An October day in Mt Rainier National Park

The photos in this post were originally going to be part of my last post, Love is in the Mt Rainier Air. However, since that post was all about love, and this one includes tracking bears, sore feet, and hiking at night, I figured a separate post might prove to be more fitting.

The Pre-Hike Hike

It was sometime before sunrise I started up the trail to scout the current conditions. I was to meet engaged couple Call and Nat for this hike and photo shoot later in the morning but calculated that I had enough time to make it to the summit and get back into town with some time to spare.

And, of course, if given the chance to do a sunrise hike any where near this area, I’m gonna take it!

Snowmelt water running down the trail in places

Mount Rainier and it’s child peak Little Tahoma on right

Tracks that appeared to be a mother bear and cub or two.

Having come across these bear tracks which looked to be at least a day old, I thought it a good idea to keep eyes peeled and see that there wasn’t a family of bears hanging around our hike destination. For a short distance I attempted to track the tracks, but with snow patches only in places, I soon lost track and decided to move along (cautiously, that is).

Not too long after I ditched the idea of tracking the family of bears I found a small tarn, or pond, that had just barely frozen over about 80 yards away. This flat area on the side of the mountain also had a little more vegetation variety… I could see why larger animals could be attracted to this spot. I could also see a pretty cool photograph opportunity. With the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, I slowly approached the frozen tarn and took a some photos.

Running a little behind schedule I went up to the summit, took a couple photos and had to force myself to leave this summit’s amazing view to soak in for another day.

Here’s the 360 view

Post-Hike Hike

Fast forward to later in the afternoon, I had finished the mountain portrait experience with Call and Nat and now had a free evening in Mt Rainier National Park! I decided to head up the Skyline trail to see how far I could get with the remaining daylight. I took a little time to eat and stretch the legs. By the time I started it was 4:40pm with just an hour and a half until sunset.

After walking up past the Paradise parking area with literally a hundred people taking photos and finishing hikes, I looked up the mountain and the first thing I was greeted with was this rainbow.

Not many happier things to hike towards than a rainbow

Looking south with The Castle, Pinnacle, and Plummer peaks center between the clouds. That’s where I hiked up to watch sunrise this morning.

Quite a few people heading down on the Skyline trail

Lower end of the Nisqually glacier. Snowmelt waterfall center frame leading into the Nisqually River.

An October snowman is sporting a disposable surgical mask.

The national park’s very well maintained trails covered in snow.

My destination ended as McClure Rock up to 7400’, but I was in the clouds without a view of anything worth taking a picture of. I changed into my mountaineering boots in prep for a snow stomping descent.