This past weekend Nick and I took our last camping trip of the season. This was our second trip to the Sunrise side of Mount Rainier, our third trip to the mountain overall.
Mount Rainier and First Burroughs Mountain
Every time I see the mountain up close I am amazed beyond words. When you first enter the park all you really see is the road and the tall evergreens around you. Once you get through the gate you start driving up the twisty mountain road. The road is shallow at first, but starts to get steeper, and then, all of the sudden, you turn on one of the switch-backs and boom, there it is – the huge snow covered summit of Mount Rainier, sticking so high into the sky that you don’t see any of the other surrounding mountains, and you wonder how on earth you didn’t see it before now because it is so close to you!
On Saturday we hiked to the top of First Burroughs Mountain which gave us an even closer view of the top of Rainier. The hike up First Burroughs was very windy and part of the climb was on narrow rocky paths. I was thankful for my hiking books because the last time we hiked through a rocky field that looks more like the surface of the moon than a lush evergreen forest I was wearing running shoes.
After our hike we returned to the camp site for dinner and an early bedtime. Temperatures dipped into the 40′s and I was thankful for the beautiful fire Nick started. We were up before the sun packing up the campsite and driving up the road to get a view of the mountain at sunrise. The view of the mountain in the warm morning sunlight was certainly worth getting up in the pitch black darkness and tripping over a tree root that I did not see. We took some photos, but mostly sat together admiring the view while enjoying our homemade oatmeal muffins and hot coffee.
Sunrise at Mount Rainier
Perfectly timed with our trip to Mount Rainier is a series on PBS about national parks. It is airing this week on PBS, but it is also available on the PBS website through October 9th. I have watched the first two episodes, and can’t wait to see the rest. The personal stories and history are facinating, and the cinematography is breathtaking. I highly recommend you check it out here: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/watch-video/#872
Until next year, Mountain, I can hardly wait to see you again.
