Mt. Rainier from the east. |
The luminous peak
of Mt.
Rainier is omnipresent in central Washington ,
visible near Olympia , looming in the east from Seattle , and touching the western horizon from the edge of
the desert of central Washington .
At over 14,400 feet, it is the highest member of the Cascade
Range and dwarfs the nearby mountains.
For my second visit to Mt. Rainier National Park ,
we camped for two nights at Ohanapecosh, a low elevation campsite in the
southeast corner of the park. The afternoon we arrived we detoured to a short
trail starting at the White River campsite on the road to Sunrise . A trail ascended from dense forest
near the campsite and followed the frigid turbulent water of the White River . The Emmons Moraine Trial branched towards
the south, crossing the White River with a
narrow footbridge constructed of a single log. The water jumbled over boulders
in such a rush that spray danced into the air. Across the river the trail
continued upward along a ridge that overlooked the terminus of Emmons Glacier
and its moraine. This valley to the south was barren higher up (perhaps old
ground the glacier used to occupy), forested with short trees farther down, and
adorned with a beautiful turquoise lake farther still. The lake wasn’t on any
map I had seen of the park. I learned that Emmons Glacier is the largest
glacier in the lower 48 states.
Left: Unnamed alpine lake near the White River. Right: White River and Emmons Glacier. |
On the south slopes of Rainier
lies Paradise , a popular stopping point and
gateway to the snowy alpine. On the second morning I set out with my two oldest
to wander up the slopes of Paradise looking
for wildflowers. Most of the Skyline Trail area was still under snow. In street
shoes, we were not well prepared, but we hiked on the firm snow anyway, gaining
enough elevation to have excellent views of Mt.
Saint Helens and Mt. Adams
to the south.
Glacier (Nisqually Glacier I believe) on the south slope of Mt. Rainier visible from Paradise. |
When we started the hike most of the
bright slopes of Rainier were still visible,
framed by a deep blue sky. A few clouds tightly hugged the mountain near the
summit, wisping off the east side of the peak. A large patch of grayish white
clouds quickly moved in and obscured the top of the mountain. Nisqually
Glacier, when it was visible, was a ribbon of ice streaming downslope from near
the summit, cracked and shining aquamarine light in places.
Up to an elevation a little above
the visitor’s center there were meadows of yellow alpine lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum) and white
avalanche lilies (E. montanum), each
species generally clustering together with its own. At somewhat higher
elevations however, the main flowering species changed to Trollius laxus (American globeflower), paintbrushes, and pink-flowered
alpine shrubs where snow was not covering the ground. Chipmunks scurried about;
marmots foraged more casually, largely ignoring hikers crisscrossing the snow
trying to follow some semblance of trails. Lines of backpackers with ice axes,
helmets, and better footware streamed by us headed for the pure white drifts of
snow and ice above.
References
Turner M, Gustafson P. 2006.
Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest . Timber
Press, Portland , OR .
Cascade Range peaks visible from the southern slope of Mt. Rainier. Left: Mt. Adams. Right: Mt. Saint Helens. |
Paradise mammals. Left: Marmot. Right: Chipmunk bounding across a snowfield. |
Firs on the slopes at Paradise. |
American globeflower. |
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