Category: Mt. Rainier

Continuing our Thursday on The Mountain Schedule, Leslie, Paul and I explored a new area of Mount Rainier, the Emmons Moraine Trail.  Personally, I was a little skeptical about the hike because I didn’t think it was high enough to get the kind of views that we usually get.  Turns out, perhaps for the first time in my life, that I was wrong.  

Most of the hike took place in old-growth forest while following the White River up to its source, so it was relatively cool, a good thing because the combination of heat and altitude gain have been challenging for me lately, particularly heat. 

Luckily, the trail was criss-crossed by multiple creeks which added to the beauty of the hike while reinforcing the air-conditioning. 

There were parts of the trail that weren’t forested that seemed considerably warmer, but we hardly noticed the change in heat because of the beautiful views 

and, especially, the flowers that carpeted the small meadows like this Lewis Monkeyflower 

or, a personal favorite, Indian Paintbrush.

Sometimes if you looked up in a clearing you could see the cliffs that the Wonderland Trail follow. 

After two miles we finally arrived where you crossed the White River.  It turned out to be too narrow for Leslie, and I will have to admit that I was a little apprehensive in two or three spots on the climb up to the trees.   

We decided to go to the base camp instead, which would have made it a 6 mile round trip. Less than a mile up the trail, though, I decided that was enough for me.  My hip was beginning to tighten up, and I was showing the effects of this week’s heat and a lack of sleep and decided that discretion was better than exhaustion.  We ended up only going 4.2 miles with 935 feet of elevation gain.  

Despite not making it as far as I would have liked, it was a delightful hike. The trail is well-maintained, probably because it starts on the edge of the only campground on the North side of the mountain. Though we met people both going up and coming down the trail, it never seemed crowded, and it definitely felt like you were in the wilderness while hiking.

I’m still working on the Colorado/Utah photos, but I took a break from the computer and the three amigos went for a hike on Mt. Rainier.  We originally hoped to hike to Comet Falls, but once again the parking lot was full by the time we got there.  Luckily, we already had an alternate plan in place: hike from Cougar Campground to Narada Falls.  It’s a familiar hike, having done it for four or five years in a row. It’s also a challenge this early in the season, nearly seven miles roundtrip with 1,700 feet elevation gain.  The trail either follows or parallels Paradise River, making for scenic breaks and cooler temperatures on a warm day.

The hike starts by crossing the Nisqually River, which offers spectacular views of Mt. Rainier.

Although  most of the hike takes place in heavily forested areas, you can still catch glimpses of surrounding peaks.

Thank goodness the trail doesn’t try to ascend those peaks, though at times the ascent seems to suggest otherwise.  

Much of the time I’m focusing on the trail trying to avoid tripping on rocks and tree roots, but occasionally I look up and am reminded of the powerful forces that have created this wilderness

or the fragile beauty that finds its own place amidst these forces.

Though I enjoy the quiet of these dense forests, the sound of rushing water seems almost more calming.

 

At 1.5 miles you reach Carter Falls, the point where most hikers turn around, 

but if you go a little further you run into another falls which is almost as impressive. 

If you’re willing to push on another one and half miles, you leave the crowds behind and can visit the even more impressive Narada Falls at the end of the rainbow.

It feels like a major accomplishment to reach the falls, but seeing the hordes of visitors who have driven right up to the falls takes something away from the experience of walking three miles to see it.  

Although I have hundreds of photos I need to process from our trip to Montana, we spent yesterday hiking on Mt. Rainier.  Though our original intent was to hike around Reflection Lake, we changed our mind when we saw how much snow was still on the ground.  Instead, we drove back down the mountain and hiked the Rampart Trail out of Longmire, a hike we have done several times in the last few years.   

All Trails calls it a Moderate hike, but it was a challenging hike for us this early in the year, covering a little over 5 miles and 1,400 feet of elevation gain. We traveled the loop counter clockwise, which spreads the altitude gain over three miles, instead of just two miles if you go clockwise. Luckily, the beauty of the old-growth forest distracted from how breathless I felt despite spending a week at higher altitudes in Colorado last week.  We crisscrossed this little stream most of the way up.

Although most of the climb is spent in heavy forests, because this is an Old-Growth Forest there are small meadows where ancient trees have fallen and cleared space for flowers like this Bear Grass

and views of even more rugged peaks across the valley.  

The highlight of the hike, though, is the view of Mt. Rainier —

unless you are a birder and are pleased by the company of Canadian Jays (aka, Robber Jays) during your break before the long trek down the trail.   

Descending the mountain went much quicker than the ascent, but this early in the hiking season my knees seemed to actually tolerate the ascent better than the descent.  I was certainly glad that I had my hiking poles to take some of the pressure off my knees.

I managed to get nearly three hours of aerobic exercise on the hike, whereas I’m lucky to get a half hour of aerobic exercise while at the YMCA. No wonder I’m always in much better shape at the end of summer than I am at any other time during the year.

Mt. Rainier is famous for its flowers and we took our previous hike at the peak period, but I got inspired to return in late Summer/early Fall when I looked up the trail on the Mt. Rainier National Park site.  When I saw pictures of the Fall foliage, I knew I wanted to return.

We definitely weren’t disappointed when we did so. 

For the first half of our walk, we were immersed in brilliant Fall colors.

The second half of the hike was quite different but equally impressive. 

There’s no way to convey the magnificent mountain through photographs, but the barely visible people in the lower, right-hand corner suggest just how massive it truly is.

This was our longest hike of the season, and by the time we got to our destination on the Overlook, it was hard to see the parking lot far below.

Tired or not, it was hard not to feel you were at the top of the world looking down on the rest of the Cascades.  

My knees were definitely barking by the time we arrived back at the meadows, but it was impossible to complain surrounded by such beauty.

Although this wasn’t our last hike of the season, or even the last hike on Mt. Rainier, it seemed like the climax of the season.