The Glory of Mt. Rainier

We were up early and headed to Mt. Rainier National Park by 7:00 am.  Being the weekend and a beautiful day, we expected the park to be crowded and trying to park the 34ft RV is no simple task.  We enjoyed the ride through the park reaching Paradise Visitor center.  Here we saw many hikers gearing up with spikes, ax and helment in hand for their ascent up the 14,410 foot summit.  A "base camp" exists at 9510 feet to help hikers adjust to the altitude.  We are fortunate to have a clear warm day to enjoy this mountain, as we understand it is mostly under cloud cover all year. Hiking poles

in hand, we were ready for our hike.  The trails here range from one mile to the 93 mile Wonderland Trail.  We decided to do the skyline loop and glacier trail.  A strenous 7 mile hike above treeline.  About 15 minutes into our hike, Guy spots a small bear feeding on flowers in the meadow.

 

Although I have seen many bear in the wild, this was the first on a hiking trail.  We were in a popular part of the park, but it was early and not many hikers had hit the trails yet.  Guy was excited to take pictures, but I kept reminding him that this is a small bear and I am SURE mama is not far off.  He snapped a few pictures and then tried to catch up with me on the trail as I had "high tailed" it.  Apparently, we were very lucky to spot a bear as they are pretty elusive around this area.  We contined to hike upwards taking in all the gorgeous....and I mean gorgeous scenery!  The meadows are alive with flowers and exotic plant life.

----This strange flower reminds me of something out of Dr. Suess' "The Lorax"

----And these beautiful daisy seem to be smiling

The sweet fragarance of Lupine and Clover fill the senses.

We contined our hike but seemed to stop every 5 minutes for a photo as the scenery contined to be expansive and beautiful.  Climbing above tree line, we exchanged the meadows of flowers for glaciers and snow!  

We even encountered hikers with ski's on their back.  Imagine....skiing in August!

Of course, my Florida boy was quick to make a snow angel :)

and climb through tunnels of snow!

The hike was intense in the high altitude and piercing sun as it reflected off the snow.

I never thought the back of my knees could get sun-burnt.  But it was all worth it as the vista views were stunning.  This is truly the prettiest hike we have done....and we have done a lot of hikes!

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As they say...."a picture is worth a thousand words"  We took over 200 photos and here are a few....

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We only climbed 7200 feet of the 14,000.  To summit this mountain and its glaciers requires a pick ax, spikes, rope, etc....and only half attempted, succeed.  Apparently, this active volcano spits steam from its summit thereby melting the snow and exposing rock.  The mountain is also known for its massive glaciers and deep crevasses.  Suffice it to say, we were comfortable at 7200 feet enjoying the view and taking it all in.  Of course, the only way to get down the mountain is to Butt Sled!!

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And of course....with all that snow brings beautiful waterfalls.

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I will always remember Mt. Rainier and her beautiful landscapes.  We had an awesome hike and took in some of the most fabulous views my eyes have ever seen.  After our hike we went into the visitor center for lunch and a viewing of the movie explaining in detail the history of this mountain.  It was a beautiful day!  Back in the RV, we left the park through the East entrance to get an entire feel for the park as we headed towards our next destination....Seattle!!