Flowers and marmots and bears, oh my! A walk in The Park, Skyline Loop/Plummer Peak, 9.1.12
If you have never visited Mount Rainier National Park, I highly recommend putting it on your bucket list right now. You don't even have to be a hiker to see tons of amazing scenery. Every time I come here I am blown away and yesterday was no exception.
Neighbor Greg and I took full advantage of the good weather forecast for Labor Day Saturday and left Lake Stevens at 6AM, arriving at the Paradise Visitor Center parking lot at 9AM, long before the main bulk of tourists had finished their pancakes and coffee.
We started out on an extremely popular trail called the Skyline Loop that leads up onto the mountain. This is the climbers main route to the summit and where most of the tourists hike. We climbed up about three miles through vast meadows of alpine flowers to a high knoll at 7,500', far above Panorama Point where we could see Camp Muir, the climber's camp still high above us. The glaciers, especially the mighty Nisqually Icefall are right in your face. We even saw and heard a large rockslide right next to the icefall, reminding us that this is very rugged territory that is constantly reshaping itself.
Lupine on the way to Panorama Point
Waterfall above the Nisqually Glacier
As we climbed higher, Mt. Adams appeared to the south
Photo op at Panorama Point
Glacial wasteland below us
A steady stream of people heading to and from Camp Muir
We probably spent an hour here just absorbing the incredible scenery before descending by a different route along the Skyline Loop through a wasteland of volcanic rubble and back into flowery meadows and clumps of trees. There were waterfalls all over the place and the mossy creeks were gurgling everywhere.
One of the many lush creeks
Flowery meadow with the Tatoosh Range behind
Another common sight was the Hoary Marmot, the largest member of the ground squirrel family although they look more like a beaver than a squirrel. They live in the rocks usually near timberline and when danger approaches they let out a loud whistle, gaining them the flattering nickname "whistle pig".
This is what I want to come back as in my next life
As we descended further we got to some switchbacks in the trail. As we rounded one switchback, a family told us there was a bear ahead. With cameras in hand we hurried down and sure enough, not more than thirty yards uphill from the trail was a black bear. He seemed way more interested in looking for berries than mauling us so we hung out for awhile just watching him. I thought it would be a good idea if Greg smeared blueberries all over himself so I could get a closer shot of the bear but Greg didn't think that was such a great plan. Since the bear never even bothered to look our way, we finally left him to his foraging and headed back down the trail to the car.
Looking for a pic-a-nik basket
Since it was still only 2:30PM, we decided to take another hike that I had already done years before so we drove down a couple of miles to Reflection Lakes. There we started up another trail that led to a place called Pinnacle Saddle. Pinnacle Saddle is a pass between two peaks in the Tatoosh Range which runs east/west and whose summits create the southern border of the park. I had been there three previous times. The Tatoosh range is a series of beautiful peaks running in a line with lush meadow systems and hidden tarns between the peaks. In 1991 when Dave and Susan Vidrik came up to visit we all climbed Pinnacle Peak which is just east of the saddle. I don't know if age has diminished my courage or if I was just a little crazier back then but it looked pretty steep and exposed as Greg and I pondered a go at it. We decided to try something a little tamer so we climbed Plummer Peak instead. I was glad about this because I had never been up Plummer and I always like bagging a new peak! As we climbed up we found lovely benches with flowing creeks, small tarns and jaw-dropping views across the valley to Mount Rainier. This would be a great place to pack into for a night.
Pinnacle Peak and the Castle above Pinnacle Saddle from the summit of Plummer Peak. Our route up Pinnacle in ’91 followed the trail up past the larger clump of trees and then straight up the central ridge line. Gnarly dude!
Sir Edmund and Tenzing
In this shot you can see Paradise Lodge where we started our day
Love this one of Greg!
Such a great vantage point!
We hung out up there for quite awhile until finally and reluctantly we worked our way back down to the car and made the long drive home. From door to door it was a sixteen hour day but we were thoroughly content and had a great day. I hope this encourages you to pay the park a visit and for all you out of towners, don't forget that the Newmark B & B is always open!