At Sunrise for the Sunrise: Road Trip to Mount Rainier
September 19, 2016
We continued our exploration of national parks with a road trip to Mount Rainier. We had to hit the road at 4:30 a.m. in order to arrive at Sunrise for the sunrise at 6:50 a.m. Our timing was perfect, and we pulled into the Sunrise viewpoint with two minutes to spare!
We breakfasted with a picnic in the brisk, clear air — hard-boiled eggs, small tomatoes, pre-cooked bacon, cheese slices, rice crackers, mango juice. Snow-capped Mount Rainier loomed over our picnic table. Then we drove to the Naches Peak Loop Trailhead where we stepped out for an early morning hike.
“I could walk forever with beauty. Our steps are not measured in miles but in the amount of time we are pulled forward by awe.”
— Terry Tempest Williams, The Hour of Land
Here are some photos from the trail:
And finally, we ended our visit to Mount Rainier with a gondola ride up Crystal Mountain where we had lunch at the Summit Restaurant. We sat on the outside patio in the blazing sun so that we could enjoy the view.
Our visit to Mount Rainier National Park was about as perfect as we could have wished.
A Cathedral of Anticipation
September 15, 2014
“But a summer morning when the sky first glows is a cathedral of anticipation.”
— Verlyn Klinkenborg, The Rural Life
Early morning departure. Driving in the dark. Arriving at Sunrise Point on Mount Rainier just in time to watch the sun rise over the Cascade Mountains. Clear skies at dawn. It’s worth sacrificing sleep to experience this glory even without the drama of illuminated clouds.
Off Trail
April 28, 2014
National Poetry Month. 28
Off the Trail
by Gary Snyder
We are free to find our own way
Over rocks — through the trees —
Where there are no trails. The ridge and the forest
Present themselves to our eyes and feet
Which decide for themselves
In their old learned wisdom of doing
Where the wild will take us. We have
Been here before. It’s more intimate somehow
Than walking the paths that lay out some route
That you stick to.
All paths are possible, many will work,
Being blocked is its own kind of pleasure,
Getting through is a joy, the side-trips
And detours show down logs and flowers.
The deer paths straight up, the squirrel tracks
Across, the outcroppings lead us on over.
Resting on treetrunks,
Stepping out on the bedrock, angling and eyeing
Both making choices — now parting our ways —
And later rejoin: I’m right, you’re right,
We come out together. Mattake, “Pine Mushroom,”
Heaves at the base of a stump. The dense matted floor
Of Red Fir needles and twigs. This is wild!
We laugh, wild for sure,
Because no place is more than another,
All places total,
And our ankles, knees, shoulders &
Haunches know right where they are.
Recall how the Dao De
Jing puts it: the trail’s not the way.
No path will get you there, we’re off the trail,
You and I, and we chose it! Our trips out of doors
Through the years have been practice
For this ramble together,
Deep in the mountains
Side by side,
Over the rocks, through the trees.
The Wildflowers of Mount Rainier
July 19, 2013
It was early in the season for hiking at Mount Rainier — the trails were still covered with snow patches — but the wildflowers were in bloom. That spectacle alone made the day trip worth while. Enjoy!
Six Views of Mount Rainier
July 17, 2013
This post calls to mind Katsushika Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, his series of woodblock prints. Mount Rainier has a similar pull on artists. For example, Tacoma woodblock artist, Chandler O’Leary, created her own limited edition fine art book with views of Mount Rainier — it’s called Local Conditions.
On a recent clear summer day, I took my niece on a drive to Mount Rainier. The air was calm and clear, so our views of Mount Rainier were spectacular. We enjoyed the golden glow of the peak at sunrise at Sunrise, distant views from the road, reflected views in Tipsoo Lake, and a high view from the Summit House Restaurant at Crystal Mountain Resort (accessible by gondola ride). I had also just seen a high altitude view from my airplane window when I was returning from Minnesota. Let me share these views of Mount Rainier here:
“The mountains are playing at standing on their heads, and their reflections are even lovelier than the reality. The water’s depth and mystery impart vibrancy to the images, and the trembling of the surface conjures visions at the edge of a dream.”
— Sylvain Tesson, The Consolations of the Forest: Alone in a Cabin on the Siberian Taiga, translated from the French by Linda Coverdale
Close Encounter with a Gray Jay
September 15, 2012
The gray jays along the Naches Peak Loop Trail were seemingly undaunted by hikers on the trail. A couple settled within a yard of me, perched in nearby trees. Lucky I had my camera already in my hand — chance favors the prepared mind! Gray jays have been getting too friendly, and Mount Rainier National Park has a “Keep Wildlife Wild” program to address the issue.
Wildflowers Near Mount Rainier
September 14, 2012
The wildflowers are definitely one of the highlights of hiking the Naches Peak Loop Trail near Chinook Pass on Hwy 410. They peak in late summer, so this is still a great time to go and see them. Here are some photos of the wildflowers I saw along the trail:

I am not sure what this is — perhaps yellow dot saxifrage or slender mountain sandwort? Does anyone know?
Hiking Near Mount Rainier: The Naches Peak Loop Trail
September 13, 2012
I just had to take advantage of these last sunny days of summer to head to the mountains for a day hike. I love the Naches Peak Loop Trail for its stupendous views of Mount Rainier and its wildflowers as the trail meanders past several tiny sub-alpine lakes. This is an easy hike. Heading out on the trail just ahead of me was a family with a toddler in a backpack and a two-week old baby in a sling. I parked in the lot by Tipsoo Lake and headed clockwise up the trail so that I would have Mount Rainier in full view for the last part of the hike.
Here are some photos:

If you walk the trail clockwise, you’ll have this view of Mount Rainier on the latter part of the loop hike.
“Cities have always offered anonymity, variety, and conjunction, qualities best basked in by walking: one does not have to go into the bakery or the fortune-teller’s, only to know that one might. A city always contains more than any inhabitant can know, and a great city always makes the unknown and the possible spurs to the imagination.”
— Rebecca Solnit, A History of Walking
Today I attended a workshop at the Seattle Public Library downtown, and I decided I would walk from my house. It’s only 5-1/2 miles, but I had never before walked downtown to work. I chose a direct route down Eastlake Avenue, which parallels the east shore of Lake Union. The street does not run right along the water, but I got brief views at each intersection, where I could see down to the lake. It was a clear, sunny day, but I walked on the shady side of the street and did not get too hot.
Here are some of the things I saw along the way:

I kept passing these sidewalk plaques on Eastlake Ave E. They showed various microorganisms native to Lake Union. I learned later that they are the creation of artist Stacy Levy.

"The Vessel" by Ed Carpenter, a sculpture at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, South Lake Union

One of the figures from Akio Takamon's "Three Women" sculpture outside Whole Foods Market, South Lake Union
I arrived downtown after walking two hours. I had an hour before my workshop started, so I decided to check out the Chihuly glass installations in public locations in downtown Seattle.

Persian glass installation by Dale Chihuly, on the mezzanine of the City Centre building on 5th Avenue
All too soon, it was time to report to work at the library.