the monarch of the Cascade Mountain Range--14,410’ Mt. Rainier. It has been called the Great Pyramid of the United States. No other mountain on the continent exceeds Rainier in bulk of rock masses, number of glaciers, (26 active) and extent of its base. Nearly all of Mt. Rainier National Park’s 337 square miles belongs to the mighty mountain. Geologists believe the original peak lost 2,000’ in a volcanic blast, creating a three-mile crater. Three cylinder cones grew together surrounding the crater rim--Columbia Crest the central snowy dome, Point Success to the south, and Liberty Crest to the north.
On a clear day residents of
the greater Seattle-Tacoma area are afforded views of the majestic mountain.
And due to its three summits the mountain takes on a different look depending
on what direction you are viewing it from. It was a beautiful blue sky day when
we took our trek to the national park. We stopped occasionally to snap a photo
or two of the awe inspiring mountain, as it truly was the focus of the day.
On a beautiful day one of our favorite spots to
stop at when driving to the national park is Clear Lake. It is an excellent
spot to shoot photos of the mountain with the lake in the foreground. What a
lovely scenic setting. If you are ever in the area in the late evening when the
water on the lake becomes calm you can get some wonderful reflection photos.
And, just before the sun sets the mountain starts to glow a salmon pink color.
It is pretty awesome! But, we were there during mid-day, and there was lots of
activity on the water. No reflections this time.
As we got up into the park the scotch broom was
in full bloom. It brought back childhood memories for Miss Barb. She recalled
being about 10 years old and making forts under the scotch broom in her yard.
Bear grass was also starting
to bloom. Our first experience with it was at Glacier National Park in Montana
a number of years ago. We had to ask a ranger what the name of it was. When in
full bloom it makes a six to eight inch elongated shaped white ball on a single
heavy stalk. The stalks can get 4 to 5 feet tall. It is quite different and
lovely.
As we got higher up into the
mountains the small creeks appeared to be almost boiling with the torrent of
water coming from the heavy snow pack. Every creek was nothing but white water.
In our eyes this small falls
on Tahoma Creek makes for a nice scenic photo. It was a beautiful day with not
a cloud in the sky. We were like kids in a candy store!
We stopped at a scenic
viewpoint to check it out and came across a group of young adults having a good
time posing for their friends. Since we had our cameras in hand we just couldn’t
resist snapping a photo of them. They were having a great time and just made us
laugh!
We decided to drive to
Sunrise--the highest point you can drive to within the park at an elevation of
6400 feet. In the summer, mountain meadows abound with wildflowers. On clear
days, Sunrise provides breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier and Emmons Glacier and
other volcanoes in the Cascade Range.
As the road climbed towards Sunrise it became quite apparent that there would be no wildflowers in bloom in the alpine meadows this trip. The heavy winter snow pack had barely started to melt. The beautiful day did provide a great view of Mt. Rainier. It looks pretty ominous in this road shot.
As the road climbed towards Sunrise it became quite apparent that there would be no wildflowers in bloom in the alpine meadows this trip. The heavy winter snow pack had barely started to melt. The beautiful day did provide a great view of Mt. Rainier. It looks pretty ominous in this road shot.
To the south looking over this
jagged ridge we could see 12,281’ Mt. Adams in the distance pushing into the
sky. There are so many majestic mountains in the Pacific Northwest. It would
take a lifetime to thoroughly explore them all.
Arriving at Sunrise it was as
we expected. The heavy snow pack loomed. To illustrate the difference from
previous visits we have included two photos of the same general area--both
taken in July. The first is a photo we took on this trip and the second we took
while visiting the park in 2006.
We didn’t stay long at Sunrise
for obvious reasons--tramping around in the snow didn‘t sound like much fun.
Our next stop was at Narada Falls where the Paradise River was smoking down the mountain and then went over a small falls before leveling off briefly. It then went over a ledge and dropped 168 feet. Just above the small falls there is a footpath bridge that takes you to the other side of the river. If you stay on this path it will lead you to the base of the falls.
On a hot summer day it is awesome at the base where a heavy mist keeps you soaked and cool. The mist at the bottom is constantly swirling between the rock walls. We have gone to the base on past trips but found it virtually impossible to get decent photos through the mist, plus we were concerned about getting our cameras drenched. It was getting late in the day so we chose not to take the 10-minute walk down to the base plus another 20 minutes climbing back up the steep trail--bottom line we didn’t want to get wet!
However, should you visit the area and want great photos of the falls we recommend you continue walking further down the trail three to four hundred yards past the base. This way you can get away from the heavy mist and get great photos. Quite often you will be rewarded with a rainbow as the sun’s rays are filtered through the mist.
Here is a shot of the Paradise River flowing down the mountain.
Our next stop was at Narada Falls where the Paradise River was smoking down the mountain and then went over a small falls before leveling off briefly. It then went over a ledge and dropped 168 feet. Just above the small falls there is a footpath bridge that takes you to the other side of the river. If you stay on this path it will lead you to the base of the falls.
On a hot summer day it is awesome at the base where a heavy mist keeps you soaked and cool. The mist at the bottom is constantly swirling between the rock walls. We have gone to the base on past trips but found it virtually impossible to get decent photos through the mist, plus we were concerned about getting our cameras drenched. It was getting late in the day so we chose not to take the 10-minute walk down to the base plus another 20 minutes climbing back up the steep trail--bottom line we didn’t want to get wet!
However, should you visit the area and want great photos of the falls we recommend you continue walking further down the trail three to four hundred yards past the base. This way you can get away from the heavy mist and get great photos. Quite often you will be rewarded with a rainbow as the sun’s rays are filtered through the mist.
Here is a shot of the Paradise River flowing down the mountain.
This photo is of the bridge
and the small upper falls.
And here is where the river
drops over the ledge. You can see a bit of a sundog glowing in the mist near
the wet rocks. There is no way of getting a photo of the falls from this side
of the river--sorry.
Our last stop before leaving
the park was Mt Rainier Lodge. It is situated where you can sit in one of the
many rocking chairs on the front porch, enjoying a hot toddy while watching the
evening sun set on the mountain. What a wonderful way to conclude a day’s visit
to this beautiful park.
It was a great day of
adventure out of the Seattle area. Should your travels put you in this neck of
the woods someday we would highly recommend Mt. Rainier National Park as a
place to visit--you won’t be disappointed.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns