Mt. Rainier

Leslie had a day off in the middle of last week and the sun was shining, so we decided to drive to Mount Rainier for the day. Looking back at some of the shots I was amazed at how different Mount Rainier looks from different angles, even when they are all taken from the southern side of the mountain.

For instance, here’s a shot from the Nisqually River, showing how wide the river sometimes gets during Spring flooding.

Rainier from Nisqually River

There are many pull-outs on the way to Paradise where you can get long shots of the mountain.

Mt. Rainier

This shot from Alta Vista above the visitor’s center shows the mountain rising above us,

Mt. Rainier

but when we climbed to Panorama Point, 6800 feet, the mountain didn’t seem quite as high, though my huffing and puffing indicated otherwise.

Rainier and Nisqually Glacier

The Nisqually Glacier trailing to the south somehow made the mountain seem less high than it really was.

All you need to do to re-establish how high you really are is to turn around, look to the south

Looking South from Paradise

and realize that even at this height you’re higher than almost all the mountains in the Cascades

Coming off the mountain, looking down at the Nisqually River where you began your climb brings the day full circle.

Nisqually River in the Distance

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