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Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano located 54 miles southeast of Seattle. It is the highest peak in the Cascade Range, reaching more than 2.7 miles above sea level. The mountain and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Rainier National Park.
With 26 major glaciers, Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states with 35 square miles of permanent snowfields and glaciers. The summit is topped by two volcanic craters, each over 1,000 feet in diameter. Geothermal heat from the volcano keeps areas of both crater rims free of snow and ice, and has formed an extensive network of glacier caves within the ice-filled craters. A small crater lake, the highest in North America, occupies the lowest portion of the west crater below more than 160 feet of ice and is accessible only via the caves.
Impressive technical information. But the mountain itself is a sight to behold. Here's a view of the mountain seen from just outside Seattle on the Puget Sound lowlands.
An inspiring view but also a reminder of an ever present danger. These fertile farming valleys were flooded with rich volcanic soil and debris from previous eruptions of Mount Rainier, most notably by the Osceola Mudflow of 10,000 years ago. The present communities face the risk of being buried by volcanic mudflows (lahars) from the next eruption!
The drive to Mount Rainier was interesting. As we made our way east on US-12, we came across a farmstand at Mary's Corner where we indulged in some fresh Bing and, of course, Rainier cherries. Yum yum! A little further on, we visited the Mossyrock Trout Hatchery on Mayfield Lake. The hatchery is run by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and used for hatching local Rainbow Trout for release back into nearby lakes and rivers.
After a Subway lunch and grocery stop at Morton, we came to the little town of Elbe where we stopped at Ex Nihilo, a lovely sculpture garden set on 9 acres of meadow and forest.
Oh, no! It's Shelob!
Onwards through Ashford where we were to stay the night, we saw some llamas lolling around by the roadside - probably pets and also used as pack animals for extended hiking/climbing expeditions. We then entered the Mount Rainier National Park proper through the Nisqually Entrance at the south western corner of the park.
Approximately 58 percent of the park is forested and about 35% lies under permanent snow and ice. Forest ages range from less than 100 years old on burned areas and moraines left by receding glaciers, to old-growth stands of 1,000 or more years. Some alpine heather communities have persisted in the park for up to 10,000 years!
At Longmire, the first stop in the park, we hiked on the Trail of the Shadows with beautiful views of Mt. Rainier over Longmire Meadows.
We passed by a beaver dam in the river, an old log cabin, plenty of bridges across small streams, old stone cisterns where guests of the Longmires long ago would soak in the medicinal waters, and a travertine mound, bubbling and oozing minerals. Much of the trail passed through forests of old-growth Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock. Here's a photo of Cassie holding a Douglas fir cone next to the tiny cone of the Western hemlock.
The children signed up for the Junior Ranger program and were enthusiastically doing the Ranger activities along the way. They would later be sworn in as official Junior Rangers when we got to Paradise, further up the mountain.
All along the lower mountain, there are fantastic burst of colors in fields of brilliant paintbrush, anemones, and gentians.
Onward ho to Paradise! We stopped at a vista point for Nisqually Glacier. The Nisqually Glacier is one of the larger glaciers on the southern face of Mount Rainier. See the valley carved out by the glacier in the Ice Age? Lots of moraine (a mixture of rock, gravel and boulders) all over the glacial valley floor.
Wonderful vistas looking downstream along the glacial flow.
How high up are we, I wonder?
From Paradise, the panoramic views of the ice-capped mountain peak, fields of glaciers, dense evergreen forests and meadows are breathtaking.
According to the National Park Service, Paradise is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly. "1,122 inches of snow fell during the winter of 1971-1972, setting a world record for that year. It also holds the Cascade Range record for most snow on the ground with 367 inches on March 10, 1956".
One of many snowball fights in Paradise :-)
With all that snow and ice, it's no wonder the whole park is littered with lovely waterfalls falling off sheer rock faces. Here are a few we visited.
Christine Falls:
An unnamed but beautiful waterfall right beside the road:
Narada Falls. This was an interesting one because the trail to the falls viewpoint was snowed up but we managed to slip and slide our way down to see it.
The weather was pretty hot (mid 80's) so we stopped at Ashford for burgers and ice-cream. The huckleberry ice cream was delicious and the kids even got to do their own summit climb free of charge.
Two lovely days in the shadow of Mount Rainier. Now it's time to find the exit and move on to Seattle. Just follow the sign!
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