Just inside the park entrance at Chinook Pass/ Cayuse Pass, September 20, 2014

Ron and I just got back from a ten-day trip to the state of Washington. We did a lot of sightseeing, including three nights at Paradise Inn — the only hotel in the park, located very close to the visitor center. This was the third time we’d been to Rainier. The first time, there was still a lot of snow on the ground, so we just drove around and had only occasional views of the mountain. The second time, the weather was rainy, there was ice in the parking lots, it was late fall so the visitor center was closed, and except for a brief glimpse, we didn’t see the mountain until we were driving away. But this time the weather was amazing!

The clearest day was the day we arrived. The sky was a stunning blue. But since we arrived late in the day, we didn’t do any hiking. The following day, Sunday, was incredibly hot — hot, at Mount Rainier! — I could hardly believe it. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky until very late in the day, but there was a brown haze, so it wasn’t quite as clear as the previous afternoon. I’m not complaining, though! We were incredibly fortunate.

I was concerned that the weather might turn wet by the next day so, prioritizing what we wanted to see — glaciers! — we set off from the Visitor Center, heading up Skyline Trail. We took the right branch of this loop trail so that we could venture directly to Paradise Glacier Trail. Skyline starts off paved on both branches, but gets a little rougher later on, especially after branching off to the glacier trail. Overall, though, trails were excellent all over, with just a few places suffering erosion. This being a gorgeous weekend, trails were also full of people out to enjoy the day.

We hiked a total of 8.7 miles, getting as high as the ridge alongside Pebble Creek. We didn’t try to hike up any further. If we had, we would have been crossing Nisqually Glacier below Camp Muir. The camp, I believe, is a staging area for those going to the summit.

The worst part of this hike, oddly enough, was the asphalt trail at the base, directly above the visitor center. This is the left branch of the loop trail, and was so incredibly steep that it was painful to descend after a full day of hiking.

Here’s the nicely paved start of the right-hand branch of Skyline Trail:

A typical meadow at Mount Rainier, on a very warm late September. I was surprised how many flowers were still in bloom.

One of those bucket list items has been to visit a glacier. In my mind, I have always thought of glaciers as massive things, huge ice rivers filling up valleys — which of course they can be. But like most places in the world, the glaciers at Rainier have greatly receded over the past decades, and I’m sure some are just gone. This is the remnant of Paradise Glacier. Later on I’ll try to post a comparison shot, taken in what I suspect is the 1920s. It’s a stunning difference.

Despite standing on a glacier, I was hot! This whole day was incredibly hot. I’m dressed in long pants and long shirt to avoid sunburn, not because the air is cold. In the afternoon, Rainier seemed to be trying to brew its own bit of cloud cover right over the summit, but on this day at least, it wasn’t able to affect the weather.

I suspect this little guy has had its picture taken at least a few thousand times. It’s a marmot of course. I was told the marmots at Rainier are “hoary marmots,” named for the silver tips of their fur. This one was whistling over and over with a high-pitched whistle. Notice the teeth and claws! Not entirely cuddly.

Tomorrow, hike #2: the Lakes Trail.

Posted on: Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 2:09 pm
Categories: Hiking, Travel.
Tags: Rainier National Park