Category: Mt. Rainier

Kylan joined us on our second Mt. Rainier jaunt, but he was so far ahead most of the time that I only got this shot of him, Paul, and Leslie when we discovered we were heading in the wrong direction, which wasn’t all bad because it led to a pretty viewpoint and added a mile to our hike.

We try to explore new trails while also pushing ourselves a little harder on each hike.  The Sheep Lake trail is an easy to moderate hike that wasn’t supposed to be as crowded as other hikes we’ve been on recently, but the parking lot was nearly full and there was a large group of youngsters the day we visited.  

Despite the grey skies, it was warmer on the east side of the mountains, which the flowers seemed to appreciate more than I did.  There were lots of flowers like these deep red paintbrush

and this exquisite yellow flower.

We had lunch on the far side of the Sheep Lake but still couldn’t avoid the noise from the kids squealing while swimming in what must have been an extremely cold lake.

Apparently, the Gray Jays preferred our company to the rambunctious kids since they dropped by just as we were finishing lunch.

We talked about climbing to the top of a ridge further on the trail,

but it was a cloudy day and a long way to the top, so we thought it would be wiser to save that hike when we were in a little better shape and we could get a better view of Mt. Rainier when we reached the pass.  

Instead, we settled for a walk back down the flower-covered ridge,

immersed in a different kind of beauty.

Despite the lack of postings, we have been hiking on Mt. Rainier the last three or four weeks, though we didn’t actually see the mountain until last week.  Our first hike was one of the last ones we took last year, the High Lakes Trail.  The highlight of the day was fields covered by Avalanche Lilies, far more than we have seen in previous years.  I suspect that is because we also saw more snow than we’ve seen in previous years.  It’s almost as if the lilies were trying to replace the snowfields that were just melting.

Although it was the sheer number of Avalanche Lilies that most impressed us, the photographer in me couldn’t figure out how to convey that in a single shot, so, as usual, I went for a closer shot, 

and an even closer shot, one that shows a surprisingly delicate beauty but seems to thrive in an unforgiving environment. 

We were also greeted by a personal favorite — (Indian) Paintbrush.

I was a little surprised/disappointed that the Canada Jays didn’t join us for lunch but I was thrilled to spot a seldom-seen Sooty Grouse with several chicks that had apparently mastered camouflage because they didn’t actually show up on any of the many shots I took.

My favorite shot of the day was actually taken after we had finished the hike and had stopped for a bathroom break at Narada Falls.  Right in front of the only parking spot left in the lot were these beautiful Tiger Lilies,

the perfect way to end a nearly perfect day.

Although our weekly trip to Mt. Rainier ended this week because of dense smoke from numerous wildfires, we did manage to walk another piece of the Wonderland Trail by walking from Reflection Lake to Lake Louise last. week.  Unfortunately, my Sony camera suffered a malfunction at the beginning of the hike, and I had to resort to my iPhone 11 to take pictures.  

We had actually spotted Lake Louise on our Reflection Lake hike last year but had never visited it.  It’s a rather short hike from Reflection Lake, all downhill, except for the climb back to Reflection Lake.

It was the perfect hike for a hot day descending through a dense forest and crossing several creeks that feed the lake.

From the lake we could see the overlook where we headed next; it’s a lot higher than it looks in the picture.

This shot from the Overlook gives a much more accurate depiction of how far we climbed from Lake Louise.

Luckily, we reached the high point of our hike by noon and could enjoy the lush meadows that make up the High Lakes Trail.