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The view of Mt. Rainier from the Paradise parking lot never has failed to
impress me. When we first arrived, it was relatively clear, if a bit cold.
When we were up for Memorial Day weekend,
there was too much snow to even find the trailheads. Now we could find them,
but there was still some snow patches.
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The first stop on the hike is at Edith falls. It's not very far in (maybe
1/2 a mile). It's a relatively small falls, but there's a nice overlook. When
we were there, at the very bottom of the falls was a huge chunk of ice.
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This is also a popular photo stop. Here, Scott and I briefly pose while we
try to balance on the icy rock we're standing on. (not visible here, of course).
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Not to be outdone, a picture of my brother Michael, and his girlfriend
Kristin. She was trying to say something to me as I took the picture, probably
"Wait, don't take it yet!"
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Just after Edith Falls is your first good view of Mt. Rainier from the trail.
The weather can change very rapidly on the mountain. As you can see, the
clouds were already beginning to form. However, the sky was still very blue.
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Here you can see the "trail" we were following. Basically we just followed
where everyone else had walked before us. In the end we decided we were
nowhere close to the trail anymore, and we certainly weren't going to be able
to find our way around the whole trail when the snow was invariably going
to get thicker.
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I was having some real trouble walking in the snow. Either I couldn't get
traction, or my feet would punch through the snow. I ended up following
in my brother's footsteps very literally! Unfortunately, his stride was a bit
bigger than mine, so I'd end up jumping quite a bit. You'll also notice that
his feet are quite a bit bigger than mine as well.
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There were few plants growing, but some crocuses and avalanche lillies had
made their way up through the snow in patches. Here are some of the lillies
growing in places that the hikers had worn into the snow.
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Enough snow had melted that small islands were peaking through. The large
island is where we ended up turning around, after pausing a bit to catch our
breath of course. I really want to do this trail again to see what these
islands correspond to on the trail. I think at this point we'd very much
missed the trail.
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The second island had a cool rock formation that I felt like taking a picture
of. So I did.
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This is the large island that we rested on. My brother is up top taking
pictures. When I got up top, it turned out he was taking pictures of Kristin,
hidden behind the trees. His idea of scenery is obviously different than
mine.
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These LOOK like asparagus gone wild but I really have no idea what they are.
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I'm surprised that these yellowjacket critters could live because it was so
cold. However, I guess pollenation must happen no matter what the temperature.
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Just before we left, I took this picture of the paradise inn. While it's
a boring shot, it brings it into context when you compare it to the same shot I
took just a few months previously.
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Narada falls is a stop I always have to make on the way back down the mountain.
This time, it wasn't so snowed in, that we could hike down and get a good
look at the falls. The falls were full enough that they were kicking up
enough mist to cover us almost instantly in water. It was also creating a
very cold breeze. We didn't stay down there for very long, just long enough
to snap these pictures and retreat. Also, I have a picture of Narada Falls
during a much
drier season.
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A panorama of the view of the Cascades just past Edith Falls. Click on the
panorama for a larger version of it. You can also view the
original huge version (hope you
have lots of bandwidth).
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