Matt July 17, Mt. Rainier National Park

Today we drove the jeep to Mt Rainier National Park. First we hiked the Carter Falls, but we didn’t hike full trail. In order to get to the trail we had cross a brige going over the water. After we hiked some of the trail and went back to the jeep.

Next we hiked the Narada Falls trail. It lead to a waterfall. After that we drove to the Jackson Visitor Center. There, we asked about information and we saw a ranger talk. The ranger talk was about the 2006 flood. The flood took out a brige and roads. The talk was done by ranger Ian. After the talk we hiked the alta Vista trail. We saw some of Mt. Rainier, but some of it was covered in clouds. We also saw medows and the skyline trail.

Soon it was time to go on our way back to the RV people were pulled over on the side of the road. We got out and saw what they were looking at. There were two black bear cubs and one mom. We watched them for awhile and then we drove to the RV.

Leah July 17, Beauteous but Strenuous

We explored Mount Rianier today. While we were exploring we went on a trail. It was called Carter falls. We didn’t hike the whole trail. It was to long to fo without water, We had to go across a funky bridge in order to get across the river. When we got across I went on some logs that were sticking out over the river. It was really scary because the logs were wobbly, I didn’t die though. When I got off the logs we went up the trail until we got to a point where we turned around. We walked around logs so this time Matt went on the logs.

When we got back to the car we drove to Narada Falls, We drove past a place where glaciers are in the winter. When we got to Narada Falls we hiked until we could see Narada falls. It was very pretty. We hiked back to the car and drove to Paridise.

The visitors center was the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center. It was huge. It had a cafe, a gift shop, a loot out point, and exibit. We were there for a long time. We listened to a ranger talk about the floods of 2006. After that we got some hot chocolate from the café.

Then we went on the Alta Vista Trail. It wasn’t very long but it was hard. It was switch backs all uphill. We got to the top after a long time. It was a lot faster going down because there was a pile of snow at the bottom. I got really wet in the snow. When we got back to the car we started to drive back to the motorhome.

On our way there we saw people looking at something. So we pulled over and asked what they saw. They said that they saw a bear and 2 cubs. We pulled over and watched them. After we couldn’t see them any more we drove back to the motor home. When we got back we put in Batman. When Batman was over we had a campfire and roasted marshmellows. When it got to be 10 we put the fire went inside the R.V., made the beds, and went to sleep.

Craig July 17, Big Mountain

With our campground about a mile from the Mt. Rainier NP, it was nice not having a long ride just get in. We asked the ranger at the entry gate for info, but she was really just a ticket taker and told us what we already knew, hit the visitors center. So with a map in hand we headed up the road to Longmire, just a few minutes up the road.

When arrived at Longmire we went into the general store first as we did not immediately see the visitors center. On our way out, we ran into a Park Ranger and inquired about it. He said, “it is in the museum, I am the ranger there and I am on my lunch break for the next half hour. Being the quick study I am, I asked if it was then, in fact closed. He said yes very sternly. I bid him …Ahem…(rhymes with adieu). All right, enough for me! We have a map in the car, lets hit the next Visitors Center up at Paradise. We will check out the museum tomorrow.


We stopped for a quick hike to Carter Falls which was indicated on our map. We wanted to get out and get a taste of the park. We had to cross a heavily scoured river bottom to reach the trail on the other side. It was clear that the river had recently run very high and widened itself dramatically. We danced over the basketball sized rocks and crossed a makeshift bridge over some swiftly running water. 100’ long toothpicks were strewn about everywhere. Similar to the trees washed up by the surf on the beaches in Olympic NP, much of the bark had been removed and their once long flexible branches had been reduced to small rounded bumps on their sides.



Last November the park received over 18” of rain in less than 24 hours. That is not a highly unusual amount of rain, but it was exacerbated by the already heavy snowpack on much of the mountain. The warm storm and all its rain, melted huge amounts of snow and brought it cascading down the mountain. The entire park has been hit hard by this storm. Roads at all four corners of the park were washed out. Many have not reopened including the main and only path through the center of the park. This route is not expected to reopen for up to 3 years.

We finished crossing the river bottom and went partially up the trail to the falls. We really hadn’t paid attention to the mileage to reach the falls and turned back without traveling very far. We hadn’t had much activity the past two days and just wanted a quick stretch. So we headed back to the jeep anxious to see more of the mountain.

The road wound its way higher until we reached the Jackson Visitors Center at Paradise, altitude 5400’. When we entered the park, we were only about 1000-1500’ above sea level. The top of Mt. Rainier is over 14,000’. The tree line here is only slightly higher than the visitors center. This gives you an unobstructed view (weather permitting) of about 9000’ of mountain. The deep blue glow of the many different glaciers, hanging curiously above the verdant green sub alpine meadows, beckoned futher investigation. We found a helpful ranger and planned some hikes to bring us closer to this beauty.


The mountain creates its own weather. This can be problematic in trying to view it. While we hiked the Skyline and Alta Vista trails, we were alternately in the sun and then in the clouds. Most of the time, somewhere in between, where we could see 5000-6000’ above us.


Along the route wildflowers were abundant. Vibrant hues of crimson, yellow and lavender waved in the light breezes playing across these lush green pastures. Small dark silhouettes could be seen against the snow fields high above us, as climbers ascended toward their various destinations. All around, life giving water cascaded off of the mountain. Some in small rivulets others in roaring 100’ shear drops. Below us we could see rivers growing in size as they all joined together, vainly attempting to fill the recently widened beds. The movement of the clouds that created them, slowly consuming the valleys as they roll up the mountain side, only to deposit them back again as they pass. All of this gave us pause, even the kids, as we sat on a rock outcropping, admiring it all.


Back at the Jeep, we jumped in and headed out. We followed the one way Valley Rd. away from Paradise. Along the way we encountered a group of to the side taking pictures. Nothing draws a crowd in a National Park like and animal sighting and that’s what this was. A black mother bear and her two cubs, frolicking in one of the deep green fields. We watched until they moved behind some trees, grateful to have had the opportunity.


We worked our way back to the park entrance where we posed for our now obligatory park sign photo. I have gotten good with the self timer function on the camer, using the jeep as a tripod. This one was a little different as the sign is high up above the road instead of next to it. I was repositioning the jeep trying to figure out a way to make it work when an older gent popped and volunteered to take it for us. It is a little unnerving standing in the middle of the street with a blind corner behind you. But hey, anything for a good photo to keep our blog readers happy, right?