We scheduled six nights for Mt Rainier, which seemed like a
good idea at the time. Yesterday when it was still rainy we started wondering
if it really was a good idea after all.
But today was the reward: after four nights here, we woke up to clear
blue skies and a view of the summit!
Some of Skyline trail was closed
due to snow, but Panorama Point and Camp
Muir were accessible via
Deadhorse Creek trail and upper Skyline trail. There aren’t enough superlatives
to describe the panoramic views. One
could see the glacier-capped summit,
Mt St Helens,
Mt Adams,
and alpine meadows. If you look very closely in this next picture
you might be able to see the Visitor
Center and Paradise Inn
way below in the picture.
Starting at about 5400ft, we
climbed to near Panorama Point (6800ft).
Then Bill continued climbing to 8200ft on the Muir Camp trail, then
veering off to a ridge for a spectacular lunch spot. The trail above Pebble Creek is an uphill
snowfield climb where you can hear the frequent crack of ice moving higher on
the mountain and see an occasional plume of snow caused by falling ice. The
first picture is from the ridge looking back at the visitor center and the
second picture is looking across the snowfield to some of the many backpacking
teams headed to Muir Camp for the night on their way to the summit. 10,000 hikers attempt to summit it annually.
By afternoon, a cloud clung to the
west side of the mountain top, so we are so glad we hiked when we did. Tomorrow
the weather is predicted to be good and we hope to see the Sunrise area of the park.
