Sunday, August 28, 2016

Mt Rainier

Day 144 - August 27
Mile: 2394.8 to 2323.5 (18.7)
up/down: 4400/3100 feet

As we continue north through the Cascades the mountains and views just get better. Today was all about Mt Rainier.

We left camp with some clouds already forming and a bit of breeze. Both would dog us all day but it didn't rain. After dropping down to Bumping River we started a serious climb to the outskirts of Mt Rainier National Park. We would only walk the far eastern edge of the park but that was good enough.  As we walked the ridge for several miles we had stunning views of the big glacier covered volcano. Our first view was the best with no clouds on the summit and incredible lenticular clouds above. 

 
 
More views were seen as we moved along but now the clouds obscured the top. 

 

 
We dropped into the basin with Dewey Lake, a beauty with size and backdrop. From there it was a steep climb out and down to the highway and Chinook Pass. This is the road entrance to the park from Yakima and connects to Seattle. Add in the trailhead and a Saturday afternoon in August and you can imagine we were drowned in a sea of humanity. 

 
 
 
Two miles beyond the road is the small Sheep Lake. With a 8 mile waterless stretch after that we thought of pulling in at the lake early and calling it. Silly us. So close to the road there were literally dozens of people there and many tents lining the shore. What a zoo. We gathered water and trudged up the hill for another half mile until we found a flat spot. Done. 

7 comments:

  1. There are no words to describe seeing Mt. Rainier with those clouds!!
    Seeing your photos of this area really adds so much to the Google maps views. More stunning, of course and more depth. Is Hummingbird more confident on those stream crossings?

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    1. When the worst thing that could happen is wet shoes she's very confident!

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  2. So glad I was able to catch up with your adventure. I'm glad your shoes finally caught up with you 🏃🏻

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  3. Rainier is a magical place. I am looking forward to your impression of North Cascades, since I saw so little. The avalanche and glacier lilies should be in bloom. Just magic there.

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  4. That is the most incredible lenticular I've ever seen...

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  5. Gorgeous photos. The stream still looks scary. Go Hummingbird!

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  6. Gorgeous photos. The stream still looks scary. Go Hummingbird!

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