Hiking Mt Rainier Kilted

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Having just recently gotten my first digital camera, like a kid with a new toy, I'll be posting day-by-day photos of my first trip to Washington state & Victoria, B.C. that I returned from, yesterday.

Before leaving on our trip to the Pacific Northwest, I was told by several folks that either live there or have visited frequently that if we were lucky, we'd get a view of Mt Rainier from the Seattle area. Well, as it turned out, we enjoyed 12 days of sunshine with temps in the 70s! My sister told me that if I bring weather like that, I can visit as often as I like.

So, on a fairly rare crystal clear day, here's photos from our visit to this mighty mountain.

My wife & I at the park entrance... we didn't stay there very long because while the log's were on pitch, I didn't like their timber... (groan)



Our first "peak" at the mountain


Our plan was to hike up to Comet Falls, a hike of 1.8 miles in, while climbing 1,400 feet in elevation. As the sign mentions, Comet Falls is 300 feet high.

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My wife, Diane, & I near the start of the trail above the glacier fed stream.


My sister, brother-in-law & I on the first of several bridges over the stream.


View of the stream looking over the edge of the bridge; first downstream, then upstream.

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Various views along the trail...



moss growin' on the pines...


last "bridge" before Comet Falls... or you could say this is where you "log" in...


one of the smaller falls along the way...

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almost there...


various views of Comet Falls...

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succumbing to a challenging climb, I was "berried" on Mt Rainier...


a couple of close-ups of the peak & glaciers (which have REALLY receded a lot!!!) this was a good test of the image-stablization as these zoomed in shots were taken without a tripod




a friendly local resident...


here I tried to "summit" all up...

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Retro Red rocks...


like a rock...


I thought this old service station was a "gas"...


waiting to go to Paradise...

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And finally, this last photo was kind of a stretch, but here's a panorama of Mt Rainier...


Glad you could come along for the tour...

Day 3 will be Mt St Helens...
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[starbkjrus]

Very nice. I love the scenery. More please.....

[pdcorlis]

Looks like you had a great time, you know its hard to imagine just how BIG Mt. Rainier really is. Thanks for the photos!

[HeathBar]

Great pics. I love that part of the country.